emiko-o reware

Well that’s it on my end blogging for the American Craft Council 2009 Conference, Creating A New Craft Council. Much thanks to SNAG for trusting Harriete Estel Berman and I in reporting via blog fashion for the SNAG membership and community at large. Also thanks to Object Fetish for promoting our endeavors.

TIP: Listen to interview with SNAG’s Executive Director, Dana Singer on blogtalkradio.com TODAY, Thursday Oct 22 @ 3pm.

Quote by Faythe Levine

This was an energized crowd that has a lot more to talk about now! I urge all attendees to bring these conversations home to your own communities, physical and virtual,  and continue the dialogue about Craft in the 21st century. Ask the hard questions, practice Tough Love.

What do you want to see happen in Craft’s near future?
What actions can we start to take to affect change?

PSST…Want to get in on the conference buzz? Wait no longer and sign up for SNAG’s 2010 Conference, Going to Extremes, March 10-13 in Houston TX.

Creating A New Craft Culture SAT 4:30 PM
Conference Conclusion: Craft as Subject, Verb, and Object
Panel discussion: moderator Sonya Clark (chair, Virginia Commonwealth University); panelists (in order of appearance, below): Stephano Catalani (curator, Bellevue Art Museum), Jean McLaughlin (director, Penland School of Crafts), Lacy Jane Roberts (fiber artist {amazing knit pink barbed wire}, writer), Andy Brayman (founder, Matter Factory), Garth Johnson (teacher, blogger, Extreme Craft, artist), Brent Skidmore (director, UNC Asheville Craft Campus Initiative, artist)

Conclusion Panel

This presentation was an unexpected highlight and perfect end to the weekend’s events, surprising in that it turned out to be a panel discussion (instead of just Sonya Clark) on how the conference went overall and people’s wish for the advancement of craft.

Sonya Clark

Earlier in the conference, Sonya handed out green Survey forms to all attendees, a yes/no questionaire of 35 questions aimed at understanding the current Direction and Definition of Craft. She collected the surveys (over half the attendees completed surveys) at the end of Friday’s sessions, tabulated the percentages, and in this panel presented us with the results, finding the questions with nearly tied yes/no answers to be the more telling.

Here are the questions voted Most Important by the attendees:
-Is the interface between craft, design, and art moving in a positive direction? Yes: 89%   No: 11%
-Should craft become the example of critical-making (parallel to critical-thinking) in our culture? Yes: 84%   No: 16%
-Do you value craft that embraces its history and then challenges it?
Yes: 72%  No: 18%
-Does craft need to expand its definition to be more inclusive?
Yes: 58%  No: 42%

Here are the questions where there was “slippage” and would be worth investigating further:
-Is the ubiquity of the craft media in the world a hindrance to its market value? Yes: 41%  No: 59%
-Has the academic craft community abandoned the traditionally educated craft community Yes: 50%  No: 50%
-Do you value the contributions of traditionally or non-academically trained artists in the field? Yes: 50%  No: 50%
-Do you see the  preservation of craft traditions as a forward-looking strategy? Yes: 45%  No: 55%
-Do you describe something as “craft” depending on the narrative of the object? Yes: 52%  No: 48%
-Does craft mean too many things to be useful? Yes: 46%  No: 54%

THE PANEL’S VIEWS
Sonya did well in choosing panel members who represented craft across many realms from museums, academia, writers, DIY and traditional crafters. She asked the panel to answer a couple of questions based on how they felt about craft now at the conference’s conclusion. Here is what they said (panelists’ remarks are labeled by their initials):

What are 2 wishes that each of you have for the Future of Craft?

SC: 1. Have more discussions..without feeling Passive/Aggressive. 2. Be more grounded in the Present, not so focused on the Future.

JM: 1. How do we have debate as a group.
2. …desire for more time for reflection, for making with wonder

LJR: Expand craft into the Humanities in schools…have it inform your making.

AB: 1. To allow & celebrate the Diversity in the field.
2. Pair Sustainability with Material Science.

GJ: 1. More engagement with Design (as seen in Europe currently).
2. Hope that craft doesn’t get defined more strictly.

BS: 1. Never entertaining the thought of craft being dead.
2. An active and engaged ACC.

