Book Review: Material – The Art of Handcrafting Beautiful Objects in a Digital Age*

The Art of Handcrafting Beautiful Objects in a Digital Age

“To be wilful, to be of the wild, ragged growth on the margins of the main path – that is not the way our civilised society wishes us to be…”

[Ad-gifted] In its striking orange jacket with accompanying woodcut-style front cover illustration, Material could well have been printed back in the sixties or seventies, when books were in themselves a work of art. Published by Chelsea Green Publishing UK, Material is subtitled ‘Stories of making from a master woodworker’, and as promised, takes the reader on a journey through the life of the author as he connects with other craftsmen and women who are keeping alive the traditions of a bygone era.

Nick Kary is a master woodworker and has a deep knowledge not only of his craft but also of the hundreds, possibly even thousands of years of history that lie just behind and beyond him. He tells us of the origins of the wood and its various traditional uses, and of the people who used to dedicate their lives to their craft. And then Kary goes out in search of other handicrafts and their makers. He connects with them and shares their stories. From basket weavers and wheelwrights to potters, Kary spends time with other like-minded people, watching and listening as they painstakingly create practical, beautiful items from traditional materials.

Kary uses his time to explore his homeland – the beautiful counties of Devon and Cornwall, and later, Somerset – visiting mines, woods and wild countryside on the way. All the makers who feature in the chapters of this book are somehow connected to the local landscape, and Kary takes care to accurately describe how the mines and woods he visits physically connect to the wider view; also how they were named, who worked there and what their uses (if any) are today. Some have been preserved for their history – others are now converted into visitor centres, or pubs… some lie in beautiful ruins. Land is built on, forests cleared.

There is also, apparently, a ‘red list’ of endangered crafts. We learn this as we head to a traditional sieve and riddle maker, the very last in the country. While the book largely features stories of wood, coppicing, basket making and clay, there are other insights into dying traditions, such as this.

What I thought of The Art of Handcrafting Beautiful Objects

Nick Kary tells a few stories – but the one about his workshop burning down is perhaps the most important. I took this to be his inspiration to write Material – a cathartic process of healing and renewal that he needed to go through as he dealt with what comes across as a real sense of pain and loss. Kary returning to rebuild the workshop and facing the boxes of blackened tools also reminds me of reading about Ernest Hemingway losing what he considered to be his most important writing, stolen on a train to Paris, and having to start again. Starting again is hard, but sometimes it is better… and writing Material has very likely brought some closure to the author in that respect.

I appreciated Kary’s observations about the throwaway nature of everyday items, and how past crafts are often by nature ecological, natural and ready to harmlessly return to the earth after their useful life. Perhaps we should all take note of this and individually try to source and use more locally grown, locally crafted and lovingly made items.

Kary fills in some detail about his background, but also leaves many blanks. He is well-educated, well-travelled and thoughtful, and his writing style is beautiful. Beautiful English, with a hint of poetry and prose, and probably as meticulous as his woodwork. I believe that there are quite a few people who have pursued academia only to realise that they need to connect with something altogether more tangible and tactile, and I think Kary is just such a person.

I did not get into the flow of the narrative quickly, and kept going back to see if I had missed details or they had just not yet been included. As an afficionado of textiles and their history, I would have loved Kary to explore this topic further than the weaving weekend he mentioned – but that is a personal interest. Or is it a hint? There could be a part two of Material. There is certainly scope for a sequel in the idea of the endangered craft list.

Noteworthy are the beautiful illustrations by Cornish artist and printmaker, Lou Tonkin. They are exquisite: they look like woodcut drawings, created by hand with meticulous care, and would not be out of place on your living room walls. You can see more of Lou Tonkin’s art here.

Where you can get your copy of The Art of Handcrafting and how much it costs

Material is published by Chelsea Green Publishing UK. It is available online: you can pick up a copy from Amazon at various prices, depending on whether you wish to read an eBook, a paperback or a hardcover copy.

The paperback copy retails for £11.39 while the hardcover for £20. Please check Amazon for the latest price as this might change.

About the Author

Nick Kary was born in Vienna Austria in 1961. He has lived in the UK for most of his life and has worked as furniture designer maker in London, Mexico and Devon since 1987. Over the last 10 years he has split his time between making, teaching and writing. He is a visiting lecturer at the Schumacher College in Devon and an associate lecturer at Plymouth University. He also runs furniture making workshops at The Brake creative centre in South Devon. MATERIAL is his first published work and expresses his love and interest in the relationship between humans and the natural world through our inclination to make.

About the Book

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Chelsea Green Publishing UK 
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1915294623
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.7 x 2.6 x 19.7 cm

Review by: Metia Bethell Egan

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* Disclaimer: We were given a copy of the book in return for a feature. All opinions are our own.