Advice from a Master

Auguste Therrien 1872

Advice from a Master

Measure twice before you make the cut,

then cut once more when the wood objects.

Respect the grain; it knows which way to go,

which is another way of saying you don’t.

Learn every rule the old masters left behind,

then learn which ones were written by cowards.

Keep your tools honed, your hands steady, your eye clear,

and your best chisel somewhere you cannot find it.

Let the medium speak before you speak for it,

wood has opinions, paint has grudges, stone remembers.

A straight line is the spine of good design,

but a crooked road has better stories.

Do not force the material into your idea,

your idea is probably the weakest thing in the room.

Work slowly enough to notice what is happening,

but not so slowly the work mistakes you for furniture.

Never decorate what does not need decoration,

a corpse with gold buttons is still a corpse.

Make every stroke earn its place,

then forgive the one that wandered in drunk.

A craftsman knows when the work is finished,

an artist knows when to stop arguing with it.

Do not confuse difficulty with beauty,

a brick is difficult to swallow and nobody calls it sculpture.

Study the masters until you recognize their fingerprints,

then scrub your hands before touching your own work.

Never chase originality; chase honesty,

originality will follow like a dog that wants your lunch.

Make the work speak clearly,

but leave it one good secret.

A perfect surface may impress the eye,

but a scar can convince the heart.

The apprentice asks when he will become a master,

the master says, when you stop asking me.

And when you finally think you know the craft,

pick up the tools and let the material disagree.

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These hinged couplets prompted by DVerse Poets Pub are reminiscent of my late grandfather, who talked like this all the time.

©2026 Christopher Reilley 

 

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