What question do we need to address for the future?

SC: Keep working on this idea of Community & how it expresses the time in which we are living.

JM: More research & understanding the pulse of the artists, and what’s going to happen to artists’ estates.

LJR: How is what you’re making engaging others and how is it living these multiple lives?

AB: Reflect on how we’re spending our time and what’s really important.

GJ: Inclusivity with DIY

BS: Will future ACC conferences become a group of regional conferences? How do we build a Bridge to the Next Generation?

Creating a New Craft Culture SAT 3 PM
The Case for Conservatism with Garth Clark

I apologize for skipping over some of the weekend’s presenters; you can catch more on Natalie Chanin, Robin Petravic, Julie Lasky, and Lydia Matthews on Harriete’s blog. I may do a sound-bites post at the very end of my ACC conference reporting to include some of these folks.

Garth Clark

But time is of the essence and I’m sure you’re all chomping at the bit to hear the dirt on Garth Clark‘s presentation, the title of which is elusive and a bit dull. He admitted to being a bit confused as to why he chose “The Case for Conservatism” title 9 months ago.

If you’ve done your homework in listening to (or attended) Garth’s previous controversial talk at the Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland, OR, “How Envy Killed the Crafts Movement” (hear the podcast on MCC‘s site in 2 parts, or order the transcription online through MCC), then you will have already heard the paper he read to us, “Palace and Cottage”. In the paper he urges craft makers to return to a cottage industry/grass roots model, to rebuild it from the bottom up and address social issues. He called out the classism and elitism that has been brewing between ACC and the “Craft Nation” as he refers to it. And calls out ACC on the conference’s theme, bemoaning, “Why are we looking for a NEW craft culture?” that it’s “ludicrous to be looking for something over the hill” or to “create a new Bubble” in today’s ecomony. No holds barred on accusing ACC of floundering purposeless and missionless for the last decade. I’ll admit that up until now I didn’t consider ACC anything more than a magazine, an archive, and craft shows; but there are glimmers now that it can have a new life and purpose if the desire and drive are there.

ON BURNING MAN

Burning Man

Garth cracked me up when he opened his talk about his trip to Burning Man and how he lost 10 lbs. of discarded cynicism towards craft. How incredible it was be there and experience the endless amount of amazing craft being made without [financial] agenda, from fire-breathing dragon cars to structures made from repurposed materials  (my favs have always been the Temples made from wooden puzzle refuse, see below). “I believe in a Craft Nation“, he said, but admitted that an idealized, anti-money, communal lifestyle is of course not realistic in a market-driven, capitalistic economy. He did relate BM to the DIY culture (naturally there are many cross-over groups in this comparison) in how both “take us back to the rituals of daily life; a life experience…we’ve turned craft into a gallery experience (he admits to playing a role in that during the 80s bubble).” Best to “keep the boundaries open and not be hostile“, for the DIY movement is “transient, a youth expression and certainly not a threat to the craft community at large“. Yes, maybe if we say this enough times, it will finally sink in….

Temple of Joy (photo: Maurice Fitzpatrick

THE SOLUTION
What is the next step, what can we do to Save Craft? Garth suggests Art Advocacy at the Federal level, and sooner rather than later before the federal monies are bled dry. Yes, lobbying is messy, expensive, and takes lots of organization and commitment, but we have to ask ourselves the greater question of “Can we afford to [continue to] go unrepresented [in government]?” Not only getting funding for organizations and communities, but for more protective legal rights, tax issues and ways to make running a craft studio a more viable lifestyle.

An effective advocacy model to study is what Western North Carolina and the Center for Craft, Creativity, & Design did to help save craft in that region and give craft a voice in state government. The power of the collective does work. A leader at CCCD suggest we “challenge others to step out of their studios and get involved in community.”

The great thing about Garth’s talks is that they get people riled up about something enough to continue the discussion in the outside world.  I’m a big believer in Tough Love; criticism may be painful while it’s happening, but if it’s coming from a place of genuine concern it is often just what the doctor ordered: a catalyst for change.

