We visited Wisconsin Dells every summer when I was a kid. Few things stand out quite as clearly as the souvenir stores and chocolatier shops. I loved watching the apron clad women making fudge on the massive round table. One woman would slowly pour the liquefied chocolate onto the round marble slap while others used spatulas to form the rapidly cooling mass. This was in an old time candy shop with large open air windows and tourists piling in gawking curiously at the spectacle unfolding. Whenever the heated bowl was ready to dump another sweet mix of sugar, cream and chocolate, the onlookers swarmed the boutique shop like pigeons to seed. The thrill of another sugar high drew many as the best fudge is always the freshest cut, at least it seemed. The joy of watching a sticky mass take shape in the hands of a skilled craftsman was also part of the fun.
I don’t think I
realized it as a kid but I enjoy watching skilled people work. The attraction
of the fudge making is in the repetitive folding, scraping and slicing the
gooey mass until it resembles a giant candy bar. Fudge making does not qualify
as an officially craft worthy skill with special schools and degrees. But it
does take some dedication and technique that can only be learned by spending a
season toiling over a heated cauldron and learning when the soupy mess is
perfect for pouring.
I like to watch skilled craftsman in their craft, whether candy makers or painters.
Bob
Ross (PBS pretty little tree guy) owes his success to rather simple broadcasts where
he transforms blank canvases into nature art quicker than most 1st graders
do paint by number. The art is a little kitschy but watching him work is hypnotizing.
Precision demands skill. Skill takes time. The pleasure of
watching a skilled craftsman perform a task is tied to an inherent
understanding of the effort required to become great. Most people probably don’t
realize it but admiration of a dancer or painter, athlete or glass blower is an
acknowledgment of the hard work undertaken by the artist/performer.
Appreciation
of skill is appreciation of the effort, the time. Some talent is inherent but
skill is the rounded edges that only hard work can smooth out.
Life is richer when you appreciate the work behind the skill.
Remember what stands behind the great shooting of Steph Curry or the technical brilliance
of Neal Peart. You’ll never watch a basketball game or listen to a musical performance
the same again. Appreciation is the sweet tooth of life.
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