Jake Weidmann, as you can see above, is reviving the art of penmanship one stroke at a time. But he’s not the only one preserving our heritage and culture by reviving seemingly lost artistic skills and crafting disciplines.

Pole Lathe

Once, if you needed something crafted from wood, and you wanted smooth, clean lines, you turned it on a pole lathe. The pole lathe isn’t like modern industrial lathes; the wood rotates first one way, then the other, as you step on a treadle. It takes much more planning, and in fact requires carpenter’s tools instead of lathe tools, but the results speak for themselves.

Tapestry Weaving

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The tapestry was once central to our understanding of history: The Bayeux Tapestry, in fact, is one of the most accurate and detailed historical records of the Norman conquest of England. But while photography and film have taken over for documenting history, artists are still weaving tapestries to create art and document life.

Blacksmithing

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As hard as it may be to believe, by the mid-20th century, blacksmithing in general had nearly died out as an artform. From a very few swordsmiths in the 20th century, a handful of artists such as Junko Mori are keeping the art of crafting in iron alive,, and creating gorgeous works of art, as well.

Woodprinting

There is no art form more distinctive and more arresting than the Japanese woodprint, ukiyo-e. It influenced everything from Japanese culture to modern design. But it was also a difficult artform to learn, and printing presses made creating prints much easier and cheaper. New prints became almost impossible to find… until artists revived it in the 21st century to create prints of video game heroes.