Hands at Work - Portraits and Profiles of People Who Work with Their Hands [Hardcover]

Iris Graville (Author), Summer Moon Scriver (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 7, 2008

This collection of dramatic black and white portraits by Summer Moon Scriver along with companion profiles by Iris Graville captures the drama and tells the stories of people who work with their hands. The 144-page coffee-table book offers 23 full-length profiles and three themed collages of people passionate about their work. Scriver s photographs and book designer Bob Lanphear s layouts are a powerful combination: many of the 126 black-and-white art images are printed larger than life. Viewed in such deft detail, hands take on sensual elegance; an oboe player s thumb and forefinger steady his instrument; a midwife s hand clasps the palm of a laboring mother. Author Graville also moves in close, allowing individuals to speak with unselfconscious candor. Written in the tradition of Studs Turkel s classic book, Working, Graville and Scriver have created a collection of stories that connect and inspire.

Editorial Reviews

Review

In this age of technology and automated services, the art of working and creating with your hands is often overlooked. Lopezians Iris Graville and Summer Moon Scriver have just released their first book, Hands at Work Portraits and Profiles of People Who Work with Their Hands, a collection of photos and interviews with people whose life s work has been centered around the beauty of using their hands.The 144-page hardcover coffee-table book has been called deep, meaningful and profound by Matthew Fox, author of The Reinvention of Work. It offers 23 full-length profiles and three collages of people passionate about working with their hands. Among the subjects interviewed are a boat builder, potter, chef, reef net fisherman, quilter, physical therapist, and blacksmith, who all explore their deeply fulfilling and satisfying work. These people use the vocabulary of the spirit, says Graville. They are not only willing to labor with their hands, they are nourished by that act. Hands at Work was inspired by a 2004 exhibit of Scriver s black-and-white images of people knitting, kneading dough, digging potatoes, and spinning wool. I was moved by the drama of the intense close-ups of muscled, weathered, gentle hands, says Graville. She approached Scriver about exploring the stories behind the photographs. The book is a result of their four-year collaboration. Book designer Bob Lanphear of Lanphear Design created the layout of Hands at Work. It both showcases Scriver s 126 black and white photos many of which are printed larger than life and weaves in Graville s intimate profiles. Viewed in such detail, hands take on a powerful elegance: an oboe player s thumb and forefinger steady his instrument, a midwife s hand clasps the palm of a laboring mother during a water birth, and a gardener sifts through the dark earth of her land. --The Islands' Weekly

About the Author

Summer Moon Scriver has been a professional portraiture and landscape photographer for 10 years. A self-taught artist, her work has been shown in galleries across the Northwest. She feels that in close-up portraits, the magic of black-and-white photography provides both richness and simplicity. Her images in Hands at Work were taken on a Nikon D200, using digital format. As a nurse, Iris Graville loved listening to the stories of patients in hospital rooms, exam rooms and private homes. Twenty-five years later, she now gives voice to the untold stories of ordinary people: homesteaders in Mexico, hurricane survivors in Nicaragua, senior citizens in the San Juans, and in this book, those who work with their hands. Her interview, essay, and memoir pieces have been published in national and regional journals and magazines. Iris also teaches bookbinding and creates hand-bound blank journals.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Heron Moon Press; first edition (November 7, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0615220185
• ISBN-13: 978-0615220185
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 9.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,634,552 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From Ordinary to Extraordinary, December 25, 2008

By 

Lorna Reese - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hands at Work - Portraits and Profiles of People Who Work with Their Hands (Hardcover)

Iris Graville and Summer Moon's book turns something ordinary - hands -- into something most extraordinary. We all have hands and they enable us to do almost everything in our daily lives. They bend and curl and flex and carry things and caress and button shirts and hold children and lace shoes and make French toast and type emails and brush teeth and straighten beds and pull weeds and drive cars and drink coffee and strum guitars, ad infinitum, and most of us take them for granted. You won't anymore after reading and viewing this gorgeous book.

This book show us just how much we DO live in our hands, no matter if we're conscious of it or not, no matter what our jobs are, no matter how we earn a living, no matter even if we're working or not. Our hands always are! After reading this book, you'll have a new-found respect for people who work with their hands. Indeed, a new-found respect for hands, period! Highly recommended.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deft descriptions and stunning photography; great book, December 25, 2008

By 

Helen Mckay Sanders (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hands at Work - Portraits and Profiles of People Who Work with Their Hands (Hardcover)

This is one of the most heartfelt books I've seen and read in a while. The craftspeople who are interviewed and photographed in this gorgeous book are a refreshing reminder that, in this age of information technology, there are still many people who believe in the intrinsic beauty of following their hearts through the work of their hands. The expression and grace caught by both the visuals of the photography, and the writing, which allows the singularity of each artisan's voice to be heard, offer a resounding positive note to the deep satisfaction of using one's hands to bring joy to one's self and to others, whether through ship-building, delivering babies, or creating culinary masterpieces. Evocative and sensual, this book is a great reminder of the creative power we carry deep within ourselves.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing Hands, Amazing People, December 24, 2008

By 

Marie G. (Washington) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hands at Work - Portraits and Profiles of People Who Work with Their Hands (Hardcover)

I received this book as a gift. After leafing through it, I immediately knew it would be a perfect package for people on my list who would appreciate this gorgeous book wrapped and under their trees. Scriver shows us stunning close-up views of working hands. Graville tells us intriguing stories of the stimulus behind the hands. I am fascinated by the motivations of those who find personal, physical and spiritual satisfaction in their work and then spend years perfecting their abilities. My gift recipients are among the many who work with their hands, even with what some would consider impossible odds. Like me, they will love this book.