Is 2010 the Year of the Maker?

Many people who work with textiles (or ceramics, wood, glass, you name it), myself included, struggle with defining themselves. Are we artists, artisans, crafters? The answer often seems to rely on our own inner perception of the seriousness of the work, or on some kind of amateur/professional fault line. But lately I'm hearing more people use the term "maker," an interesting, and possibly very helpful, variation on the theme.

For most of us, choosing a position on the art-craft continuum isn't really necessary until we have to define our work for others, or make decisions about our own long-term direction and whether we want to operate in a gallery/studio system, as entrepreneur craftspeople, or some other model. Then all kinds of issues come up -- are we good enough to call ourselves artists? Is craft too often misinterpreted as that dreaded thing, a hobby? What if we work in many media and don't have the kind of focus that being an artist or artisan implies? Do we have to separate function from beauty, design from provocation? 

Identifying as a maker sidesteps a lot of this, and is liberating in that way, especially if we aspire to make beautiful things, or to make things with a clear aesthetic value, without worrying about whether it's art or craft. It also connects us with others who make things everywhere; it offers a bond between makers of all kinds, and it's refreshingly free of a gender context. And it situates us in an active, present moment -- we can make things now, whereas we often hear, "I'm not really an artist yet."

Best of all, it reflects a long-overdue appreciation for the spirit of making, without a doubt the silver lining to the recession. As much as I complain about all the junk that's out there in the so-called indie craft world, I do recognize that every entry point is a way for people to discover the joy in the process of making. From there, some will move on and others will find a lifetime of satisfaction, and possibly much more, in making.

Back at the ranch, a few links for you:

• Debra Lunn and Michael Mrowka are working with Indonesian dyers and Robert Kaufman fabrics to produce fabrics. The Robert Kaufman site has a nice slideshow here, at the top right of the page, showing some of the batik method. They've also begun to blog about their Indonesia experiences here. It's not always easy being a global textile explorer; their travel route sounds daunting.
• Via the wonderful Deux Frontieres blog and American Gypsy Living, a new discovery, I came across Bokja Design, a Beirut company created by designers Hoda Baroudi and Maria Hibri. Their mission: "To employ the age-old artisanal traditions and sensibilities of the East in the creation of contemporary furniture designs and decorative items." These pieces are sold at ABC Home in the United States, but mostly I'm including them for beauty and inspiration. The designers use vintage embroidered tapestries. If you've never been to ABC Carpet & Home in New York, by the way, you should not miss it if you love textiles. It's an extraordinary place.

 

 

Finally, over at The Textile Blog, John Hopper has been posting excellent profiles of contemporary textile artists, including our friends Deb Lacativa and Cathy Kleeman. His latest profile is an artist new to me, Peggy Brown. Peggy's quilted works are very painterly, my favorite kind of art quilts. Every time I visit John's site I find something amazing and enlightening. 

My lovely friend Betsy gave me some acrylic inks for my birthday last week. I've been eager to try these, and I'll report back.

Comments

[jude]

an interesting tag, a maker. i want to think about that a bit. i think the artist crowd might think of that as crafty. but i am not sure. i too am thinking about labels lately, more about that soon.
as always, fab links.

[glennis]

i make, therefore i am. some days my making is art, some days craft. (other days just crap!) or so i see it.

[glennis]

further thinking along these lines...

sometimes "craft" is an entry point for many to discover where their interest in art or craft may lie. sometimes making serves as an activity that gives esteem or makes one feel good.
making something by your own hand as a gift has value on many levels both for the maker and the one on the receiving end of the gift.

intention has something to do with it as well. and focus. a well crafted artwork is something i admire(i've seen my share of shoddy art and exceptionally artful craft). usually, there is a history of practice that precedes this sort of quality. perhaps even a lifetime of it.

when i was teaching art in the elementary classroom i often heard kids say " i'm not good" at art/drawing/or whatever it was we were going to do. we continually were teaching that this was a practice. that what we wanted to teach them was really a different way of seeing. reminding them that they are spending years in school learning to read & write and improve on those skills. art is really no different. making it accessible to them. that was really our intention. making it a possibility in their life-regardless on how it might become of use to them later on.
personally, i was told so many times in different ways throughout my life that what i was doing (or wanted to do) wasn't feasible- in great part i owe my own small successes more to those that said i couldn't do it than to those who said i could- but that's just (stubborn)me.
basically, i see that people enjoy 'making' on whatever level they choose to do it.

make on!

[Lainie]

A great comment, Glennis - thank you - and Make On is a terrific rallying cry. Embracing the identify of maker feels productive and energetic to me, as I often stew about whether I should be using my time for art or making something more functional. Sometimes, in the stew, I end up doing nothing. If I decide to just go make something, I can bypass some of my own useless ambivalence. I guess thats what I was trying to say. . .

[Phyllis]

I am continually thinking about the labels in art. To say one is an artist seems to create some kind of complex analysis or presumption. I like the idea of "maker", but it would seem to address a category of craft, exclusive of art (fine art). No easy answers here, but creating is for me enough to imply art-making. Period.

I love, absolutely love the furniture. Wow! It is great. ABC is a great store, very inspiring.

I love reading your blog. There are always so many things here to contemplate. You have a gift, and I am happy and feel honored to be able to visit.

[Deidre]

Very interesting post. Does the term "artist" imply certain expectations, and therefore instill a fear of not being able to live up to those expectations? I know for myself, it took me a long time and I had to reach a certain level of confidence in what I was doing before I had the nerve to call myself an artist. And when I finally did, no one laughed (at least in my presence), and nothing really bad or really great happened as a result. Before that, even though I was making all kinds of things, it was only for my own gratification. I wouldn't have given myself a label of any kind, because as you say, it only matters once you have to start defining yourself for others.

As for that age-old conundrum on the difference between art & craft, the book Art & Fear (Bayles & Orland) has one of the best explanations I've seen. They say that the question must be considered not for a single piece in isolation, but within the context of multiple pieces made by the same person. It's craft when a person does the same basic thing over and over, and it's art when there's a conceptual leap from one piece to the next. (Of course there's some relativity involved there too, but I thought this was a useful way of looking at it.)

So under that definition, even painters, who make that most privileged form of art, are not really artists if they are making repetitive work according to some formula that they've decided works for them. It all has to do with intent: are you challenging yourself, or are you just going through the motions, basically doing production work? And to muddy the water even more, what about the whole idea of conceptual art, where the level of craft/artisanship is intentionally low, with the idea taking precedence over the process?

For a lot of people, it doesn't matter in the slightest. They make things because it gives them satisfaction to do it. They don't need to worry about how to label it.

On another note, thanks so much for the links to the adventures of Debra Lunn and Michael Mrowka. I had the privilege of meeting them when I was in Ohio last summer, and it was fascinating to hear about what they were doing in Indonesia. It's great to see these photos of the process.

I'm always inspired by your thoughtful posts and find myself learning so much from the rich wealth of links you provide. Thank you for all your work on this blog!

[Lainie]

Deidre, thank you for a great comment. I like that idea about art and craft, and Im definitely going to have to read that book, pronto. Did you read Joanne Matteras post about being an artist without an adjective? Iwill blog a link to it tonight or tomorrow. Very provocative discussion. I think I agree with her to some extent, with caveats (of course).

Im afraidI will miss your opening tonight at Translations-- let me know how it goes. I have a cold/sinus thing going on that wont let up and is making me extremely tired and grumpy.

[DebraAnn]

Another very thought provoking post. I like the maker. It seems to fit better then myself getting all caught up in whether I am an "artist" or a "crafter" both of which titles have been giving me fits lately.