Craft is not a 4 Letter Word, But Art kind Of Is
Listen here or read and look at the pics below…
We live in a “ Say It Is So” culture right now. The original slogan use to be “Say It Aint So, Joe” is based on the …
But not anymore. In this time, what one says now, declares just from their mouths seems to have more power behind it then…. hard evidence, recorded history, proven physics, diehard experts, or even one’s one eyes with the truth staring them in the face. And this new way of looking at things, or more denying the truth seems to hit all the generations and well political leanings.
I have not posted on my blogs or done a Kelly Lewis Podcast since the elections, because frankly the only thing I can seem to say about it right now is “What the bloby de blob”. I did try and comment a little bit on the Kelly Lewis Tic Tok about the shocking results but frankly was met with such venom…from the left, even after strongly campaigning for Harris, trying to bridge some culture gaps, reaching out to women that lean more conservative, to get such hate comments because I was not willing to declare all men horrible, was so shocking, I decided to take a break, walk away, let things simmer down and absorb, ponder, etc. And return to my first love Art, which always, well usually sooth my soul and heals the mind, and it was the beginning of Christmas and I had a lot of work in Santa’s workshop to be able to release my fabric collage vintage cookie cutter ornaments.
I did get my Christmas offering up on the weekend after Thanksgiving, MFstudioStitch on Etsy if you are curious or you can always go to my Art website Moonfowerstudio.biz to check out my Art and read this post and see the links and pictures if you are listening and links to the podcasts are always up on kellylewispodcast.com.
So once Etsy was satisfied with my listings, I had to get back on social media to promote ‘em. Insert evil sound here, don don don don! This use to be straight forward. Do some stitching, take a pic or video, post the same dang thing on Facebook’s personal page, artist page, instagram stories, instagram reels. But then I thought, having not done much on instagram threads, it’s kinda like the old version of instagram, right? It’s a nicer twitter, right? There are a lot of artist on it. Don’t just post your work, that is rude, post process videos, post thoughts on art and on craft, like other artists and crafters work otherand interact with other posters….. don don don don!
So now I am sitting here saying what the “blanky da blanky” about women attacking women not about the election but about art, or craft or craft being art or art being everything…. or …..I am not really sure anymore.
Now, I have an art degree, I am a professional artist, I have been paid for my work, magazines and NPR has published my work, well known galleries in Colorado have displayed my work. I also am an art educator. I am also a women. So for thirty years I am totally use to been berated about thinking to highly of myself, shunned, told to be less poshy, to subdue my work, to not boast about my work, and I did get kicked out of a church because it came to light I on occasion partake in figure drawing classes of nude people so must have a problem with pornography and should not be alone with children. I was the head of the children’s ministry at the time. Not kidding about any of it, and actually kind of toned it all down.
But I’m sooooo use to that kind of talk now it barely registers. That was not the issue on Instgram Threads a few night ago.
Preface- I was kind of in a mood when I curled up in bed to relax after being the coordinator, the curator, the consierge, the cook and therapist - oh I mean the mom- of a large multi day family Thanksgiving celebration and trying to finish, photo, and list 13 handstitched ornaments before Black Friday. Why…Why do we do this to ourselves?
But I pulled it all off. Spatchcocked a turkey for the first time and it was wonderful and fast- 2 hrs. for a 13 pound turkey. Saturday? Family off hiking, I did my due diligence in interacting in social media, promoting myself but also trying to be supportive of others and interact…. on Threads, like I said. don don don.
A another poster- not going to name names, these are other women trying to explore their world and even if our world don’t jive, they have their right to their opinions, even delivered rather nasty.
Another poster made a comment about an art teacher telling a younger member of their family that craft was not art and then proceeding to express their opinion about the “fine art elitist”. Many others joined in.
