I visit Joanna's blog quite often & she brought up a great question, "what is your opinion on art vs crafty?" Everytime when this topic is brought up, it makes me stop, think & be thankful of what I have learned through the years that have allowed me to grow as an artist. This is the comment I wrote in Joanna's blog:
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 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 humorous, 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 he was an engineer, they said "oh you conduct trains." It's all my husband & I could do to not burst out laughing. Again, it's all about educating the public.
(ok I'm down off my soapbox)
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