Creating a New Craft Culture SAT 9:45 AM
Round Table Discussion: “Riding the Long Tail”: Marketing Craft on the Internet
Namita Gupta Wiggers, moderator; Maria Thomas, Lisa Bayne, Amy Shaw, panelists

The moment was ripe for this discussion–Namita Gupta Wiggers (Museum of Contemporary Craft, Portland, OR) had brought together the CEO of Etsy–Maria Thomas, CEO of Artful.home (owned by Guild.com)–Lisa Bayne, and owner of the former Greenjeans store and webstore–Amy Shaw. Now we could get to down to the nitty gritty and hear from figureheads of 2 factions of craft. Unfortunately since Amy’s business was defunct, the questions and interest was more or less focused on the 2 CEOs. Honestly, it was a shame that this panel wasn’t given more time. None of the panels had been slotted enough time; one hour doesn’t cut it when there are 3+ voices to be heard plus audience interaction.

What the heck is a “Long Tail”, you ask? It really is a business term, referring to the curve of goods sold in a company. In the big retailers, 80% of their sales are from only 20% of goods in the store, which represents the high end of the curve. The goods that sell in lower quantities, at the low end of the curve is referred to as the “long tail”. Brick and mortar stores don’t have enough room to stock all of the long tail products, unlike websites. Research has shown that for online stores, the the total sales of these long tail products far exceeds the sales from the traditional top 20% of the curve. And what products are at this long tail end: Craft.

Maria Thomas

A few months ago I had attended an Esty Meet-up in SF, where Maria and heads of her staff invited local Etsy sellers to gather for a Q&A session. The turnout was impressive and the crowd was eager and hungry for the inside scoop. It felt like a family reunion of sorts. I was super impressed by the level of transparency in the company and especially how attentive Maria was to each question and person.

Here there wasn’t time for a proper Q&A, and now I see just how crucial it is for these craft factions to understand each other better and be properly introduced under neutral circumstances. (INSIDER TIP: the Metal Arts Guild San Francisco will be holding a one-day symposium in fall 2011 on the theme “Community”, and this may just be the springboard for such a meeting of the minds, especially since I’m in on the planning.)

I didn’t learn anything new and ground-breaking with what turned out to be a general explanation of how each company runs, but this is a hot topic right now, and it will be interesting to see how selling craft on the web evolves over the next few years.

Below are quotes by the panelists that sum up the hour:
Maria: “Esty never set out to be an expert filter [on the issue of Quality] but to help people make a living…connecting makers and buyers.”
Lisa: “DIY has been a lightening rod in the media. It’s not the only thing in craft happening today.”
Amy echoes Rob’s advice: “We all need to work together, collectively as we’re all working towards the same goals.”

Word loudly heard from the audience:”AMEN.”

Creating a New Craft Culture SAT 8:45 AM
Morning Keynote: Handmade 2.0 with Rob Walker

Rob Walker brooch by Harriete Berman

Another major reason why I plunked down serious $$$ to come to this conference: to meet Rob Walker, author of Buying In: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are (2008), and a contributing writer and columnist of Consumed for The New York Times Magazine. I had imagined him to be a hearty, super forthcoming older New York type man, but boy was I way off course. A wiry, quiet guy, much more Portland Oregon. He and Harriete Estel Berman have been in discourse (he interviewed her for his murketing.com blog–check the post; she also made his nametag in the image above), so we had the pleasure of sitting with him in the back of the room for the Friday morning presentations.

Harriete Berman & Rob Walker

His lecture was introduced as being about How Craft fit into this New Marketplace and the Broader Consumer Culture. His first remark was “I’m not sure there is a SINGLE craft culture, but craft CULTURES…the broad idea of craft is up for grabs, which is not a bad thing, it’s a good thing.” He went on to talk about his interest in the tensions of the marketplace and contradictions in consumers, like how people want to feel unique yet be a part of something bigger, and that the consumer demands the very best when they really demand the cheapest. What it really boils down to is “Am I getting my money’s worth?”

Again the issue of Quality, except in this economy quality has been trumped by Thrift and Frugality, as stated by the trend industry. Rob is quite the comedian and the mediator, as he knew from the Friday talks that we can be a touchy crowd, he often put up the slide of his super cute dog since “dogs put people in better moods” (strangely enough, this move was done by a few other presenters later on). Really though, speaking to his mediator role, his talk was perfect to start us all on the right foot for the day, as he presented a solution: it’s “good to avoid hard and fast definitions of craft, because otherwise it moves toward Exclusivity. Thus it’s a Good Time to be INCLUSIVE.” Insert ripple of applause.

