ABSTRACT
Craftsmanship implies primarily a particular attitude toward the shaping of raw materials, and the final product is only a derivative of that attitude. Though outwardly inefficient, inwardly the craftsman gains a deep satisfaction through a reverence for raw materials and tools skillfully used. The craftsman in glass savors glass and the true furniture craftsman loves his wood. It’s much like a love affair in which the craftsman ultimately gives birth to some fine work or artifact. Sometimes the process is sensuous and, at other times, the craftsman becomes so totally absorbed that the “self’ is forgotten for a moment. It is something like a child intensively concentrating on play; at other times it may be more like a spiritual experience. The people read with envy and respect about the Foxfire craftsmen of Appalachia, preservers of blacksmithing, herbal gathering, stone masonry, and other crafts.
