Assignment: We have recently been discussing craftsmanship in different art forms. The following assignment will help us understand what it means to have good craftsmanship. Select an activity that you do in your everyday life. This could be anything from lifting weights, drawing or washing the dishes. It can be entirely mundane or enthralling, the level of excitement is irrelevant. With this activity, create a list of good craftsmanship and a list of bad craftsmanship. Good craftsmanship for such an activity would include universally agreed upon ideas of how the activity should be completed. Bad craftsmanship would be those ways in which the activity should not be completed.
Painting Nails
Good Craftsmanship:
- Apply a base coat
- Wait until the base coat no longer feels sticky when brushed against your skin
- Apply a thin coat of your chosen color
- Have a steady hand
- Paint as evenly as possible for color consistency
- Try not to get the polish on your skin
- Let dry until the polish no longer feels sticky when brushed against your skin
- Apply a second color coat, again letting the polish dry properly
- Apply a top coat and allow to dry again
Bad Craftsmanship:
- Not applying a base or top coat
- Not painting evenly
- Not allowing enough time for each coat to dry
- Using your hands a lot while waiting for polish to dry
- Allowing the polish to chip
- Using a source of heat (hair dryer, oven, fire) to dry your nails faster
This activity shows us that whether we realize it or not, we put skill into everything we do. We can’t always define everyday activities as “craftsmanship” because we are not always making something. However, if we begin to think about what we are doing and why, we can put that effort into our writing craftsmanship. By thinking deeply about what we consider to be good or bad craft, we can become better writers and meet higher standards. We can apply the rules of good craftsmanship to every part of our lives. If we continue to follow our good craftsmanship rules and expand on them, we can hit all of the points and create a true masterpiece with our words.
~ J.W.