ON NEW WAVE 2.0
I like this term for Indie Craft, New Wave 2.0 (reminds me of my favorite rock bands)–Rob brought to light a great observation of how supportive the indie community is towards each other, breaking the tension of Urge to Compete and Urge to Cooperate. This is something that has always struck me as well, the general open arms welcome of the makers I meet at MakerFaire and Renegade Craft Fair. But I don’t see that much of a difference in the metals community in the terms of inclusivity and sharing of information. I have remarked to students and emerging artists of how lucky we are to be a part of a creative community that helps each other for greater good of the field. It’s not cut-throat like advertising or high fashion.

THE IDEA OF STORY
Turns out that while Friday’s theme was Quality, Saturday’s theme is Story. Story is what differentiates mass produced products from craft. People value the story of the maker, the process, the concept of a piece and that’s why they shell out a little extra dough and energy to own craft. However, Rob gives it a new spin by saying, “the mistake people [i.e. makers] make is thinking the most important story is their own story but it isn’t…best when your story is relevant to others’ lives“, the story of the person you’re selling to. True, as artists we get a little tunneled visioned in our making and thinking it’s all about us, but I’ve found that my most successful pieces, whether it’s production work or exhibition pieces are the ones in which springboarded peoples’ personal experiences and nostaglia. And it’s this engaged feedback from people that motivates me to continue to make with this idea of story in mind.

Rob urges us to consider accepting multiple versions of Craft, and in doing so, become a bigger voice in the marketplace. To strive to understand each other and find common ground, and not expect the public to accept a “proper” definition of craft. Insert loud applause.

See Rob’s follow-up post here.
See what Harriete had to say here.

Creating a New Craft Culture Fri 4:30 PM
Faythe Levine and A Handmade Nation

Handmade Nation

Faythe Levine

Ever since Faythe Levine‘s movie, A Handmade Nation, came out this spring, I’ve been looking forward to seeing it but 3 times just missed the screenings. The YouTube trailer is embedded below. So I was definitely happy to attend her presentation on the film and finally have a figurehead of DIYers getting some facetime at the conference.

Having both my feet planted firmly in both the museum craft world and indie craft world, I personally am bewildered by the divisions and passive/aggressive hostilities that have bubbled up this weekend. Where has it come from and what is the big deal anyway–are we kindergardeners that can’t play nice with others? Why does Craft have to be just one thing? Talking about it with other attendees, many people are just as bewildered; so it seems like a vocal few are making things unpleasant for our indie sisters. But you know what? Upheaval and passions can be the driving force of change, and well, change is long overdue.

craftifesto

During the Q&A someone asked if the term DIY is just used as a marketing ploy, why not call it craft instead. A response to that was “I see the DIY term as an adjective or verb, not as an identifying label; it’s a lifestyle choice.” Faythe added, “I believe the simple act of making something, anything, with your hands is a quiet political ripple in a world dominated by mass production…and people choosing to make something themselves will turn those small ripples into giant waves.” She summed up by saying, “whether or not you like it [DIY], it’s there.” I’m digging the above Craftifesto that Faythe put up during her presentation (taken from the DIY Trunk Show in Chicago).

One of my favorite comments was by Kathryn Pannepacker (image below), who had set up an interactive textile installation in the lobby. She prefers the term D.I.T.–Do It Together, or D.I.A.–Do It Anyway. YES–D.I.T. all the way!

Arturo Sandoval & Kathyrn Pannepecker

Share with me YOUR THOUGHTS on this topic, I’d love to hear from you!

Creating a New Craft Culture FRI 2 PM

Mixed Taste: Tag Team Lectures with Adam Lerner
“Meat Fabrication and Prairie School Architecture”
Sounds pretty weird and not at all related, right? When I read the program description for this one, I was considering skipping it (being a vegetarian and all), but it turned out to be one of my favorite programs of the day–especially the meat part (no, I do not suddenly crave roast beef). Thinking of craft outside the box, finding a crossroads between academia and traditional/historical craft (prairie school architecture) with everyday life (slow food and community) is what this panel was about in a nutshell. I can tell you’re still not convinced.

