Krenov - On Amateurism and Other Things

On Amateurism

MR. FITZGERALD: I read that you began making furniture professionally in 1960. Is that correct?

MR. KRENOV: I've never made furniture professionally.

MR. FITZGERALD: Well, that you sold furniture.

MR. KRENOV: Yes. Well, I'm an amateur and I always will be. That's the way I want to die. I'm an amateur by nature and I'm an amateur in fact. And David Pye wrote somewhere that the best work of this century would certainly be done by amateurs.

On Making A Living At WoodDorking

MR. FITZGERALD: What did you advise them? When you were advising the students on how to make a living at this, what would you tell them? How to sell - how would they sell their furniture?

MR. KRENOV: Well, my standard formula was the better work you do, the more chance that you'll starve.

On What The Best Wood Is

MR. FITZGERALD: What's your favorite wood?

MR. KRENOV: Oh, I have no favorite wood. If it's real nice, it could be anything really.

MR. FITZGERALD: You fit the wood to match the job, or do you select the wood first?

MR. KRENOV: They grow together. Everything grows together.

MR. FITZGERALD: What kind of -

MR. KRENOV: You close your eyes and you think, well, if the table's all black that's no good. And if it's all white, like maple or something, that's no good. What else have we got? We've got mahogany, we've got oak, we've got this and that and the other thing. Search and hope and find something that finally commits you to feel, well, yes, it would look nice - the chair would look nice in this wood, and it would work well. It glues well, and the pieces I have are dry and fine. Yes, I think I'll do it that way.

On The Best Finish

MR. FITZGERALD: What kind of finish do you like to put on it?

MR. KRENOV: As little as possible. Polish sometimes.

On Tage Frid

MR. FITZGERALD: Did you know Tage Frid?

MR. KRENOV: Oh, I tried to play tennis with him up in Aspen, but he wasn't sober, so it didn't turn out very well. No, I didn't know him. I didn't know him.

Read the whole thing at:

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Reply to
Tom Watson
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Reply to
Dave Balderstone

If you are looking for a bunch of dumb answers then here they are ......mjh

Reply to
mike hide

Does seem to demonstrate that different people operate on different wavelengths. To me as well, some of the answers above are a little goofy. Then again to others they strike a chord.

Those that are on the wavelength of this Mr Krenov may see some others as uninspired clods. Some of those uninspired clods may see some of those on Mr Krenov's wavelength as a bit artsy or even slightly nutty. It's all good though... diversity is a wonderful thing and there's room enough for everyone.

Joe Barta

Reply to
Joe Barta

Huh. Krenov's a heck of a woodworker, but I found his interview to be annoying, like he was trying to be cute or something. Affected, maybe. False humility? I don't know.

JP

Reply to
Jay Pique

Your post just showed after I clicked send for mine. I agree with you, though - everyone is their own person, and what's best (for me) is to try and embrace the good in them. Of course it's sometimes difficult, if not impossible, with some folk.

JP

Reply to
Jay Pique

Really? I had just the opposite impression, that he was just being open and honest about what he does, why he does it, who he is and where he came from.

He was certainly disparaging of some schoools and guilds, and of some common attitudes, but I think he's earned the ability to make those comments.

Still, some like/love his work, some dislike/are neutral to it. I like his work, and found the interview gave me some insight into the person behind it.

It's possible, of course, that if I heard the interview rather than simply reading a transcript, I'd hear what you read, but it didn't come through the printed word for me.

djb

Reply to
Dave Balderstone

Yes indeed - well said. I found it goofy and marvellous - struck both chords with me. I find I look at a piece of wood and try to feel what it would be best used for, and also find myself wishing I had the skill required ti mak eit so, but - I understood what he was saying. Particulatly the bit about the better you make something the more likely you are to starve - if you are trying to make a profession out of that work.

Mike Richardson (Deliberately top-posted - not to annoy.)

Reply to
Mike Richardson

"That vase is so goddamn ugly it's has to be art".

... ya gotta love the depth of honesty, and the nuances of his bullshit detector, in that statement alone.

Reply to
Swingman

I agree. I read that interview two times and more when I first found it. I was happy that there is someone with the stature to say what age gave him the wisdom to say. It was for a cultural quasi-governmental archive--maybe that's why it saw the light of day.

I surmise he's taking a poke at what Pritam & Eames has become.

er

Reply to
Enoch Root

When I read that I thought of one of my favorites (but I can't recall where I read it, years ago)...

"I may not know what I like, but I know art."

Reply to
Dave Balderstone

When I look at their web site, there's little there that makes me think I'd like to run my hands over the piece.

Reply to
Dave Balderstone

I don't necessarily care for the style of his work, but I certainly appreciate the craftsmanship and his approach to his work. I think one can take away something from any expert, even if the particular design styles employed by that expert don't resonate with your own style preferences.

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Reply to
Mark & Juanita

It happened just this weekend. I was making a couple of bluebird houses and grabbed some cedar I had lying around. I took the first pass at planing it down and saw the loveliest curl I've seen in any wood, let alone cedar. I asked myself, do I really want to use this piece on a bird house?

I looked around and didn't see a better one - the bluebirds are gonna love it!

TWS

Reply to
TWS

One of the characteristic of the elderly is the lack concern for what others may think of what they say or do. There is no need to impress anybody for some future personal benefit. Mr. Krenov does not seem to be a self promoter - something Mr. Maloof is very good at. Given his childhood, he became a pretty independent self confident person very early in lifeand somewhat of a loner.

Several folks who know him describe him as a curmudgeon - quickly adding - "and a very very good craftsman."

So imagine being interviewed by someone who obviously hasn't read any of your books, and is asking questions you've answered dozens of times already. And unlike "celebrities", "publicity" doesn't mean a thing to you. At a certain age, one's tolerance for inaneness drops off significantly - and some of the questions asked by the interviewer were pretty dumb.

In addition to his integrating the wood, and a design that use it well, I particularly like his "do a few things extremely well, rather than a lot of things adequately" Haven't been able to actually implement the approach - I try too many things - but I'm working on it.

If you like his approach to things you might want to go here, download the image, print it and stick it on the shop wall for inspiration..

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b

Reply to
charlie b

Lol,

Yes, done, and done. Thanks!

Mike R

Reply to
Mike Richardson

"I may not know much about art, but I know what I like."

Reply to
Lobby Dosser

Reply to
mike hide

I thought it was Andy Warhol, (who's "art" I dislike) but all the attributions point elsewhere.

er

Reply to
Enoch Root

Might have been W.C. Fields.

Reply to
Lobby Dosser

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