A Cabinetmaker's Notebook
by James Krenov
Softcover
210 x 270mm
132pp
Published
by Linden Publishing, Fresno, CA USA
R.R.P.$29.90
ISBN 0-941936-59-7
Extract from back cover of book:
Those who know and love wood are never in a hurry with it, preferring to engage themselves in the rich and slow magic that wood works on the human psyche. This is no ordinary woodworking book, and James Krenov is no ordinary cabinetmaker. A glance at his work illustrated here with over 150 beautiful color and black-and-white photographs will show why his artisanship stands among the finest in the world today.
Although James Krenov's work is in museum collections on both sides of the Atlantic and in Japan, and although he is a successful and inspiring teacher, his is a deeper, low-tone experience that is rare in our hectic world. A Cabinetmaker's Notebook contains reflections on his life and work as a cabinetmaker - not just the how, but the why of a way of living and working with wood. Craftsmen in every medium will be inspired by this account of familiar and even recurring problems getting started, finding one's true self in the work, developing habits that increase the joys and lessen the difficulties of a complex craft, and the crucial task of resisting the pressure to do less than one's best. Cabinetmakers, amateur or otherwise, will be fascinated by the discussion of the woods Krenov uses (air-dried and flitch-cut) and his tools (he makes his own), as well as in the individual pieces shown.
Author, artist, teacher James Krenov is a consummate craftsman. Born in Siberia, he spent his early years in China and Alaska, before his family settled in Seattle, where he graduated from high school and spent several years building wooden boats. In 1947, he left the United States to travel abroad, finally settling in Sweden. In 1955, after studies at the world-famous Malmsten School, Krenov set up his own workshops and began independent work with wood furniture. He now resides in Fort Bragg, California, and is the director of the Program in Cabinetmaking at the College of the Redwoods. Krenov's uniquely warm, reflective approach to his craft has earned him a special place in the hearts of woodworkers all over the world.
James Krenov has also written The Impractical Cabinetmaker: The Fine Art of Cabinetmaking and James Krenov: Worker in Wood. His newest book is With Wakened Hands: Cabinetry by James Krenov and Students.
Photos: Black & White & Colour section
Units of Measurement: Metric