“There must be a union between the spirit in wood and the spirit in man. The grain of the wood must relate closely to its function. The abutment of the edge of one board to an adjoining board can mean the success or failure of a piece. () Gradually a form evolves, much as nature produces the tree in the first place. The object created can live forever. The tree lives on in its new form. The object cannot follow a transitory “style”, here for a moment, discarded the next. Its appeal must be universal. Cordial and receptive, it should invite a meeting with man” MenShouldFirstsMeanMomentsFormSpiritNextForeverPiecesTreeStyleDesignObjectsProduceUniversalFunctionUnionsMeetingsEdgesWoodsRelateAppealsEvolveBoardsInvitesGrainFurnitureLive ForeverReceptiveDiscardedTransitoryCraftsmanSuccess Or FailureTree Of LifeArtisansWoodworking Author:George Nakashima
“I perceived that I was on a little round grain of rock and metal, filmed with water and with air, whirling in sunlight and darkness. And on the skin of that little grain all the swarms of men, generation by generation, had lived in labour and blindness, with intermittent joy and intermittent lucidity of spirit. And all their history, with its folk-wanderings, its empires, its philosophies, its proud sciences, its social revolutions, its increasing hunger for community, was but a flicker in one day of the lives of the stars.” MenLittlesPhilosophyJoySpiritSocialStarsWaterCommunityDarknessGenerationsAirRocksRevolutionProudOne DaySkinsRoundsHungerFolksWanderEmpiresLabourMetalsGrainSunlightBlindnessLight And DarknessLight And DarkFlickerSwarmsLuciditySocial RevolutionOlafIntermittent Book:To the End of Time Source: To the End of Time
“Grit is the grain of character. It may generally be described as heroism materialized,--spirit and will thrust into heart, brain, and backbone, so as to form part of the physical substance of the man.” MenHeartMayCharacterFormSpiritBrainHe ManSubstanceGrainHeroismThrustGritBackbone Book:Success and Its Conditions Source: Success and Its Conditions
“Who can ever be alone for a moment in Italy? Every stone has a voice, every grain of dust seems instinct with spirit from the Past, every step recalls some line, some legend of long-neglected lore.” LongMomentsSeemsPastSpiritVoiceLinesStepsStonesInstinctDustLegendsGrainRecallsNeglectedEvery Step Book:At home and abroad Source: At home and abroad