Last week we were shown a slideshow encompassing most of the
pieces James Krenov made while working as an instructor at our school, over a
period of 20 years or so.
The cabinets ranged from his traditional display cases
mounted on stands, to some more wild and experimental pieces he made later in
his career. David Welter explained how they were made and some of the thinking
that went into the design and construction process.
But one of the photos was different, just an image of Krenov
reading to the class from a book.
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| Photo courtesy of JamesKrenov.com (photo credit goes to David Welter) |
It was explained to us that the book was “Sun, Sand and
Stars,” the memoir of Antoine de Saint-Exupery, the French pilot and author who
wrote “The Little Prince.”
Each year, David said, Krenov would read a passage where
Saint-Exupery describes how he and the other pilots stationed with him in North
Africa would keep an eye on the lanterns in their tents for signs of an
approaching sand storm.
If new species of insects began to appear around the lamps
at night, they knew they were being driven by a weather system
coming towards the area, and to prepare for a storm.
Krenov used the passage to illustrate how we need to be
aware of our environment, our materials and tools, and to learn to really see
the changes taking place around us in order to become skilled, sensitive
woodworkers.
I liked the story, and as a big fan of “The Little Prince”
it inspired me to find Saint-Exupery’s memoir and read more.
The story also reminded me of the words of advice given to
me by Farley Mowat, a legendary Canadian writer and environmentalist famous for
writing about Canada’s Arctic people.
In the early 2000s I interviewed Farley because he happened
to live in the small town where I worked as a newspaper reporter, and one of
his short stories had been turned into a film called “The Snow Walker.”
It’s a story about a brash young bush pilot who only cares
about himself and his machine, until he crashes in the Barrenlands in the company
of a young Inuit girl, and has to rely on her to survive the harsh environment.
We talked about the movie, the book, Farley’s role, and then
sat down to have a whiskey and cranberry juice along with Ted, the paper’s
photographer.
Farley turned the tables, and asked me what was going on in
my life. I told him it just so happened that I was about to head to Morocco for
a year to volunteer with a Christian organization working in the region.
Farley, in his mid-80s at the time, almost jumped out of his
seat: “You need to learn the lessons of The Snow Walker! You can’t go over
there thinking you can teach people and change them and make their lives better
until you understand them, their environment, and live alongside them!”
It was great advice and sparked a conversation about the
nature of that type of work and the importance of being tuned into the things
around you, the value of paying attention, seeing and feeling and being open
to learn – things I now know James Krenov also valued, though in a slightly
different context.
In the end, I
guess the goal for both Mowat and Krenov was the same. By being tuned into
their surroundings, by always being willing to learn new things and become a
student – they believed that their work, their lives, their interactions,
became better as a result.
The fact that both of them produced incredible work right up
until old age (Farley is still going strong), is one more reason to be inspired
by their way of looking at the world.
At the end of David’s slide show, he said “and I thought you
might like to see the real thing,” and casually brought out a Krenov cabinet –
the first many of us had ever seen. It’s in the photo below…
