Episode 039: Kiko Denzer

Cut the Craft

Episode Recorded October 18, 2021.

Kiko Denzer deftly mixes clay, food, and carving together with a dash of philosophy to bake in the fires of this next conversation. It’s a departure from our typical format, but Kiko has a welcomed perspective of craft and lifeways that doesn’t often show up in the craft world. He has spent most of his life teaching others how to build earth ovens, creating sustainable buildings and publishing books. Throughout the show we visit the role of craft in everyday life, the value of investing in one's local community, and most importantly, how we’re all just walking bellies.

To find more of Kiko’s work visit his website: https://www.handprintpress.com/ and on Instagram @kikodenzer and @earth.oven

Cræftspeople Kiko admires:

Martin Prechtel (floweringmountain.com, many titles, first one is Secrets of the Talking Jaguar -- all his stories bridge the many gaps between indigenous origins and modern dilemmas. A good starting place is this interview: Saving The Indigenous Soul)

Betty Seaman ( unintentional community, gardens, natural building, wonderful craft & art work of many kinds, including martial arts (she built a dojo for her spouse @muhudojo)

Nate Johnson (crafts)

Robin Wood, Wood Tools (craft business/community in Sheffield, UK, ala Bernard Leach)

Russell Sparks and Redbird (skills, hunting, community, events -- co-coordinators of The Buckeye Gathering)

Tamara Wilder (paleotechnics)

Stephen Edholm (skill cult)

Tending the Wild by Kat Anderson

Deanne Bednar (natural building)

Emily Reynolds (studying/practicing plastering in Japan)

Kyle Holzhueter (plasters/permaculture)

Angela Francis (natural building)

Esther Gokhale, posture and craft, "primitive posture," addressing physical demands of craft

Ananda Coomaraswamy, esp. Christian and Oriental Philosophy of Art

The Hand-Sculpted House, by Ianto Evans, Michael Smith, and Linda Smiley

Morihei Ueshiba, founder of Aikido

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