Here is were I made my mistake. I identified… that word means something different now… I told them I was an art educator- then mistake number 2- I told them to be nice- then I wrote that art and craft Are different. But that does not mean one has more value than the other. I wrote that Tiffany lamps are highly value and sell for $100,000s of dollars, but are not considered Art but Craft. Where a bad crayon drawing on a piece of paper is Art if portrays an original idea. The defining difference is whether something has never been created before, where Craft is a reproduction of another piece of work or done by a pattern or chart. I wrote over and over again that craft if wonderful, I pay good money for crafted objects I love that are not original work. Craft is a tradition as a country we need to preserve that connect women to our history and should be in museums and given its due credit. And why do we as women need to get in the dusty halls of fine art ruled by mostly men and well, archaic ideas. Cant our crafts be called craft and be respected.
They were not hearing any of it- about three in the gang just started circling and attacking with a lot of heart likes from others for what they said to me. Then mistake number 3 is I brought up Eastern Art and the tradition of craft and reproducing masters works over and over again and that in traditional Eastern Art that is more the norm than encouraging original work. Then I was told I was prejudice, insulting half the glob’s population, that I was narrow minded, that I was a bad person that could not help being blinded by my Euro-centric ideas of art…
Then I made the mistake of trying to lightly touch on a bigger overview of art history and said it was in the Renaissance that credit was given to individual artist instead of just craftsmen doing work for the glory of the church and the crown. Then I got comments that I should probably go into a 12 step program for being a white, sheltered delusional gen Xer who was prejudice to marginalized cultures and had a substandard art degree.
Things got no better when I shared that actually I had taught Ute and Navajo kids in school on the edge of two reservations for 15 years……….
Sorry if you are listening to this but even now I seem to need to pause in shock of how ridiculous we have gotten in this “say it IS so” era. I have taught, lived with, supported, are friends with Ute and Navajo people who are probably the most marginalized culture and these women on line want to tell me I know nothing and am prejudice and need help because I don’t agree with them.
This talk, this horrible nasty “what I say, IS the truth”- is so powerful. I spent yesterday questioning my own reality. Do I know art history? Well, I have a degree in it, does that count? I have never stopped studying, researching, teaching and interacting with marginalized cultures and women history. I did just do two podcasts on the history of women stitching and re read- yes re read 5 books on the history of fabric to do it. I follow the due diligence of research, site my sources, try and find the opposite thought, present things balanced.
And yet , about 4 unnamed commentors, brought me down, for a day.
I do know art history. I do know women’s history. But, I can be wrong, so send back facts and examples to me, nicely. But we are in an age of shaming. Now whether craft is art should, be a benign, non-threatening subject. We know there is a lot of other subjects out there right now that people believe by just declaring it so and then well attacking those who appose their ideas and creating a stir, they will win and create a reality. I say our bones declare the truth about our reality. Truth is what can not be changed by word.
These people think the words out of their mouth or bravely typed on a keyboard in the dark of night is the reality, but that is not true. It never has been. Art is different than Craft. And to start this Defense. Defense with a Capitol D cause I feel like I am defending my dissertation. Actually I would rather be defending this to a room full of scholars right now- lets actually look at the words- Art and Craft. Not the say it Is so version but actually the history of the words.
Art-a visual object or experience consciously created through an expression of skill or imagination. The term art encompasses diverse media such as painting, sculpture, printmaking, drawing, decorative arts, photography, and installation. (britannica.com)
craft- skill and experience, especially in relation to making objects; a job or activity that needs skill and experience, or something produced using skill and experience:
the craft of furniture making/sewing/glassblowing
rural/ancient/traditional crafts
craft workers (= skilled workers) (dictionary.cambridge.org)
Sigh of relief, thanks to Britannica and Cambridge I can confirm I do know what I am talking about.
The important words in those definition that distinguishes the two are actually "create” and “produce”
Create has the idea of coming from nothing, as the idea of a one off. Where produce does not have the idea of one off, but produced again and again and again as in production.
