Wendell Castle published "My 10 adopted rules of thumb” in 1996. Initially designed as a guide to creativity, it quickly became popular among problem solvers in all fields. From creative art and design professionals, to educators, counselors, and scientists, his list resonates and inspires.
My 10 adopted rules of thumb:
1. If you are in love with an idea you are no judge of its beauty or value.
2. It is difficult to see the whole picture when you are inside the frame.
3. After learning the tricks of the trade, don't think you know the trade.
4. We hear and apprehend what we already know.
5. The dog that stays on the porch will find no bones.
6. Never state a problem to yourself in the same terms it was brought to you.
7. If it's offbeat or surprising it's probably useful.
8. If you do not expect the unexpected, you will not find it.
9. Don't get too serious.
10. If you hit the bullseye every time the target is too near.
Celebrated American designer/craftsman Wendell Castle has been creating unique pieces of handmade sculpture and furniture for over five decades. Since the outset of his career, Castle has consistently challenged the traditional boundaries of functional design and established himself as the father of the American studio furniture movement.
Castle is renowned for superb craftsmanship, his whimsically organic forms and development of original techniques for shaping solid, stack-laminated wood. His pieces from the 60s and 70s are fast becoming some of the most important examples of 20th century design.
Born and educated in Kansas, Castle moved to Rochester, NY in 1961 and taught at the School for American Craftsmen. He was Artist-in-Residence at RIT and maintained his art studio in Scottsville, NY until his death in 2018.