When we hear Hand Crafted Bricks we think back to the days of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt as well as Roman days “gone by” in what today is known as ancient history.
Although we still have bricks been made by hand today it is not the same as the “ancient” way of doing things!
YESTERDAY:
The first bricks were hand made, using clay and straw and molded either by hand into the shape required or as in later years “some bright spark” had the idea to use four pieces of carved wood that was cut to size and tied together with rope to form a square or rectangle, and in which they would force the clay and straw mixture and leveled off under and above the frame then removed from the structure by untying rope then laid out in the sun.
With this idea or creation, made it possible for the brick makers to create any type of shape of brick they could design out of the wood and rope frame and this made them more sort after as well as much more important and higher paid than the normal brick makers who still used hand made shaped bricks during that period.
TODAY:
Today handmade bricks are not so well known or even used unless you go to third world countries that still live in that way and still haven’t modernized their industry or let alone have any sort or form of industry and they still live in the bush and or forests of these countries.
But in the modern world or should we say the first world countries, Hand Crafted Bricks are still made, though much more rarely and usually only for certain projects and or art.
One of the most famous is the glass bricks made for a support wall but more of a display or even the new in thing “A Lightroom” so that you don’t need a window and is crafted especially for a specific reason as you get ones you can see through and others that you can only see reflections of light through.
It is also perfect when making a glasshouse for growing indoor plants in an environment you can control your self.
So whether we talk ancient trade brick makers or the modern art or greenhouse brick crafted, it is was and always will be an art form that takes skill and know-how.
So next time someone mentions they know the art form of brickmaking you know where and how this came about.
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