Thursday, February 20, 2014

Description of Richard Hooke, artist and woodworker, written by Robert F. Winne

© a sketch from the sketchbook of Richard Hooke, artist, woodworker, teacher

A transcript of Bob’s handwritten description of his friend Richard Hooke (an artist friend who Bob deeply admired and loved) was recently found by Bob's wife, Patricia:

In the morning as he dresses for work and prepares for the day, his eye cannot help but fall on several of the many pieces of art/craft scattered about the household—pieces that are products of his own hand and have become loyal daily companions. Perhaps he will give one or two of them a quick, gentle stroke in passing, signal both of recognition in its presence and a note of appreciation for the continuing delight it offers in its silky surface, rich color and spirited form. He calls the many kinds of human investment that went into each piece; the explorative wanderings before a breakthrough, the many tentative trials, the disasters as well as the triumphs. His mind touched on instances of realization: of coming to know the personality of the material and its resistances, of where one must proceed with great care, and where one can charge along with great abandon, of recognizing when enough is enough, knowing that a piece is never really “finished”. Those of us who are friends of this man could venture to say that his craft is as much art as craft, and perhaps even beyond art as a way of life.

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