You create a pieces of Art, an original piece of work that did not exist in this universe until you made it. That Art could be a sweater. A designer creates a new sweater…once. Then that sweater can only be reproduced, it can not be created again. The designer creates a pattern…once. that design now exist in the universe and can be produced commercially over and over again or knitters can buy that design and produce that sweater over and over again. But the knitter who buys that pattern can not claim they created that sweater. That would be untrue and frankly grounds for trademark and copyright infringement. They can brag about knitting that sweater, show of their skills as the knitter of that sweater, be hailed for their ability in the crafting of that sweater. Someone, even the designer, could come and praise them and buy that sweater for the value, worth, craftsmanship of that sweater, but their sweater, is a knock off, a reproduction of the original sweater designed and created by someone else who is an artist because they are creating original work. There could be a very bad designer, no one could want to knit their work and what they created could be awful, doesn’t change they are the artist, a bad artist but someone who did attempt to knit their creation is not, they are a crafter.
But we live in the world of “say it is so”. And back to my not so lovely interactions with I hate to call ‘em out, knitters on my late night social media hour more like night. They soooo wanted to be called Artist. So wanted their work to be called art. Even though one of the most not nice one, had a previous post on how she absolute did not understand the effort and pain in the butt-ness designers had to go through to develop a new pattern but still attack me for pointing out art and craft are different. I know I should of walked away or turned my phone off and gone to sleep, but state of mind after well, hosting Thanksgiving, I challenged them.
It has taken me several days to process this, and this morning I had an a-ha moment.
The question is how do I seem to be attacked from both sides, conservative and liberal, Republican and Democrat on being a professional, educated artist. Why did these not nice knitter, they claimed to be liberal, some had art degrees, or claimed- fight tooth and nail to declare there was no lines between art and craft. That whatever they made was art and therefore they were artist. That the art world was so watered down and highly paid artist created such crap and reproduced things so much that everything in the world was art, and it was mean and little of me to say otherwise. Pretty much the fine art world should let them in whatever they made. And denying them the term “art” was elitist and small minded and I was a bad person that had a horrible art degree and needed therapy.
The painful question running in my mind through that night when I did not sleep at all was why were they and other online crafter fighting soooo hard to declare their crafts, the originals created by someone else, art. Why is the word art sooo important to them and to be fair why is it so important to me to not let them have that word.
Well in this new era of AI generated Art or which really isn’t because AI is just looking for common existing likeness to the requested content to stick together. I do think we need to hold more tightly to true human created Art.
But also, too big and to personal for this post, I will say that Art saved my life. As a kid of divorce, abandonment and having dyslexia God gifted me Art and it saved my life and I do mean literally. Like most artist who have devoted our time and life to it, it is a religious experience most do not understand, and are unwilling to commit to the sacrifice you need to grow in the mastery of it. Not hours, or days but years of commitment. But you could and should say the same thing of those who have dedicated their life’s to craft. It is also a sacrifice of time and energy and mastery. Both Art or Craft can be glorious, raise us up towards heaven, evoke pure emotion and thought and both art and craft can be substandard and unworthy. That judgement is not in what they are called.
And here is the real kickers. Art, Craft does not have to be defined with any words. None. To borrow the a phrase from Thomas Jefferson. Art, Craft is self evident. If it is an original , it is self evident because nothing else like it exists. If it is a craft it is self evident because there are others of it out in the world. If it is bad, if it is good, if it is worthy of money, if is worth of the trash bin, it is self evident. You do not need to hype it up.
I survived art school. We had critiques. We would be cut off so fast if we tried to hype up our work. We had to shut our mouths. Getting freelance jobs after art school. I had to lay my portfolio down on the art directors desk and shut my mouth, freeze my face. No words, no expression were allowed. None. The art, the craft the work had to speak for itself. In my opinion, it still does. You make something, you create it or your produce it, lay it out there and let it speak.
And fighting, attacking, shaming others does not make your craft art. It does not make your art good. It just makes you a bully. If you want to elevate your work, then put the work in. The hours of practice. The repetition of the same techniques over and over again. Contrary to those that declared I hated all Asians because I pointing out their meticulous tradition of copying the work of the masters over and over again. Copying the work of masters, practice practice, is how your skill will evolve. That is how it works.
