"In our world and in our time we are deeply in need of the values that come under the heading of craftsmanship." Charles Eames
Spirit Nature Design
One day I picked up a small Edwardian oil can from the tool stall at Bridport market. It helped to open my mind a little wider to the notion of provenance - place of origin. Most would say, what’s so special about it. Insignificant, humble. For me, it is exquisite, ‘right’ in every way. Its design and making springs from a vernacular tradition, but coloured by the industrial imperative - where there is a need, a skill, and a resource.
The oil can is not made with an over riding desire to craft it “perfectly”. It is crafted appropriately. It was made to do a job and do that job as well as possible. It speaks of its makers deep understanding of his place in a system, interrelated, interdependent. A respect for his job, his fellow workers, his management and the task they are all engaged in.
The oil can possess a deep sense of humanity, it is an act of love. It engages all my senses, its shape and size tell me immediately how to use it. It fits, snugly in one hand, with a nozzle projecting just enough between first two fingers. Hard, thin, metallic wall. A stubby cone. It can be operated, simply by pressing a thumb on its base, which pops slightly and inso doing, pumps one drop of oil. The smell of the old oil hangs in the air and speaks of old. When placed back on the bench, its wide circular base makes it impossible to knock over - contents protected. A flat ring has been soft soldered to outer its wall, human finger size, its real function enables it to be hung on a small peg, close by and ready for use.
One hundred years later, for me, the oil can has become, not only a type of icon of provenance, but an intellectual tool, which nourishes my approach to designing and making useful objects.
My rural locality, plus a wider technological knowledge of making and a little understanding of global issues, inform my work. The constraints revealed, tight and tested, are my inspiration. Rich in their simplicity, but fertile for creativity.
