Page 205 - Constructing Craft

vary their work and so eliminate boredom and create
stimulation. However the price that most men pay to receive
their weekly money packet by enduring boredom is quite
remarkable. There is nothing wrong with making money. It is
the way in which the money is made that I am considering. The
man who is concerned with the intricacies and problems of his
work there and then is a much happier character than he who
cannot throw his spirit into it. If both men receive the same
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wages the former man becomes the richer of the two.

The idea that undertaking a multitude of tasks meant that craftspeople could ‘lose’

themselves in their work to the exclusion of all else was an attractive notion. But for
the more commercial-minded craftsperson, or small craft studio employing a

number of people, the division of labour was as important as it was in many other

modern businesses. Mundane tasks, often performed by those with fewer skills,
were a part of the work that had to be done. Brickell’s ‘Zen-like’ approach was, for

most craftspeople, an ideal, not a reality. Unlike Brickell ‒ a single man with no
dependents ‒ most craftspeople had added responsibilities such as supporting a

family.

Barry Brickell at Driving Creek Pottery. The cover
epitomises a number of the characteristics that New
Zealanders associated with the studio craft movement:
the rural life in the New Zealand environment, the
independent working life, the ‘do it yourself’ ethos, and
the construction and use of alternative machinery.
Photo: New Zealand Potter.

Constructing Craft