Artisan of the Month

By John Gerke

As we go through our workdays at the Technical Center, we sometimes forget the obvious fact that there are people all around us. What do I mean by people? What makes up a person? I believe it is a combination of experiences, beliefs, opinions, and talents among many other things.

With that said how could we work around so many others and not even really know who they are? Doesn’t it seem like such a waste not to know the essence or ability of the person standing beside you at the copying machine?

Each of us has opened a window or two in our time. Perhaps it is about time to open another. I think it would be interesting to learn the collective talents and abilities of those who surround us.

I am more than sure we have an impressive collection of artisans in their own right. I am not only talking about just those who can paint or draw or sculpt, but those who can design, build, and create.

What is an artisan? To me it is someone who can create with wood or words. It is someone who can make another person think or appreciate in a different way. It is someone who makes us look at our everyday lives from a whole different perspective.

Now, how do we go about finding the Artisans of the Technical Center? Do we observe cubicle and office walls and determine who should or should not be included? Should we limit the search by department, rank or stature?

If we really want to find the artisans in our midst, we only need to look at one thing. Who places a hobby or craft high on their list of priorities? Who lives to write another sentence or crochet another quilt? Who, in the quiet morning hours, forgoes discussion of the weather and speaks only of a distinct color they discovered in some forsaken meager shop?

Those who venture beyond the normal realms are the artisans that I speak of. Those who design and create from nothing and when finished, make the rest of us wonder why we all don’t have such ability and talent.

Oh sure, they may never earn a living from their passion and desire, but that isn’t the point is it. They gain a pleasure from their crafty experience that is beyond words. A true artisan keeps fine control upon their work. In its birth and growth, the creation becomes an essential and defined part of the master.

In truth, the completed work is not to be lessened, and not to be judged. The finished work has all of the breath and soul that the owner possessed at the moment of conception. Passion filled all humanity gains from the ultimate design.

So where does this all leave us? The Technical Center being as vast and dispersed a place as it is, who should be the First Artisan of the Month? I think that is easy. I believe the first artisan should be all of us who work here.

Do we not create daily in our jobs? Do we not improvise and manufacture out of nothing more times than we care to admit? From the secretaries to the managers, we create constantly. We are all artisans in our own right. Do we not make each other think?

Who do you think should be the artisan next issue? Should it be someone who creates a sandwich, or a person who can play a musical note? Who do you think the most deserving artisan is? Let us know. We would love to bring his or her story to the attention of everyone.

Until then, know that you have just learned to look at yourself and others in a different way. Take a moment and look around. This time though, look past the form and look at the ability and gift. Take care.