Britain gallery: By Hammer and Hand

A hammer's good for many things, notably repairing broken-down Land Rovers, but not, as

far as I'm aware, a principle ingredient in art (other than in sculpture, but then it's the chisel

that does the crafting, not the hammer itself). So I think this inscription, 'By Hammer and

Hand All Arts do Stand' over the door of a large shed in Shaftesbury, Dorset, uses the word

'hammer' in a generic sense - that there always has to be a tool to transform the artist's

intentions into the artwork. Other than storytelling, which is hardly an art-form, I can't think

of a single art or craft that doesn't require some form of tool (but not usually a hammer!) to

carry the message to its recipients. So it's a bit of a mystery, this inscription. Was the shed

a sculptor's workshop - who knows? Maybe I'll find out one day.

A hammer's good for many things, notably repairing broken-down Land Rovers, but not, as

far as I'm aware, a principle ingredient in art (other than in sculpture, but then it's the chisel

that does the crafting, not the hammer itself). So I think this inscription, 'By Hammer and

Hand All Arts do Stand' over the door of a large shed in Shaftesbury, Dorset, uses the word

'hammer' in a generic sense - that there always has to be a tool to transform the artist's

intentions into the artwork. Other than storytelling, which is hardly an art-form, I can't think of

a single art or craft that doesn't require some form of tool (but not usually a hammer!) to

carry the message to its recipients. So it's a bit of a mystery, this inscription. Was the shed a

sculptor's workshop - who knows? Maybe I'll find out one day.

By hammer and hand...