I was at the Burlington conference and put some thought into these issues then. It was my first conference and really my first major exposure to the guild. It was a great conference and a great experience for myself and the whole crew.
However, I found that while I really want to care about the Guild, and I really like the idea of the Guild, I found it difficult to find it as relevant as I would have liked. I felt that the Guild gave little reason to believe in it or to inspire passion.
It seems to me that timber framing has submitted to our modern malaise of compartmentalization. Why are we timber framers? Do we exist only to debate arcane bits of historical knowledge, or to build ostentatious mansions for those with more money than sense?
Or did we all get into this because we saw in timber framing a truth and a beauty that might just make the world a better place, if we could just share it.
Timber framing in the past was vital because it was fully integrated into it's surrounding culture. We need to recapture that. We need to make timber framing accessible to the masses again. Timber framing needs to be an integral part of destroying the pervasive ugliness of our culture.
I have so many people come to me with the idea that only the wealthy can afford a timber frame. It's part of the slick, pornographic, consumer image portrayed by venues like "Timber Home Living". I can say that I have built many of my most satisfying projects for people that are pretty low on the totem pole. Houses that are efficient and utilitarian, yet do not sacrifice craftsmanship. I know that there are a lot of framers that are right there with me, taking the knowledge of past and creating a relevant present. This is something that I don't feel that the Guild represents though. Until it does I can't help but think that it is a dead letter.
