Patterns, Models, And Other Goodies

They are dirty, disorganized, and scattered through both shops. But they are critical aides to memory. They are models and patterns. These humble items are also the traditional way carving and boatbuilding shops retained a physical memory of designs we might repeat. Often, they are marked up with notations on alterations because at any time we might get an order for something similar, and instead of reinventing something from scratch, we find an appropriate pattern and expand, contract, or otherwise modify it. You’ll find them in the shops of the world-famous and the small shops dotting the harbor area.

I have some that date to the earliest days of my carving, and others that are only a few years old. The approach is centuries old, very low-tech, and effective. Touchy-feely, one might say. They still have value today. That file you need got corrupted? Get out the patterns. The drawings got soggy because the helper left them out on the picnic table yesterday? Get the pattern. They are a durable aid to memory.

I learned it first in Baltimore. On need, I assisted in the studio of an ecclesiastical carver. His studio was littered with small and large maquettes ( same thing as my patterns and models. Just a fancy French term.) of the saints he’d carve. Need a Saint Eusebius? It’s on the mezzanine above the main studio. “Go fetch it.”

The people who taught me the use of these things, and many others, were skilled craftspeople who taught in the traditional methods of oral and ” monkey see, monkey do.” In a day and age of podcasts, videos, and books, we cannot forget the value of physical presence in teaching. Being in the moment with a craftsman also leads to many side detours of “Oh, one other thing I forgot to tell you!”

You’ll sometimes find old patterns at barn sales, roadside antique markets and the like. Pick one up and look for the little tell tale notations you might find on them. the record of how they were modified, reconfigured, and reimagined for dozens of different projects.