What is Artisan Geometry?

Authors George Walker (left) and Jim Tolpin.

Just what is "Artisan Geometry," and what can it do for you? We asked authors Jim Tolpin and George Walker to explain, and to tell us the differences among their five books on the subject. (You can follow George and Jim and their explorations at byhandandeye.com)

Walker: Artisan geometry is not the geometry of numbers and formulas that you likely had to suffer through in junior high school. Instead, It’s a field of practical knowledge of the simple shapes and lines that our ancestors used to design and lay out their built environment. During the last decade, Jim Tolpin and I have written five books to help bring this ancient trade knowledge back into the light (and into the modern tradesperson’s tool kit).

Tolpin: Three of the books have the word “Eye” in the title. That’s no accident. For most of history, it was a given that an artisan needed to not only master technical skills, but to also train their eye. Traditionally, this eye for design – one of the “art and mysteries” of the trade – were mostly learned at the workbench or job site. The practice of artisan geometry, using little more than a pair of dividers and a straightedge, was in that way passed down from master to apprentice.

Walker: It is our hope that this Artisan Design Series of books will connect you with that body of practical and surprisingly straightforward knowledge.

Tolpin: As you gain experience using this form of applied geometry, you’ll discover a plethora of intuitive ways to resolve tricky layout problems and develop proportions into pleasing harmonies. Best of all, you’ll come to find that you will have trained your eye in a way that will invariably unlock the door to the full flowering of your creative potential.

By Hand & Eye

Tolpin: "By Hand & Eye" is a deep dive into the foundations and practice of design. We explain how our craft tradition mastered non-numerical, non-formulaic geometry and proportions in order to create and build pleasing objects – from a cathedral to a coffin to a salt shaker. 

Walker: We wrote the book in two sections: The first looks at how a traditional design language arose and explains how we can apply this visual vocabulary of geometry and proportions to the design process. The second section of the book walks you through a series of contemporary projects to show how these ideas may be used specifically in practice. 

By Hound & Eye

Tolpin: Some folks learn best by doing and can dispense with the history and theory behind the process. "By Hound & Eye" is for those readers who just want the basics of layout and design in order to jump right into making sawdust. 

Walker: We filled the book with solid information about tackling layout problems as well as developing harmonious proportions (we can never get away from that) through the tools of “artisan” geometry. We also added additional information beyond that presented in "By Hand and Eye" about designing with curves. 

From Truth to Tools

Walker: Humans aren’t the only creatures to use tools. Otters use rocks to break apart clams and feed themselves. Crows manipulate sticks to get at bugs burrowed inside bark. It doesn’t take long to find dozens of other examples throughout the animal kingdom. Humans, however, seems to be the only creatures to realize that tools point to a higher, timeless reality. 

Tolpin: As you’ll see in "From Truths to Tools" all the tools we use at the workbench embody the immutable truths of geometry. That same geometry that enabled our ancestors to design and lay out everything from an oxcart to a pyramid. In this book you’ll discover that the doorway to getting more out of your tools, as well as the path to unlocking your creative potential, is through gaining an understanding of the fundamental nature of the geometric truths embodied and employed within our tools. 

Euclid’s Door

Walker: Go through any historic tool chest and you will find two types of tools: One group of tools required the special skills of a blacksmith or a filemaker to create. These tools, usually with cutting edges, were generally purchased from a specialized toolmaker. A second group of tools, however, were typically made by the artisan. These were the wooden tools used for layout, such as straightedges, parallel gauges and squares. 

Tolpin: A side benefit of their construction process was their inherent offer (indeed the requirement) of a deep dive into artisan geometry for their maker. That may in fact be one of the primary reasons why these tools were expected to be (and mostly were) user-made. You could think of their creation as a sort of rite of baptism into the practical side of geometry. We wrote this book to encourage and help walk you through the process of creating your own life-long set of layout tools. 

Good Eye

Walker: Our latest book in our Artisan Geometry series, "Good Eye," is inspired by the question: Can historic furniture pieces offer design insights for the contemporary furniture builder?

Tolpin: The answer is a resounding yes! Historic work often contains timeless lessons about proportions and space. Lessons that transcend historic fashion or style. In more than a decade of research into the world of “By Hand and Eye” we have come to realize that much of what can be learned about design is hidden away “in plain sight” within the “bones” of  iconic furniture pieces. "Good Eye" explores and exposes these “secrets” embodied within a series of masterworks and then presents them as timeless lessons that can be applied to contemporary work. 

Walker: Lessons learned from a medieval coffer can inspire a design for a modern kitchen island. Patterns found in decorative carvings from the 18th century can inform the design for a whimsical garden bench. Spend a few hours looking through "Good Eye," and you’ll never look at historic furniture in the same way again. (A word of caution: You may not be able to ever again look at certain pieces of “modern” furniture!)