Mixed Taste flyer

Adam Lerner

I’ll back up a bit. Adam Lerner (photo, left), director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver and chief animator in the department of structures and fictions, had been organizing Mixed Taste events for many years through the Laboratory of Art and Ideas at Belmar, a place where he was the director and founder. The way Mixed Taste works, is that 2 (or more) experts in  non-related fields are paired, each speaks about their topic, followed by a Q&A session from the audience during which both experts answer each question asked. The goal being to make the public more comfortable and unafraid of topics/things that are unknown to them. The flyer image above was from a previous session in Colorado and I couldn’t resist posting something that had the Kittens Kittens Kittens listed as a art lecture.

Robie House, Frank Lloyd Wright

So for our session he paired a owner of a local butcher store, Kristin Tombers of Clancy’s Meat & Fish, with Jennifer Komar Olivarez, Associate Curator of the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Jennifer gave us an overview of Prairie School Architecture–the concept of Unified Design that would resonate with Americans at the turn of the 20th century. Ground-breaking architects such as Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, William Gray Purcell; their organic approach and social responsibility in architecture.

pigs for clancey's meats

Kristin showed us what it was like to run a locally sourced meat store and the relationships she had with her farmers and customers. Her passion for her business born out of a strong belief that we need to change the food system and be more educated about our food and where it comes from. Looking at the beauty in the raw materials straight from the farmers and the craft of cutting meat. She admitted to calling some of the meat cuts “cute” and they kind of were.

cute meat

Watching the Q&A unfold was quite enjoyable; both parties were extremely thoughtful in answering the questions, attentive listeners, drawing parallels between each other’s topics while weaving in some of the recurrent themes from the conference. A lot of this weekend’s speakers did this as well, albeit most of the audience questions during other lectures were poorly phrased or weren’t even questions. I have to admit I was skeptical at first at how a butcher was going to keep up with a craft scholar, but by the end I was more compelled by what Kristin had to say, maybe because she was an outsider bringing a fresh perspective to familiar issues. Or maybe I recognized a Northern CA mentality to her conviction and felt a tie there.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE Q&A

jennifer & kristin

Regarding Innovation originating in the Midwest: Jennifer remarked that “perhaps we have more time for contemplation (as opposed to living in the big cities) drawing it [innovation] from the lives around us”.  Hence, Midwesterners are generally regarded as problem solvers and known to have a sensibleness about them.

Regarding this Regional way of living being accessible only to certain socio-economic classes: Kristin suggests that “having more discussions [including a broader public] about the Quality of our materials” will no longer make this a class issue. TIP: see the new documentary film, “Fresh“, about food and raising kids.

What they have learned about the marketplace?: Kristin has observed that “People are hungry for what is hand-crafted,” that success is directly tied to your level of commitment, passion, and trust. And Jennifer agreed that there are people out there “who are willing to support an artistic vision”, especially if the 3 aforementioned qualities have a strong presence. SEEING CRAFT AS A SOCIAL PRACTICE just to reiterate Ms. Keelin Burrows from a few posts back.

See what Harriete had to say here.

Finally Lunchtime, and I must say, aside from the fact I do enjoy food, in-house Lunch has been another highlight of the conference (read as TIP for future SNAG conferences, hello Seattle folks…). When it comes down to it, 1.5 hours for lunch goes by pretty fast, especially if you have to leave the building and figure your way around a new city. You grab who you know and your body and mind break from the flow of morning. However, in this case, we all just moved to the floor below and had round-table discussions riding on the amped-up energy from the previous Open Conversations, among not only people we know, but being able to include new and different faces just by nature of the room’s set up. So if you came alone or were a bit late, you could sit down with any random group without being intrusive. INCLUSIVITY–this theme pops up later…

The food was surprisingly delightful (for hotel catering) and fancy (at least on Friday, Saturday was more casual), even providing a vegetarian option (as long as you pre-requested it in your registration). Lunch served a dual purpose in being a Recognition Luncheon for the 2008 and 2009 College of Fellows and Aileen Osborn Webb Award Winners. A much more respectful way to honor recipients (as compared to when SNAG’s does it during SAT night banquets and everyone is all in party mode and distracted/ing). People paid attention, speakers were heard and acknowledged with well-deserved applause and standing ovations. True, these lunches cost money ($35 from what I gathered), but give me 2 lunches over a mediocre banquet dinner any time.

