Art vs. Profit

As craftsman, I think that the ‘art’ of our work is often times pushed aside in favor of profit.  The two must coexist and those who favor the first often find themselves out of business quickly.  It is a dance, to be certain.  But like most things in life, we have to account for the inevidable eb and flow of it all. While profit should be the priority, there must be room, at times, to supersede it.  Slowing down and taking the time to make things ‘right’ produces integrity in our work, which will always outlive profit.  The trick is to have both without tipping the scale.  Personally, I like to work fast and make my aesthetic and structural decisions on the fly.  In theory, this skill, once honed, is the best of both worlds.   But it has led me down the wrong path innumerable times.  Once you’ve gone deep into this way of working, you can find yourself out allotted time, with problems to fix.  No matter how you work, it is always good to slow down, take deep breaths and ask yourself exactly why you chose the life of a maker.  Think about the piece your working on and how iit will look in ten years.