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Handmade: Creative Focus in the Age of Distraction
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About Handmade: Creative Focus In The Age Of Distraction
Product Description "Gary Rogowski leads us gently but surely upon the path to a type of success we may not have previously considered. (Hint: it involves blisters)." --Nick Offerman In an era when there are countless competing claims on one's attention, how does one find the internal focus to be creative? For master furniture craftsman Gary Rogowski, the answer is in the act of creative work itself. The discipline of working with one's hands to create unnecessarily beautiful things shapes the builder into a more complete human being. In the tradition of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Shop Class as Soulcraft, Rogowski's Handmade is a profound meditation on the eternal value of manual work, creativity, human fallibility, and the stubborn pursuit of quality work. Rogowski tells his life story of how he became a craftsman and how years of persistent work have taught him patience, resilience, tolerance for failure, and a love of pursuing beauty and mastery for its own sake. Part autobiography, part guide to creativity, and part guide to living, Handmade is a book for craftspeople, artists, and anyone who seeks clarity, purpose, and creativity in their work -- and it's the perfect antidote to a modern world that thinks human labor is obsolete. Review "Exceptionally well written, thoughtful and thought-provoking, Handmade is an extraordinary and unreservedly recommended." ―MBR Bookwatch "This is a book to inspire anyone who wants to do work that has meaning and purpose. It is also about becoming a creative, compassionate, and forgiving person through the pursuit of excellence in one's chosen vocation; the journey to craft mastery becomes a journey of self-realization." ―Philip Koomen, furniture designer and maker, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Chartered Society of Designers "We need more books like this ― more books about why-to instead of just how-to. Gary Rogowski does an excellent job of giving us a memoir of his own development as a craftsman, combined with a thoughtful exploration of the mindset that allows, or even compels, a person to have the discipline it takes to reach mastery step by step by step. In a world full of overnight Instagram woodworking stars, and YouTube 'masters,' Gary shows us how he has really walked the walk. I read it straight through, but repeatedly come back to Gary's book for another vicarious taste of a real master's life. Having been a professional woodworker for almost two decades, I find Gary's meditative memoir rings true to my own experience. Thanks, Gary, and I hope we can walk the trail together sometime!" ―Jim Dillon, Woodworking Instructor, Highland Woodworking, Atlanta "A rich life's worth of journeys both at the workbench and upon the trail, Handmade can show us the way out of the woods, sure, but even better, it teaches us that maybe in the woods is the place to be. Gary Rogowski leads us gently but surely upon the path to a type of success we may not have previously considered. (Hint: it involves blisters)." ―Nick Offerman, woodworker and author of Paddle Your Own Canoe, Gumption, and Good Clean Fun "Gary Rogowski loves to rock climb and also has a deep love for woodworking. Both disciplines require courage, concentration and a developed sense of method; one wrong step, one wrong cut. Gary's book delves into this synchronicity with enjoyable anecdotes of climbing and woodworking interlaced with serious discussion of the importance of focus, practice, patience and how we become masters of craft." ―Roland Johnson, contributing editor, Fine Woodworking, and author of Taunton's Complete Illustrated Guide to Bandsaws "Gary Rogowski has written an engaging biography that traces his development from a youthful student searching for a meaningful path in life to a highly respected and accomplished furniture maker and teacher. Alternating chapters describe his experiences as a woodworker and as a hiker and mountaineer in his native Pacific Northwest, illustr
