This paper explores the French concept of savoir-faire, or know-how, in clinical practice. In other words, it raises the question: how can we begin to define and elaborate the concept of savoir-faire, a composite term of savoir (knowledge) and faire (doing) to describe what happens in our work with patients? Not a dogmatic application of principles nor a set of universal rules or standards, savoir-faire refers to an elusive concept that combines our clinical experience and practice with all of the conscious and unconscious knowledge we carry into our consulting rooms.

This paper employs the signifier ‘artisan,’ a craftsman who is actively engaged in an activity or doing complemented by a skill or knowing, to develop an understanding of savoir-faire in the clinical praxis of the analyst. First, the author compares and contrasts the work of the scientist and the artisan. Secondly, it further develops the metaphor of the analyst as artisan through an illustration of the work of David Smith, an American sculptor.