Becoming an Artisan

In talking with those who have what I think of as an artisinal attitude, there is a recurrent theme:

The work is the client.

Creativity may have a muse, but for the decorator painting our downstairs at the moment, it's the work. It's evident in the attention paid to preparation, or paint selection, and the use of fine brushes in areas of detail where others would use something more efficient and faster. It's in the conversation about the experience of picking materials, and the distinction between the "paint gangs" and the artisans. The paint gangs are accountable to a boss, and work rates. The artisan is accountable to the work.

As we go through the changes we are experiencing, I find it an important distinction. The work will always be needed, even if the person paying for it - an organisation - disappears. When times get tough, the work has a place at the table.

When I look, I see artisans in many places I wouldn't normally expect them, from call centres to the police. The thing that u…