Artist, craftsman, or manufacturer.
As a turner, a lover of the wood and what I’m able to transform it into. I love the craft. All of those things we need to study and most importantly, practice, over and over. From chainsaw skills, to understanding our media, how it moves, why it cracks, to skill in sharpening and handling our tools, especially when discussing our gouges. What a fascinating tool. So simple, but also so complicated and wonderful. The huge variety of cuts and scrapes. Everything from huge roughing cuts to the most delicate of curves achieved with this one tool. Learning our processes is so similar to learning a musical instrument.
The goal, as far a craftsmanship is to gain the proficiency needed such that when I think wood should be removed here or there, or that curve needs to be adjusted, that my hands know mostly what to do, leaving me free to concentrate on the subtleties of this particular cut.
Then there is the whole design thing. Fortunately for me, the artistic design has limits. I mean, it’s a bowl, right? Probably round- probably has a rim of some sort and a foot (or not). We need to connect the top to the bottom in a graceful fashion. Obviously much more complicated in practice.
There is a whole mind, heart, and body thing going on. That’s the great stuff.
I’m sure the CNC can produce a lovely piece, and can make 99 more of them, each one as lovely as the first. But that’s manufacturing, isn’t it?
Granted, an artist (or math wiz) designs the profile. And a skilled operator to input to the machine. But then it’s a manufacturing process.
I believe the comparison was made to a painting vs a print of that painting (or 100 prints, each identical to the original).