Inspiration comes from the strangest places sometimes. I was watching a segment of Orson Welles’ “Around The World…” series the other day in which he interviewed various luminaries about their philosophies and methods. He spoke with Raymond Duncan, a craftsman and artist whose philosophy and lifestyle were the essence of simplification for over 50 years. A certain quote stood out for me. It came when Orson Welles asked Mr. Duncan if he could reduce his philosophy to a statement. Duncan responded… “I try to make all of the things I need. And I try not to need the things I cannot make.” Ambitious, but admirable. I can’t imagine in this time of inexpensive everything from China and other places that we would really need to make too terribly much. But from a craftsman standpoint, time taken in the artistry of creating a useful thing or appreciable thing like artwork, is time well spent, and time spent on the craftsman himself, which was another of Duncan’s essentially communist philosophies that the development of the worker is more important than the work itself. While I agree that the development of the skills and talents of people is critical, the work itself, unless done purely for the pleasure or development of the craftsman, is critically important too, otherwise the work is selfish and limited.
What I took from it then, applied in my own life and to this project, is my own simplification… “I will try not to need the things I do not truly need.”