[vimeo 14985356] I just this morning came across Anna Lena Schiller's recent blog post, compiling a few short films about sign painters, on three continents. I'm happy to find myself in there, but I'm really thrilled to see this short film about David Smith. I met him a few years ago, at a gilders' meet, at Larry White's, in Fremont, where I bought from him one of the "Smith Tips" he talks about having invented, at about 4 minutes in. Then, at about 11 minutes in, during a segment wherein he's gilding glass, omg, that's just like I do it!, he's talking about, "before this craft dies out, I've got to teach as many people as I can, get 'em interested, just to keep it alive".
I feel a bit like a chump, or a hack, in this guy's company. But I also feel like I can create a space here, where some kid's gonna come along, and find the environment conducive toward blossoming into the next generation's David Smith, or Rick Glawson (who David mentions, and who passed away a week before I'd scheduled a trip to Wilmington to meet him). I can maybe serve as some kind of conduit between greatnesses, yeah?
Also, re: Anna Lena, above, it looks like she's in a line of work producing something like the pretty delightful RSA Animate videos I've been enjoying in recent months. Bear it in mind, if you're in need of any "visual sensemaking".