Tools have always meant something special to me. They become extensions of our hands.
There is a powerful, even comforting, feeling when you need to do something and know that you have the tool to accomplish it. And good tools feel good to our hands. They make the job easier.
So perhaps this series should have been called “tools.” A tool, though, is only part of the equation It’s the hands that wield them that are the real story. Yet, hands alone can’t do the job. The tool and the hand, they are married. They dance together, in a choreography of creation or renewal.
So why not combine the 2 in an image?
I created this image a while back.
During the same portfolio review by Don Giannatti he suggested a series based on it. So here goes:
I received a comment that “This one really speaks to me …” That was very humbling, and yet I understand how the commenter felt. To my way of thinking, tools are something that makes us human. It enables us to exploit our capabilities. Something must happen deep inside us when we pick up a tool – we make that connection with our distant past, when that piece of bone or wood was first picked up and shaped into a vehicle for accomplishing something.
I also admire the skill of others who wield tools. I enjoy the TV shows highlighting metal fabricators, mechanics, carpenters, cabinet makers.
Tools become extensions of ourselves. They enable our hands to speak for us.