Description

Introduction:

I happened across Tai Lake and the Hawaii Artists Collaboration by accident, and I am so grateful that I did. In this episode, Tai shares his perspectives on the creative power of collaboration and the ability to bring together masters of the craft to grow their skills and their vocabulary. I found his enthusiasm for collaboration more than a little infectious, and I am grateful that we were able to connect.

Our conversation makes me think about the kind of people we bring into collaborative work and the level of maturity or mastery in an area of expertise that they represent. Tai talks about leaving your ego out and coming together to raise the state of the craft overall. 

I’m sure you will enjoy this conversation with a master furniture builder on the Hawaii Artists Collaboration.

During this episode we discuss:

• Getting to know Tai and his craft
• Collaboration and creativity
• Origins of the Hawaii Artists Collaboration
• Who comes to a Colab?
• Cross-pollinating across Colabs
• The changing scene for artists
• Last thoughts - one thing to know about collaboration

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Tai Lake Woodworking
• Hawaii Artists Collaboration
• Danish architect Eero Saarinen:
  • "Always design a thing by considering it in its next larger context - a chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in an environment, an environment in a city plan" - Eero Saarinen.
• Emma Lake Collaboration
• CollaborationNZ
• Jake James - Blacksmith
• Henry Pomfret – There was no specific link for Henry, but I did find this link to a blacksmithing demonstration at the International Blacksmithing event in 2016.
• Lisa Geertsen - Blacksmith

Now it's your turn:

You should absolutely check out the Hawaii Artists Collaboration webpage and book mark it so you can check back from time to time. At the time I published this, the links to the various studio and artists tours that Tai mentioned had not yet been posted. I am looking forward to seeing the stories behind some of works these Colabs and artists put together. 

Your comments and ratings in Apple Podcasts and other providers is really important, so be sure to subscribe to the podcast. Most importantly, suggest to your friends that they subscribe and share as well. Don’t forget to sign up for other interesting collaboration tidbits at Collaboration Dynamics.