Peter Korn

Why We Make Things and Why It Matters: the Education of a Craftsman Peter Korn

Publisher Marketing: In this moving account, Peter Korn explores the nature and rewards of creative practice. We follow his search for meaning as an Ivy-educated child of the middle class who finds employment as a novice carpenter on Nantucket, transitions to self-employment as a designer and maker of fine furniture, takes a turn at teaching and administration at Colorado s Anderson Ranch Arts Center, and then founds a school in Maine: the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, an internationally respected nonprofit institution. Furniture making practiced as a craft in the twenty-first century is a decidedly marginal occupation. Yet the view from the periphery can be illuminating. For Korn the challenging work of bringing something new and meaningful into the world through one s own volition whether in the arts, the kitchen, or the marketplace is what generates the meaning and fulfillment that so many of us seek. This is not a how-to book in any sense. Korn wants to get at the "why" of craft in particular and the satisfactions of creative work in general to understand their essential nature. How does the making of objects shape our identities? How do the products of creative work inform society? In short, what does the process of making things reveal to us about ourselves? Korn draws on four decades of hands-on experience to answer these questions eloquently, and often poignantly, in this personal, introspective, and revealing book." Review Citations: Library Journal 10/15/2013 pg. 108 (EAN 9781567925111, Hardcover) Booklist 11/01/2013 pg. 19 (EAN 9781567925111, Hardcover) Publishers Weekly 11/25/2013 (EAN 9781567925111, Hardcover) Contributor Bio:  Korn, Peter Korn is the director of the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine, which offers hands-on workshops in woodworking. Contributor Bio:  Burns, Traber TRABER BURNS is a native of Louisiana, who began his acting career as a graduate of the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. He spent 30 years working in regional theatre, including the New York, Oregon, Alabama and Dallas Shakespeare Festivals. After 5 years of acting in Los Angeles, he now lives in Oregon where he spends most of his time transporting his son to various activities.