We are in a culture of trying a new craft or medium one time, smacking our results up online and spending most of our time hyping it up, declaring it is good and it is art. You know what dedicated artist and craftsmen have? Boxes and boxes and boxes of redo’s, trying again and again and again to develop a skill. It is a dedication an obsession unlike the not nice commentator who confessed she hated design, if you hate design, don’t understand how a designer can do it, then….you probably aren’t making art. But your reproduction, putting effort and time into them could be wonderful. I an throwing no shade to that. I am a designer- creating patterns and charts for others to craft my work. I love that, cause I think all work is great and helpful.
These new idea that we do not have to put time and effort into anything terrify me and I do take personally, whether I should or not. I could write a paragraph about the worth of my work because I did put decades in, blah, blah blah…. but I am not. I am simple going to say, www.moonflowerstudio.biz for you to see results of my efforts. My self evident art. All created by me, all original work that does not exist anywhere else. But you know what, my section of cross stitch design with links to pdfs, if you are so inclined to reproduce my art work go ahead. And you know what else. If you take one of my cross stitch design, change it up, change color add things to it, give it your own twist, you just might have created a new original piece of artwork. Just please be nice and attribute my contribution to your creation.
That does bring me to the true rub of these knitter arguing they make art. Yeah, someone made art, the designer of the patterns they all admitted they were working on. One even claiming she “rework” Asian pieces when she was arguing with me. Getting off the knitters for a moment. Needle Art is the stitching over an already painted canvas, like a paint by number but instead stitching over a green squares with green yarn. etc. Then many frame them, and taking credit for them. Some women in a village somewhere painting probably a dozen of the exact same Christmas scenes- piece mill, before lunch taking care of her family to get a few cents to put food on the table. Then a middle man collected them and sold them to needlework shops for women to buy and stitch. That system is not per say bad, but stitching her painting, which she got cents for and putting it in a hundred dollar frame and then declaring it is your art, well there is a whole discussion on colonialism and marginalized cultures. there.
I could also dive into why there is so little original art is women’s work today, but not today.
I want to end with the word art and how it is actually way more then a four letter word then the word craft, which I guess does get into why there is so little original art in women’s work today and how this is an issue apparently . I have the emotional bruises to prove it on both sides of liberal or conservative, republican or democrat because as the election proved we are not so progressive in ideas of equality as we, me, thought before this last election.
No conflict, real conflict except apparently on Instagram Threads started because of people making crafts. Art has fueled many conflicts, revolutions or revolts across history and across the globe. No one as been burned at the stake for their craft, but plenty of artist, writers, composers been imprisoned and killed for our original ideas.
Because original thought, ideas and art is threatening and makes one stand out. Characteristic that are not desirable for women or marginalized cultures. Craft is soooo much safer. Reproducing an acceptable safe pattern cause very little waves in the status quo. Steering women, blacks, native tribes towards craft instead of art does not stir up any unwanted idea or notions. Don’t believe this is a thing, read…
We have a great history in this country of women and other marginilzed groups being only allowed to do craft and not art. Why? Why if you trying to conquer a culture would you cabosh free speech, free expression… independant writing and art. Because original ideas in Art and writing, have the power to change, to insight, to challenge. Craft, no matter how glorious is pretty safe. And giving the marginalized something to put their hands to, occupy their time, keep them entertained is very helpful. And we get a lot of trinkets, jewelry, craft fair items and free trade goods for the marketplace.
Some ways Art has brought change or challenged the establishment…
The Aids Quilt Memorial in Washington DC (1985) to bring awareness to the epidemic of Aids and mourn those lost.
