Friday, June 11, 2010

Hand Made

It’s amazing what a master maker can fashion with the hands. This group of thirteen origami cranes is made from a single piece of paper. Little clusters of three cranes are attached to the beak, wingtips, and tail of the large one in the center.


The maker was one of the most remarkable teenagers I’ve ever met, Rose Dawson, who gave it to me at a Dinotopia booksigning. Rose is homeschooled, and encouraged to follow her own interests.

The joy of making things with the hands is the topic of Mark Frauenfelder’s new book, Made by Hand: Searching for Meaning in a Throwaway World. Frauenfelder is the founder of the BoingBoing blog, Editor-in-Chief of Make Magazine, and instigator of the Maker Faire.

He decided to take some time away from his work on the computer to figure out how to whittle wooden spoons, raise chickens and bees, construct cigar box guitars, and retrofit his espresso maker.

Less a how-to book and more a rumination on the value of screwing up as a path to mastery, Made by Hand is impossible to set down once you start reading it.

Mark's enthusiasm for the little successes and failures of the DIY neophyte makes you want to take a screwdriver and start taking things apart and putting them together in a new way.

Made by Hand on Amazon
Mark on Colbert Report
Make magazine
Maker Faire
GurneyJourney post "Origami Mystery" about a culture-jamming use of origami.

8 comments:

Dan Gurney said...

This book is going on my summer reading queue. Thanks!

goat89 said...

Handcrafted stuff can really make you feel appreciated some times. :D

Unknown said...

Wow, such ingenuity!

Rob Fullmer said...

Hey, I just downloaded a sample of this book yesterday to check out. I'm fascinated by anyone who makes things with their hands. Good to know that it's a fun read!

Mary Bullock said...

Amazing oragami!! And I am putting that book on my reading list.

Claire Vrabel said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Claire Vrabel said...

Oops...I deleted my post....
Here it is:

Too cool!
I've been meaning to read that book since I saw the author on Colbert.
I need to go pick it up at the library tomorrow... ;)

Haley Morrison said...

I'll have to pick this up :) I love finding new things to make myself!