Craft

I am taking a class called Work In Contemporary Society.  While that could be quite boring, the instructor constantly brings the focus back around to how we as artists relate to work in society and whether our art making "qualifies" as work.  These articles from Etsy and The New Yorker echo the precise feeling I have had the last few classes but not been able to put my finger on.

Etsy columnist Chapell Ellison gets things started in this lovely little article, Is Cuteness Bad for Craft?
which then led me to Alexandra Lange's passionate Craft Wars vs. William Morris.

Both women are questioning if tv shows like "Craft Wars" (which I didn't know existed) cheapen the term "craft" for those of us who make functional crafts for a living or to feed a passion.  William Morris tried, in the 1800's, to reform the early waves of early consumerism from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and bring consumers back to the idea of objects that were both functional and beautiful.  He would rather have one very simple, carefully handmade set of china than three mass-made overly-glitzy sets.  I feel that I fall in between his ideals and the "Make do and Mend" group.  I throughly enjoy purchasing mass made china, but at the thrift store where there is only one of that particular tea cup.  Perhaps that is leaning strongly towards my gypsy-mish-mash tendencies, but I like it that way.
I will purchase things that are new; occasionally indulging my love for things from Anthropologie, or the necessary underthings and shoes.  However I prefer the second hand things, not to satisfy some anti-consumerist notion, but rather because that is how much I want to spend on "new" clothing.  The Ann Taylor dress I paid $10 for?  That is how much it is actually worth in my eyes.  The greatness of your label name is no excuse for poor craftsmanship or cheap sewing.
Granted, I feel lucky when I can find a nice, pre-made dress that fits me everywhere, but therein lies my frustration with consumerist made clothing.  It has nasty labels that make me think I must be fat because I'm not a size zero.  That's beside the point.

The point is, Craftsmanship versus Crafty "Let's make this old thing super cute and non-functional just because I can" is frustrating for those of us who are artists and crafters.  Who love taking simple materials and making beautiful, functional items, and who sell them for a living.

What stance do you subscribe to?  Do you disagree with these articles?

Cheers,
Anna

Lord of the Flies

Not too long ago I made a decision to try and work through all the classical literature you're supposed to read in high school and college, which I never have. It's not that I've been un-exposed to classical literature, just found reading it quite a bore. I've watched a lot of film adaptations of stories; Frankenstein, All Quiet On the Western Front, various Shakespeare and some Dickens. Reading these works is another matter entirely.

On a whim I made my decision and have made it through some of the first chapters of Lord of the Flies. Also on my nightstand is Animal Farm, but I've not had the courage to being that just yet. Oddly enough both of these books are creepy. Simply reading the first few paragraphs of LOTF I was overwhelmed by the underlying sense of something sinister coming to get me. I was afraid of any new things introduced in the book, of the finger-like shadows of palms, of the birdcalls. I believed I was there with the boys, feeling the heat of the jungle island drip off my skin, the temporary relief of the breezes that blew in off the water. Ralph positively terrifies me. He's sinister, and I feel, slowly going crazy. Piggy will die first or be the last to die. I'm not exactly looking forward to delving back into the book but I want to know why they are all there on the island, how they will find food (and kill their food), and if Ralph is going to murder everyone or something equally as strange. So I plod on, suspicious of the crackling of branches beneath my literary feet, and wonder if I'm going to make it till the end.