I even did my part, as an artist, trying to sway the voters of this country…
creating a new cross stitch design chart of Kamala Harris iconic pant suit and pointy red pumps, with the slogan said by Barrack at the Democratic convention, “Yes, She Can”. “Why she didn’t “ is another post. But I, as an artist, created this subversive art in the purpose of inspiring others to vote a certain way.
subversiveseeking or intended to subvert an established system or institution. (from HERE)
It turned out pretty cute and fits perfectly in a vintage biscuit cutter to sit on a shelf. Free pattern for it on my website. Surely there will be cause soon for Harris or another women to try again to be the first female president in this country. There are other examples of women being subversive or rebellious with their needlework, they are just hard to find. More on that later.
I want to talk about when women’s work is used to subdue us. And contrary to the nasty liberal knitters they were trying to do the same thing to me as what has been done to young girls for hundreds of years. The weapon of choice-School girl samplers. A subject I am going to talk about a lot and break some ladies bubbles. But I can not dive into the history of this needle craft in one post.
More and more today- Antique works of the girl’s samplers sometimes hundred of years old come up on the market and are bought by cross stitch and embroidery designers, who in fact are reproducing the pattern of the samplers that in themselves could be reproduction of other samplers. Charts and magazines with patterns were easily available since the 1700’s.
But these new designers are re release these charts and they are a very very desirable item in the newly discovered cross stitch industry. The design of these samplers are “regional” and have somewhat of a set style including borders, often trees and houses, and either the aphabet or a verse. Often a verse of instruction of piety, purity, obedience to the girl stitching them.
But now there is a whole lot of women who think that because these samplers are the sweetest, cute, wonderfully stitched that must means something about the girl who stitched them. We can draw no conclusion about the girls who stitched these samplers other than she had to give up a whole lot of time doing other things like improving her education to stitch them. And we have dairies that if one read between the lines it come out that maybe these girls would rather be doing something else. Many exerpts in this book…
Where little sweet Lucy contemplates just how many tiny stitches are there in her fathers clothes, since she is the one who will be stitching her husbands.
Now forcing me to spend my time stitching a sampler would not be tortuous. Please lock me up with a sampler and throw the key away. I have one daughter that would gladly stitch it but probably hide naughty words in it to protest or just to be funny. My other daughter? Think of Harry Potter having to sit in Umbridge’s office with the animated cats on plates and as he writes he carves the words in to his own skin…
Video clip on my blogpost. But that is how my older daughter would view my insistence she stitch a sampler guaranteed not of her choosing. But that is what these girls of a certain class had to do. Sit for hours and hours and stitch possibly a warning a reproach of their bad conduct, a reminder how they should conduct themselves as ladies while their brothers were educated possible right next to them. We did not force girls to stitch samplers so they could read, it was a training tool to create ladies who could manage their household or be servants- more on that in my next “History of Women Stitching” series.
Here is an example of a sampler, redesigned by the design studio Hand Across the Sea
It is a beautiful designed sampler and for sure it was not designed by Hannah, her mother or her governess, if Hannah was a young girl. Older matrons, done with childrearing did stitch samplers. Most likely it was created just like today from a pattern or a chart. The link to buy it is right there, on my blog, but for the love of God and everything that is holy, change the verse. Because there in four lines is why craft is Not art and women, trained by their mothers, grandmothers, aunties and schoolmarm, are trained up to not create anything original.
Sweet courtesy and winning smiles. Manners mild and void of art, these are loves engaging wiles. These are those which win the heart. (Hannah Campbell Sampler)
Excuse me, but what the “bloob da blob”!. How do you win a guy. Tell me this has changed. Has this changed? This has not changed! Be sweet, smile, be mild and be, how much can I yell this or make all caps, typing it- be “VOID OF ART” ! Then you might have a chance of some one loving you. In other words be the least you you can be, take up the least room you can take up, and be “void of art”. What does that even mean.
