Awe for the Craftsmen
Gorgeous lighting reminds me that the artists and craftspeople whose work fills this magazine often inspire awe in me—and joy.
A Note from the Editor:
Gorgeous lighting reminds me that the artists and craftspeople whose work fills this magazine often inspire awe in me—and joy.
One autumn when I was in my early 20s, I was within five pounds of what the charts said was my ideal weight, a very nice number with a zero in the middle. I was determined to reach it. Every day I ran along Prospect Park to Grand Army Plaza, around the arch and back; I did calisthenics on the bedroom rug; I ate less and less as weeks went by. And I kept getting sick—with headaches, recurrent colds. I blurted my frustration to the elderly doctor who was giving me my allergy shots at half price. He pinched my middle—“no fat”—and shook his head in avuncular disapproval. He said, “Show me your hands.” I held one up. “See here,” he said. “Those are peasant hands. You will never be skinny, so stop making yourself sick.”
Mine are peasant hands, from the Irish potato farmers or the Slovak milkmaids, or both. (I’m inordinately fond of cabbage and whiskey, as you might imagine.) With these hands, I have never done anything fine. It’s okay. I chop celery with speed and power and pat a delicious meatloaf; making my stubby fingers black with earth, I’ll make an herb garden outgrow its plot. I can hoist toddlers and grocery bags, gesticulate alarmingly as I talk, and type a blue streak. But I cannot play the piano, or apply wax to a Ukrainian Easter egg, embroider, or cut a dovetail with anything approaching competence.
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The artists and craftspeople whose work fills our magazines often inspire awe in me. But I’m delighted to say that I don’t feel envious. When I see their work, my joy feels like the contentment of a full tummy, and I feel a kind of gratitude. I meet talented people at shows and seminars, and they’re normal enough folks. We talk and laugh. Then I see them in context with their skilful and sensuous work: hand-painted clay, sculpted chair, filigreed lamp, masterful color and pattern. I get tongue-tied. Really, what does a peasant say to a god?
Patricia Poore,Editor
ppoore@homebuyerpubs.com
10 Harbor Rd., Gloucester, MA 01930
Patricia Poore is Editor-in-chief of Old House Journal and Arts & Crafts Homes, as well as editorial director at Active Interest Media’s Home Group, overseeing New Old House, Traditional Building, and special-interest publications.
Poore joined Old House Journal when it was a Brooklyn-brownstoner newsletter in the late 1970s. She became owner and publisher and, except for the years 2002–2013, has been its editor. Poore founded the magazines Old-House Interiors (1995–2013) and Early Homes (2004–2017); their content is now available online and folded into Old-House Journal’s wider coverage. Poore also created GARBAGE magazine (1989–1994), the first unaffiliated environmental consumer magazine.
Poore has participated, hands-on, in several restorations, including her own homes: a 1911 brownstone in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and a 1904 Tudor–Shingle Style house in Gloucester, Massachusetts, where she brought up her boys and their wonderful dogs.
