Why Makers Make

When asked, What is woodturning all about?, we sometimes have to be careful in our response. Expecting a descriptive discourse about the technique of shaping wood somehow, our sometimes witty off-the-wall response that it’s about an addiction, an enduring and persistent passion, a necessity—like breathing—may surprise or even confuse the questioner. Our answer is really about individuals responding to, and being inspired by, the world around them through the act of making. That is, “seeing” in the manner that the photographer Freeman Patterson describes in this book Photography and the art of seeing: in the finest and broadest sense, using your 5 senses, your intellect and your emotions, and to be inspired to express yourself about the remarkable world around you through the act of making.

To the maker, the enticement of the elements of mystery—curiosity and discovery—leading to inspiration is foremost in my view; in addition, inspiration is unique to the individual: it cannot be copied.