I tried to do some research but there is not a lot online. Like most samplers, Hannah’s stitching sat in obscurity for a very long time before being bought at an auction and for some reason reintroduced. With that poem on it. Ohh, my heart goes out to Hannah Campbell whose mother or grandmother or governess, thought she need to stitch these words. It could be they purchased a pattern and for personal reason put that verse on it. But why would anyone want to stitch such idea now, why did Hands Across the Sea not change the words. It is a beautifu designed sampler. But to think that poem is cute and sweet and ohhhh, weren’t the good ole days fantastic is so, so wrong! I hope someone does buy the chart and stitch it and change it to some wonderful encouraging verse for young girls in honor of poor Hannah Campbell being forced to stitch such a horrid verse. Or put cuss words in it.
“Void of Art” what does that even mean. Well put the two definitions together…
Void- a completely empty space….of
Art-the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.
I spent two years researching, interacting with the cross stitch industry, to create my cross stitch designs. I have spent decades paying attention to the quilt industry doing fabric collage or more techniquely raw edge applique. I have been invited to teach classes and have submitted book proposals. Sadly, I have to say, both are greatly “void of art” and they like it that way. Why- that is another post.
What is expected of women even today and what is instructed to women by women still today is to be “void of art”- For many women it is still desirable to be completely empty of individual thought, expression and creativity. And my nasty knitter who were all recreating established safe patterns while attacking me though calling themselves liberalls were actually defending such a partriachal, archiac idea. You want to make crafts, make crafts and be proud of ‘em. I’ll sing your praises if I like them. You want to make art, then make art. But be prepared, it is not safe, art has never intended to be safe. And for the love of eveything holy, we need to stop asking our daughters to be void of art, void of thought, void of anything and then we might have a chance of electing this country’s first female president.
Now in saying that I am not saying if you are an independent thinker, you prove that by creating art instead of craft and electing candidates with liberal leanings. I’m just saying its good to go “off the rez” on occasion.
That means to be brave and go against the status quo on occasion, like when much of the tribes in America were confined to reservation and going out of those established boundaries was very bold and kind of dangers and before any “knitters” come for me, my Native friends say it all the time and have heard me say it. It is a term everyone knows in the Four Corners region.
“Go off the reservation” anyway you want. Mix it up, your crafts, don’t follow the pattern exactly, make it your own. Decorate your house the way you want, not the way every other women in TJ Max and Hobby Lobby is decorating. Joos up a recipe with different spices, your allowed. Entirely change the colors used in a cross stitch pattern and don’t apologize for it. Quilt something not using a pattern just because you like the look of it. Someone, please, buy Hannah Campbells sampler and change the verse…. and the colors…. or not, because it is your work and I will respect you for it, promise, well, I wont respect you if you don’t at least change the verse. Please, change the verse.
Post script: It’s Saturday. I thought I was done. I was editing this podcast/post this morning then we decided to go to our local “village”, little towns are dotted all over the San Juans in the mountains of Colorado, because this week is all the local Christmas Bazaars. We were going to get our wreaths, go out to a late breakfast and see the festivities. A beautiful day, the artisans and crafters booths over flowed from the local microbrewery opened garage doors and the brick and mortar shops had their goods displayed out on the sidewalk. It should have been a wonderful day, the towns people out in the town square celebrating the start of the holiday season. Except there was a foul in the air, literally.
Apparently, an old boyfriend of one of the artisans who has a pop up shop of antique goods, who had gotten everything ready the night before, had decided to put her in her place, yup, pondering women’s place is the subject of this podcast. Well someone tried to remind this female entrepreneur in this little Southwestern Colorado town exactly where her place was not, by dumping a 5 gallon bucker of rotting fish and feces on the ground all around her pop up’s little trailers the night before her biggest selling opportunity of the year. So while we shopped, it smelled like you were walking in dog doo doo and there was a police officer there taking her statement. This was the second time this man, she knows who it is, had done such a thing, the first he left her a pile of dead mice at the door to her business.
Tell me we do not still encourage women to be “void of art”, to not be independent, creative, do our own thing, be an artist instead of a crafter, make our own pop up shop of antiques or whatever else we want, start a podcast on pondering women’s place in this country, run for president of the Untied States or make our own decision to be a stay at home mom because we want to. Ladies there is still a lot, a lot to be done.
