Thinking with your hands

image of my threads by Charles Saumarez Smith

  Yesterday I took part in an event at the Art Workers' Guild in London which focused on the 'reciprocal illumination' that can be had between skilled craftspeople and surgeons.It was a big event as all the invited guests were from major institutions or studios either from the arts ,science and education. We demonstrated our work and compared how it is that we work in such a similar way and yet on very different things.Discussions were held between ourselves and those we had invited  so that we could all share and get an understanding of how important hand skills are to humans and our society.
    If you are reading this you probably share our dismay at the decline of craft skills and the slow dismantling of our arts education. (petition link to stop this)We talked about how important the zen state of mind is when working and how making objects for ourselves connects us to the world around us.Some talked about 'intelligence of touch'and 'thinking with your fingers'  whilst others discussed the idea that  previous knowledge of sewing can enhance a surgeons initial learning.The mind was a common subject and although some are uncomfortable with talking about an inner self most would agree that the ability to concentrate and mental discipline were a form of 'mind yoga'.
   I'm sure that the discussions are still going on and this can only be a good thing.(the first review here) If you would like to join in too there is a public event coming up soon, please see my previous post.