Popular Woodworking 2009-11 № 179, страница 57

-■ Out of the Woodwork ■-

BY DAKRELL PEART

RegulaeStultisSunt

Rules are for fools.

M y junior high math tcachcr. Mr. Gayda. was lond of saying. "Rules arc for fools."

Although this little maxim sounds like a rallying cry for anarchists, Mr Gayda was a man of many rules and by no means a memberofsome radical organization 1 took his meaning to be morealongtbc lines ol: "Society has many rules and they are there for a good reason - but it's foolish to follow them blindly.'

There arc rules for every aspect oflife. Art and furniture design are no different in that respect. Back in the days ofT-squares. 1 had many of the rules prominently displayed on my drawing board My designs were infused with Fibonacci numbers, gplden rectangles were abundant. I thought I was doingeverything right and I admit I had a few "acceptable" designs, but nothing that had any real fire in its soul. I had the rules in an iron grip, but they were not taking me where 1 ultimately wanted logo.

In the year following 9/11 my orders dropped off (as roost everyone s did). There came a poini when I ran completely dry of work. Previous to this my comfort level was about a six-month backlog. I was now in panic mode. Ifncxhingcame in soon, I might have to get a real job! 1 had spent years getting to where 1 was, and I was not prepared to let it slip away without a serious fight.

At this point, 3n old Star Trek episode came to mind. Spock is in a dire situation and facing certain death. He has done all the possible logical things to save himself

Facedwiiha^eeminglyimpossibicdilcmma. Spock concludes that the only logical thing to do is the illogical. Me must rcty upon his intuition;which he docs, ihussavinghimsclf with only nano-seconds lo spare.

So given the Tact that desperation was setting in. the Spockepisode was on acon-l inuous loop, and Mr. Gayda's maxim was

still making the mental rounds, 1 decided on a course of action.

I had a file cabinet stuffed full of never-built designs-all lacking fire. It was time to re-visit these designs and this time forget the rules. I would rely on intuition, my only constraint being the function of the piece. I spent several weeks reworking the designs.! posted the rcsultson my website. To encourage commissions, 1 offered a discount on the first commission fee each of the designs (just a note here -1 no longeroffer the discounts). I was overwhelmed by the response Not only had 1 clicked into the right groove artist icaily, but 1 was backingup orders in a decidedly down market! And for the first time, Icould feel real fire in my work. An act of desperation had rejuvenated my portfolio 3nd in so doing had rc-iaunchcd my woodworking career in the right direction.

I still believe that rules ofdesign arc valid 1 refer to them when giving design advice, but they no longer rule me. After many yean-., the rules have been fused into my consciousness. They have become a part of what I ^ufcef

when 1 am designing. There is only one rule in creative endeavors that isetcrnah "No rule is so sacred that it cannot be broken."

Inspiration and intuition are the major players in artistic pursuits. Without them art is lifelcssand sterile. The rules play a part but must be subordinate to intuition Louis Sullivan, the father of the sky-scraper and mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright, wrote: "'Formulas are danger ous things. They are apt to prove the undoing of a genuine art, however helpful they maybe in the beginning to the individual. The formula of an art remains and becomes more and more rigid with time, while the spirit of that art escapcsand vanishes forever. It cannot live in text-books, in formulas or in definitions."

"Regulae StuhisSunt." or "Rules arc for Fools," is a gross simplification of my views 3nd on 3 literal level it is a bit too black 3nd white for me But it serves as 3 syrnboland re presents much mere than those few simple words can convey.

I have recently pui the finishing touches on a new shop building. As you enter, there arc brass letters embedded in the concrete floor that read: "Regulae Stultis Sunt." So now, the maxim is firmly embedded in my mind and under my feet, where it serves as a stepping off point every time 1 enter the shop to start on a new project. PW

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