Craftsmanship or Good Enough is Not

Craftsmanship or Good Enough Is Not

There is a certain presence that has its place in a corner of my mind just behind my eyes. I call it a presence because it has a life of its own. This is my quality control inspector. The inspector has a mind/soul independent of me. I can, as I often do, be looking at a flute in progress. The flute has just completed a particular operation and is being held in front of my eyes. It looks good. But, from a certain angle there is something not quite right. Not there. It is good enough. However, the quality inspector says go back and make another minor adjustment. Good enough is not.

It’s not about making a perfect flute. The perfection I’m after is to be sought in the act of creating not the object being created.

Have I reached my ideal of what it means to be a craftsman? No. Am I striving for it? Yes. I will know I am there when the quality inspector not longer needs to be present. There is an aspect of my approach to my craft that is too goal oriented. I want to get things done, to see results, to finish product. Let’s face it - to make money. After all “time is money” is it not? In the midst of that ‘time is money’ space there is a discernable urge to let the ‘good enough’ be. Put that flute down and go on to the next flute. Oh, thank you God for the inspector. Or is God in the inspector? Saying - wait a minute, let’s look at that flute again. Let’s look at you again. I know when I feel that message that I have strayed away from the center. I am not a Craftsman I am a flute maker.

I consider it a great Grace to hear and be given the strength to act on that admonition. Having acknowledged the message, how can I not make the necessary shift in consciousness? I reorient the center of what I am and what I am doing. This shift is not about making better flutes – although better flutes will result. It’s about being a better me. Being a Craftsman and not a flute maker.

When I embody Craftsmanship the inspector is no longer needed. He is no longer present. In fact he not longer exists. The shift from goal orientation to a process orientation is complete and self-fulfilling. Being there in the work. Where every movement is part of a dance and the dance is the dance of Life. Colors and dimensions deepen and richen. Not making money to support a life. Centered in the middle of Life. Knowing with certitude that this is all that is necessary. Letting Life take care of providing the money.

Craftsmanship

For me, Craftsmanship involves the constant seeking after perfection. Craftsmanship flows from a personal dedication to finding the best in myself. After I have centered myself then I expand that space to encompass the shop and the flute in my hands. Acts of craftsmanship flow from this place of inner calm and concentration. Then, the work of my hands is in tune with the Greater Good.

When a craftsman is dedicated to making musical instruments his ear is his muse. For the instrument maker there is an ideal sound calling from just over the horizon. It calls from a place just beyond the best flute I have ever made. Striving for this ideal makes me focus on even the most minute detail that may have an effect on the sound. I feel I have an obligation to bring that Spirit to every flute I make. Because the flute player deserves no less. A flute made in this way is a success even if the sound of different flutes varies in tone. Because, even though I may prefer one flute over another different people react differently. Thus, every flute finds the right player. An instrument made in this way can bring Spirit into the life of the flautist.

There are individuals who learn how to do a trick - make something - that's cool. But, they are not necessarily craftsmen. Because, their flutes are not the creation of a craftsmans hands. Their flutes may actually sound pretty good. But, when you touch it, when you look at it, when you play it something is missing. You have the work of an engineer in your hands. Engineering/manufacturing (even when well done) and craftsmanship are not the same thing.

In my view a craftsman has a right to use any tool that is available to him. Our tools are a gift of hundreds sometimes thousands of years of experimentation by generations of craftsmen. In our own time electrical tools have made many procedures easier and consistantly accurate. From the first cast iron planer to the Dewalt that I have is a matter of sixty years. Countless improvments have forged a tool that allows me to thickness plane a piece of wood to a degree of perfection not possible with hand tools. It is my personal view that to not use this technology to produce the best possible instrument would a dereliction.

There are craftsmen who make flutes using the old tools - spokeshaves, wood gouges, files. These hand tools require a very unique mental and physical space to work in. A space where every second and every movement of the hand is an art form. That type of craftsmanship is certainly to be respected.