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A Sign from my Buddy

tod evans said:
bill,
just because a fellow is using an electron burner instead of a fretsaw and a `puter instead of a pencil-n-t-square doesn`t make the work any less impressive to me......remember this is comming from a guy who cuts his inlays by hand and has for a couple of decades....i haven`t built a marquetry donkey yet but when i do, should folks think less of my work because i`ve "upgraded" tools? i still don`t know how to draw a square box on the `puter but i can draft complex gearing using a pencil-n-protractor...if i where to invest the time to learn to do drafting on the `puter would my work be any different than that i do with paper-n-pencil? how `bout the fellow who saws his veneers using a two-man saw and a pit......is his work superior to mine if i cut mine using a bandsaw-n-feeder?
to me the end result is what matters.....wood is a really forgiving medium, it doesn`t care how it`s shaped..it`s the person choosing the shape and texture that make a piece beautifull or ugly not the tools used.....
just my .02.....tod
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I'm not sure what you said Tod.... but I was saying that it is nice work and attractive signage and really neat looking but it is not wood working but graphic arts. Has nothing to do with pencil drawing versus computer drawing, or sawing with a machine other than by hand. It still is fine looking goods and excellant results but It is Graphic Arts. You can do the same with a piece of plastic or rubber or paper or aluminum or whatever medium you choose. It is no different than Printing instead of ink you burn the image with a Laser. A Glorified Laserjet Printer.

Several years ago I was given the task of making a desk piece for each of the teachers as a gift for teacher appreciation week, A fellow WWing teacher and I made a desk set and had a Brass plaque with the teacher's name ingraved, we also took some 200 of these blocks to the local printer who Laser burnt the Crest of the school into the block (In the same manner) It was done in a Printing shop. Graphic Arts, the medium was wood but the skill was printing.
 
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Bill Simpson said:
Tis a very nice sign but in my opinion it is not woodworking but Graphic Arts. The skill is in setting up the equipment and such, but it is not a crafted skill nor is it a talented art. A few years some of you would have Awed over a silkscreened sign of the same quality. No different here. Select and place the appropriate fonts, push a button and burn an image... Taa Daa, deed done did.

Not to say that such signs are not attractive and pleasing and they gather ones attention to the products at hand but to comment that they are crafted or some form of woodworking is a far stretch of the word.

These are my opinions and I am sure some will differ.
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Bill, I agree that it's a different skill set, but I strongly believe it is indeed a crafted skill and most definitely a talented art. Just because the tool happens to have a computer hooked up to it doesn't mean just anyone can walk up to the machine and get good results.

In the case if this sign, it's a combination of my design tastes and skills, plus Pete's ability to make that design come to fruition on a piece of wood. Selecting and laying out the fonts is no less a skill, craft, and art than a pencil drawing of a coffee table or jewelry box. And putting those fonts to use on a piece of wood requires no less talent or art than had it been done with a set of Buck Bros. chisels and a hand plane. No less; just different.

If anyone thinks it's as easy as putting a piece of paper in a printer and pushing Start, I'd suspect that person doesn't have any hands-on experience getting results with the machine. An analogy I use that goes back to my guitar-playing days seems to fit well here. Anything with more than three knobs on it has more bad settings than good settings.

I firmly believe the sign is both "crafted" and is most definitely a form of "woodworking".

That said, if we all had the same opinions about stuff, things would get boring real quickly. :wave:
 
Do I ever agree with you. I have had classes in oil painting, acrylic painting, throwing pots, making jewlery that was, in my opinion, art (In the traditional vein I did my kids engagement and wedding rings also). All of the artists that tried to teach me told me to use my fingers, a stick of wood, or whatever else I could find to do the job. They said that the end result was what counted.

Oh yes, my mother and my sister did VERY well in art. Now, in addition to the traditional oil paintings my sister loved to sculpture and throw pots in clay. The art community gave her (and my mother) prizes in art shows for the oils and the ceramics.

I hope I made my point. Regardless, no more comments on this subject from me.

Enjoy,

Jim
 
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