NEW YORK—For Michael Aram, it was always fascinating to understand how things worked; his love for materials and his love for making things naturally led him to become an artist.
“We live in a very manufactured world where everything looks like it’s popped out of a machine,” said Aram.
Growing up in America, handicraft was very foreign for Aram. It wasn’t until he took a trip to India in 1988, to explore the legacy of an ancient civilization, that he really experienced handicrafts in a whole new way.
“My first trip to India was, for me, like walking into an Aladdin’s cave of craft,” he said. “Seeing living crafts was really astonishing.”
He can still recall the moment during his trip that changed his life: A man had a shop no wider than his shoulders, using a cutting die to make soles for shoes.
“He had hand-powered bellows, and he would take the hot steel out, forge it while it was still red hot, put it back into the balance, transfer it back over and over, and over again,” Aram said.
He was really impressed by his level of artisanship and his humility. Aram was immediately drawn to work alongside the craftsman.
