Book Still Up For Grabs
If you are still interested in getting in on the discussion points I posed in my previous email, the book Speaking In Cloth is still up for grabs. I'll draw a winner next week. I'm going to extend the timeframe. If you are interested in the discussion, please reply to the previous post. This is where I will draw a winner from. As a recap...I posed the following questions..
how do you find your artistic voice? What's your opinion on crafty vs. art?
I got two really great responses from Michelle and Karen.
Karen wrote:
"craft is often very artistic. As an art quilter I want my work to be thought of more as Art and not so much as craft. Yet the craft of it is such an integral part of the whole that one cannot remove that from its being.So in the end I will have to say that craft is just one of the many many forms of art. Art,after all, is subjective to the obsever.
finding my artistic voice.After exploring many different artforms I was drawn back to fiber. fabric specifically. I love the textures,the mixing of different mediums. That this art form flows so swiftly from vague idea to definite form still amazes me sometimes. Though it may take me ages to complete a work I dont tire of it. This is how it feels for me. The work is a part of me. In essence it becomes my voice."
I like what Karen wrote about craft being an intergral part of art. It is a soothing thought that they are interrelated. Many thoughts well said.
Michelle wrote:
"How to find your artistic voice? Be true to yourself, I guess. Don't follow the whims of others. Recognize when the artistic path you are taking is not the path you wish to be on, and make the changes you need to make. Easier said than done!
As far as the art vs. craft dilemma, this has always bugged me. I feel diminished as an artist (even though I shouldn't!) when people comment on how "crafty" I am - as if I'm good with a glue gun! Well, I posed this question on a list a few months ago and this was the explanation that I liked the best. It really makes sense to me!
"If you design a quilt, that is art. If you are a skilled technician
in assembling and stitching a quilt, you are practicing a craft. I
think the distinction is original "creativity". I think craftmanship
connotes hand workmanship, but art is "created" first,in the mind.""
I love what Michelle said as well. I can really relate to the fact that when someone comments this is quite crafty that it isn't what you want to hear. The quote she posed is something I am going to print out and put above my sewing machine. It's well said. "art is "created" first in the mind".
Thanks ladies for the posts it's really interesting to hear about what is
"your artistic voice" and "craft" vs. art.
I hope to hear more thoughts.
posted by Joanna @ 4:31 PM
2 Comments:
I think work has to be original to qualify as art but the craft, to me, is in the execution. Maybe the line between art and craft is in your heart and not in other people's minds.
Art or craft? I think this debate will go on forever. I feel that there is a blurring of the lines with this. I've seen it taught both ways in 2 different colleges.
When I was an undergrad, our design college taught all of the art courses (pottery, fibers, metals, wood, etc) as a craft. There you learned a craft or skill. You learned how to create jewelry or a wooden bench with your hands with the help of tools. This craft taught you techniques which you used to create a work of art.
While in grad school, they taught the "art" side. They didn't care about technique or how you did what you did to get to the finished product, they were more concerned about how you mentally arrived at the piece and I have to tell you, after learning art as a craft as an undergrad, I really struggled through grad school.
I consider myself an artist but I'm also proud to say that I'm a craftsperson and I don't think that puts me down in any way or makes me less of an artist. I have learned a craft that allows me to create art.
When you use the word "crafty" I wince. I think it's all a matter of educating the public. Not that long ago quilts were considered to be used for bedding only.
You might find this funny, I know I did. When my husband & I went back to Iowa to visit family, someone had asked him what he did for a living (he's an engineer at Boeing) When he told them an engineer, they said "oh you drive trains." It's all my husband & I could do to not burst out laughing. Again, it's all about educating the public.
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