Ever since I was quite young I have felt compelled to make things. With no help or encouragement needed I would gather any available supplies and make things. The materials or medium didn't really matter. The process of working with color, paper, cloth, cardboard, clay, or whatever was as fun and exciting as the final creation.
I was lucky to be a child in the late sixties/early seventies when craft was in vogue. Children and adults both were equally engaged in myriad hand-crafted projects be it candle making, macrame, wood burning, crocheted garments, nature art, and even those ubiquitous macaroni collages (you know you made one!) I also was fortunate to grow up in San Francisco where art and craft was everywhere and creativity was valued.
Over the years I have settled on fiber art as my preferred medium. I love the tactile quality of the medium, from silky smooth to rough and scratchy. I love the bright kaleidoscope of a fabric store as well as previously loved history hidden in vintage fabric and clothing.
I am so pleased that today crafters and artisans of all ages are sharing their creations as well as their process through classes, books, magazines, and of course the internet. I feel the same impulse living today as when I was young that making things is for everyone and continues to add value to our lives.
I came across a great article written by Bruce Metcalf and I have excerpted it below. The title is The Hand: at the Heart of Craft
Why bother to make anything by hand today? Does a handmade object have any special meaning once it leaves the maker's hands, or is it just another indifferent hunk of material culture? Is a handmade object equivalent to your typical mass-produced thing?
Because for those who practice it, and for those who need an antidote to the alienation of modern society, handwork can be meaningful. Individuals with a certain kind of bodily intelligence will find handwork to be a rewarding form of both labor and expression, and thus find it meaningful. Until the genetic structure of humans change, this will be true.
Some people use handwork to enter the "flow" state of intense and satisfying concentration, and thus find it meaningful. Handmade objects embody a human presence against a background of anonymity, and sincerity against a background of cynicism and irony. Handwork symbolizes resistance against the culture of bigger, faster, and right away. And the best handwork is, in itself, a type of good. All of this is meaningful. As long as people have hands, some will try to use them carefully, attentively, and with passion. The theater of skill will never become obsolete.
Published in American Craft, August/September 2000, Volume 60, Number 4 © Copyright 2000
To read the full article follow this link:
Close up of my latest handmade art quilt.
