Hello Everyone,
Today I have the unique pleasure to announce something that I have been working on (secretly) for longer than I care to admit. Thankfully the time has finally arrived to let the cat out of the bag. I HAVE A NEW BOOK!
This book is titled “The Machinist Sculptor” and if you haven’t already guessed it – it is about my art yes – but it is also about the aspirational idea of machine work as a new studio craft.
That is the idea that machine work has the potential to stand alone as a unique artistic medium with intrinsic characteristics, not just a tool that can be employed in service to other artistic forms (even though that is fascinating as well).
For this book, I have partnered with Schiffer publishing to transform my over twenty years of work, creating machined metal art (and writing about it), into a reflective history and quasi-manifesto on what it means to make art with the technologically diverse tools of the machinists trade.
It is a full-throated attempt to place what I do (make art with machine tools) into a broader context about how various tools and practices (do and do not) find their way into the hands of artists and artisans. How the tools of mass production eventually become the tools of cultural production.
I presume many longtime followers of my work will have seen the self published catalogs I have released over the years. Without diminishing those efforts, I want to say "THIS BOOK IS NOT ONE OF THOSE". This book is a quantum leap forward even if some of the bones of this book may be familiar (it is my work after all).
If I may be frank, this book is my first time working with a bonafide publisher, and so for the first time I had the pleasure of working with editors and designers to fully shape my story, along with everything else I have learned from two decades of metalworking into an expansive text about the many spheres of knowledge and influence my craft touches.
It is a complete rethinking, redesign, and expansion of the original essays that set me down this road and made me an unintentional expert in a field that is a nexus for art, craft, and design.
At 288 pages, this 9"x12 "foil wrapped hard bound print is truly the most beautiful friend of the coffee table I have ever seen.
Many kind folks have worked very hard on this print, and it truly shows. I would be grateful if you would give me the opportunity to share this most sincere and detailed perspective an under-appreciated craft, by picking up a copy for yourself, a friend, or colleague.
The Machinist Sculptor is being printed and distributed by Schiffer publishing and will be available at bookstores everywhere. The official release date is Jan 28th, but you can pre-order it now on Amazon.
And of course, thank you.
P.S. I am going to post the link to the Amazon pre-order here. You will have plenty of opportunities to reserve a copy because, like it or not, I am going to bring this up frequently between now and the release date.
I am not one to beat my drum too much, so I will apologize in advance for that, but that is how these things work.
As always, questions and comments are welcome.
