Questions I am often asked:
Q: What is the difference between an Artist, Artisan and Crafter? What is High Art versus High Craft?
A:
These terms have been used in several different ways over time by many
different people. Art can be seen in useless or purposeless, merely
decorative objects, or in utilitarian, everyday pieces.
Artists:
Artists seem to have a vision that others often cannot see or cannot
explain and are able to translate ethereal things to the more basic
level that most people begin to understand or appreciate.
Artisans:
I recently heard it said simply that a true actor is one who can do
everyone else’s parts. I believe this is true of Artisans. They are
skilled at understanding processes and materials and often take up or
can adapt to other media. I know true Artisans who prepare their own
splints from logs for basketry, spin their own wool, blow their own
glass, or smelt and hammer their own sculpture and jewelry. Formerly I
would have considered these people true Craftsmen, though in the modern
world, that term now has its own connotations created from the
availability of crafting materials and craft stores and craftiness.
Crafters and Craftspeople:
Those who can take prefabricated materials and assemble them into
artistic items. They buy materials from manufacturers and piece them
together.
Q: Why should we buy local when there are cheaper imported goods of seemingly similar quality?
A:
Consider how many people in this country are struggling to make ends
meet through the work of their own hands and resources. For some
things it is practical to use manufactured goods and disposable items,
of course, while for other things handmade items reflect a quality of
life and thought taken into consideration and on the value of material
goods and resources around us.
Some
basic living costs are higher in this country than in others costly in
relative proportion to our economy than that of the same goods in
another economy. The difference comes in using the value systems out
of context to their cultures and socio-economic worlds.
Q: How are prices determined and why do they seem so high?
A: Materials cost, Hours of Labor, Skill of the Artisan.
Materials: Most
Artisans do not skimp on materials, but use the best they can get. They
seek until they find that which fits the process they are working with
for specific desired results, though sometimes accidents do happen with
fortuitous ends. Quality is important for stability, endurance, and
lasting nature as well as for appearance and workability.
Hours of Labor:
Most Artisans do a lot of hand work, rather than machine work. They
also pay meticulous attention to detail to make unique pieces.
Consider the skill which you expect from other skilled laborers and the
training that they go through. Artisans do the same. It is a learned
skill, though some do come by their crafts more easily than others.
Skill of the Artisan:
True Artisans train over the course of many years in their crafts.
Artisans attend workshops on techniques and study under other
artisans. Most products are the culmination of many years of practice
and experience gained from success and failures. There is a
dedication to certain aesthetics. Take time to recognize that you may
get a glimpse into the world of crafts through one or two classes, and
through trials and error you may learn to master them. To many
artisans, the first several years of work should be considered of
little value, only part of the learning process. If asked, many will
say they are still learning and will not acknowledge their mastery as
others see it. In fact many see their whole lives as a process of
growth.
Amy C. Lund Handweaver, Studio & Gallery
3879 Main Road Tiverton, RI 02878 401-816-0000
Regular Hours: Wed-Sun 10-5, weather permitting
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