Some comments on the temporal nature of work

[HWooldridge]

A few thoughts for contemplation and discussion:

Several years ago, I did some work for a retired couple in a local, high-end subdivision where the houses go for $500K and up. The front of the house had a high square arch that I filled with an iron grate. The window over the front doors was also arched and that was filled with another iron grille. They were nice folks to work for who paid well and promptly.

This morning, I went over to another house in the same subdivision to install some iron grates over four storm drains. I do a lot of work in this area but the homeowners don't know each other - it was simply a coincidence that I was headed down the same road and drove past the older house. I was surprised to see the whole front of this house had been redone by stone masons and my outer iron grate was gone (the inner one over the window was still there). No one had contacted me about taking it down or reworking it or anything else - it was simply removed and likely taken to the dump (since it was a custom fit for that particular opening and wouldn't go anywhere else).

In years past, I've been in scrap yards and seen gorgeous pieces of old, hand forged, iron fencing or grilles that had been discarded - probably because the new home owner thought they clashed with the decor or were not worth saving. This doesn't just apply to ironwork - masons, carpenters and other craftspeople have the same things to deal with. Michelangelo was lucky that his work went into a structure that was preserved for posterity but the work of the artists who built and rebuilt the abbey at Monte Cassino was forgotten every time it was sacked or destroyed.

This brings me to my point...no matter how much blood, sweat and tears a person puts into a piece of work, someone will eventually come along and toss it aside or the ravages of time will take a toll - so it's important that we are properly compensated for the work when we do it. It's one of the reasons I believe you should never sell your work cheaply - not even as a "loss leader" to get a bigger project. Thirty years ago, I would have been angry at seeing a piece of my work removed from a structure and discarded but I didn't feel that today because I was well paid to do the commission for the client, which meant they owned it and could do with it as they pleased. In fact, I'm going to send them an email after I post this and ask if they'd like a nice piece of ironwork in their new arched entryway.

[arftist]

Did a huge elipical stair job last winter. Two flights, five balconys. Six guys for three months to build, two guys for three weeks to install. Some where along the install, it was mentioned that at the sale of the house, it would most likely get scrapped. Twas a sickening feeling indeed.

[JNewman]

I had an interesting talk with Tom Latane a few years ago. When I mentioned something about how he must need to find rich customers for the very detailed labour intensive work that he does, he told me how he prefers to work for medium income customers as they have to save up for his work and thus the piece does not get discarded like this and ends up as a family heirloom. I can understand this but I also know much of the work I do is disposable.

[Macca]

Err...is this just a sign of the times, I guess what I'm trying to say is that we now live in a 'throw away' society. Years prior craftsmen, artisans etc built stuff to last, just look around and you can see their work, now it's a case of what is the latest fashion that's in a glossy magazine and how cheap it can be made/imported.

I think I might be preaching to the converted hear, why else would we take an interest in a trade that is all but gone.

[David Einhorn]

Err...is this just a sign of the times,....now it's a case of what is the latest fashion that's in a glossy magazine and how cheap it can be made/imported. I think I might be preaching to the converted hear, why else would we take an interest in a trade that is all but gone.

I have observed, as a hobbyist, for more than 35 years the evolution and change in blacksmithing. At first there were only a handful of smiths working to mostly relearn the craft. Now there are thousands of skilled smiths, many doing very nice work, competing with each other for a limited market. Many smiths have come and gone. The few that have lasted those many years seem to be the die hard hobbyists that simply enjoy the craft, and a few high end smiths. The key to lasting seems to be to have the patience and time to continue learning. The first to burn out seems to have been those making low end stuff in bulk, especially smiths making tent stakes and cooking stuff for reenactors.

[ThomasPowers]

Not a New thing at all! In the renaissance you can find examples of buildings that were re-worked to show the "latest" architectural "quirks".

Just think of how many houses got painted white after the Columbian Exposition in the USA!
(Those white structured New England towns used to be quite colourful until the "white paint" fad went through---I've know some people having to fight local historical groups to get to re-paint their homes in the documented *original* colours.)

Edited June 29, 2009 by ThomasPowers

[Charlotte]

Not just blacksmiths have this problem. In my working life I engineered and installed several manifolds and pieces of equipment that got trashed when a new management group took over. All I could do is bite my tongue and tell my self that it wasn't my problem any more.