Examples of An Artist's Craftsmanship at Work
Let's look at a couple of examples of an artist's craftsmanship at work. As we've noted, an artist typically incorporates some form of craftsmanship in his or her work. We might consider the craftsmanship the process of instantiating the creative inspiration that starts the ball rolling in a work of art. Perhaps a bit of a simplification or over-generalization, but let's go with that idea. With that in mind, we turn first to a famous lyricist - one of that great generation (or two) that was responsible for what we now lump under the term "The Great American Songbook." These were composers and lyricists who wrote popular songs and songs for the the musical theater beginning somewhere in the early 1900s, extending through...well, we'd say today, but there are few example of today's musical theater that can hold a candle to those halcyon days (in this author's humble opinion). The lyricist is Oscar Hammerstein. If you're not familiar with the nam...