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The Wisdom of Our Hands

Crafting, A Life

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

A guide to living fully and humanely by learning the wisdom of authentic manual work.

Many of us live in a world of constant abstraction, immersed in our heads and our screens. But there is a deeper wisdom to be found in working with our hands in the real world. In The Wisdom of Our Hands, craftsman and educator Doug Stowe shows how working with our hands, either professionally or as a hobby, is essential for a full education and a full life.

Based on his 45 years as a woodworker and 25 years as a teacher of handcrafts, Stowe argues that human beings have a natural need to express themselves creatively through tangible work. The use of one's hands and whole body to make physical things and reshape our surroundings promotes both physical and mental health and fosters a sense of mastery in both young and adult students.

A life of craftsmanship offers the opportunity and obligation to define one's own values. Drawing on his experiences living and working in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, a town dedicated to handcrafts and arts, Stowe demonstrates how craft work can create community, forge deeper social bounds, and foster a saner attitude about the value of human labor and material goods.

Written for everyone who wants to reconnect with the deep experience of the human body at work, The Wisdom of Our Hands is a quietly radical call to spiritual (and physical) action.

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    • Booklist

      January 1, 2022
      Woodworker and blogger Stowe got into the craft in the 1970s, when an elder craftsman advised him to stop pursuing law school when "your brains are in your hands." Throughout the book, Stowe encourages readers to create things themselves and get familiar with the process of honing crafts as a way to connect with the world around us. He explains how his career began, his trial-and-error process using different types of wood and joiners to make specific types of furniture, and how he later went on to teach woodworking at Clear Spring School in a program he founded to show the value of working with one's hands. He talks extensively about the importance of being connected to nature and where our products come from--a lesson that is quite timely in today's age of mass consumption. This book will appeal to readers who wish to learn more about woodworking and crafting, but from a broader perspective, anyone looking for a way to reconnect with the Earth would do well to read Stowe's wisdom.

      COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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Languages

  • English

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