More from Mystic

One of the high points of the weekend in Mystic was a meeting in the blacksmith's shop. It was a gathering of (mostly) men who are interested in blacksmithing. I appreciate the interest in bygone ways of doing things and lost arts. It's refreshing to find people that are still interested in crafting things by hand, as these people are, in our increasingly digital world. The physicality and the labor intensiveness of the work seem the exact antithesis of our digital present. At the same time, while so many of us are making out livelihood away from it, our physical being is still tied to that world, we still need, will always need things. Ships still need to be built, and not everything can be done by a machine, at least not yet. So here are two of the head blacksmiths, who host these meetings at the Mystic Seaport Museum, and teach others the craft.

Harlem

I spent some time drawing in the fish market, and this little boy and his mother were two of the highlights. He was excited to be in my drawing because he loved to draw himself. He showed me a number of pictures on his cell phone that he was planning to draw at home. He got so excited, in fact, that he sat down next to me to draw the lobster tank right there.

Chinatown

There's always something exciting happening in Chinatown. From the fish markets to the bakeries, there are a million people bustling around, jostling, shopping, drinking coffee, smoking cigarettes, and more. Here's a view through a bakery window at some egg custards and coconut tarts, yum!