Stoney Lamar

Stoney Lamar, Awards Sub-Committee Chair, presented the awards for 2008 & 2009 (winners are featured in the Oct/Nov and Dec/Jan issues of American Craft). Cheers to Lois Moran for being awarded as an Honorary Fellow for her 43 years of service to the magazine.

LIST OF AWARDEES:

Aileen Osborn Webb Award for Philanthropy: Robyn & John Horn (2008), Paul J. Smith (2009)

Paul J. Smith

Award of Distinction for Contributions to the Field of Craft:
Helen W. Drutt English (08), Michael Monroe (09)

Gold Medalists: Paul Soldner (08), Katherine Westphal (09)

College of Fellows Inductees (08): Adela Akers, Glenda Arentzen, Tony Hepburn, Gyongy Laky, Wendy Maruyama, Toots Zynsky, Lois Moran

College of Fellows Inductees (09): Jamie Bennett, Bernard Bernstein, Louis Marak, Benjamin Moore, Carol Shaw-Sutton, Rosanne Somerson, Robert Pfannebecker

Lois Moran, right

Creating a New Craft Culture Friday PM
30 minutes until lunch–but to wrap up the morning’s whirling dirvish events, ACC has done a smart thing to set up Open Conversations (pay attention SNAG conference planners–we could use this too), a 30-min informal Q&A/commenting session where the audience can ask questions of any of the morning’s presenters. This was great, as it often takes awhile for presentations to sink in and really process, so this is a perfect opportunity to ask the really hard questions.

The morning’s lectures surprisingly had some synchronistic threads, which I suppose you could wish to happen as a conference planner, but often you have to stretch your imagination to see how lectures relates to the conference theme and to each other. The unifying thread here has been the long lying elephant in the room of “What is Craft?” how do we define craft and who do we deem worthy of the title, craftsman? And again, as I mentioned last post, the DIY movement and Martha Stewart has thrown a wrench in our traditional understandings of what craft is, exciting some folks and inciting others.

This debate is the new Art vs. Craft debate, which I’m sure will resurface with Garth Clark’s talk Saturday, but has taken a back seat at the moment.

Reflecting on the day, there were two especially poignant and insightful comments, really definitions of Craft made by audience members with whom I was fortunate enough to catch up with later and talk to. I’ll share them with you:

David Trunbridge

David Trunbridge, New Zealand artist (he spoke later Fri night at Design Within Reach), said aloud what I personally have always thought about the Art vs. Craft issue: We cannot separate Art, Craft, and Design; they are all an equally important part of what we do as makers. “Just Make It” he exclaimed. Stop over analyzing it and make already, I agree. Cheers to you, David!

Keelin Burrows

Then coming from a craft historian background is Keelin Burrows, curatorial  fellows at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, is what she gleans from all this as to what craft is: “Craft is made up of many layers–the static object, the creative process, the social activity–all of which provides critical reflection and hopefully logical solutions to contemporary needs and issues.”

MARTHA STEWART DOESN’T BELONG
Part of the What is Craft discussion is the love/hate tension regarding Martha Stewart (and by association DIY). The debate is really more prevalent than anyone probably anticipated here (Garth Johnson later bemoans that Design wasn’t given as much as face time). What is becoming apparent with each Q&A is how diverse the audience here is. But there is a bit of hashing it out between the older school of craft academia and the newer-to-the-scene crafter moms. And it came out quite pronounced at the lunch banquet directly following the Open Session from Helen Drutt English as came up to thank the ACC for awarding her the Award of Distinction for Contributions to the Field of Craft. She was passionate in exclaiming that “Martha does not have any place of importance in this craft conference” and why were we talking about her so much. No really, tell us how you really feel. She did continue on a more positive note, thanking  artists for “trusting me and allowing me into their lives”, and that “the survival of the hand in our mechanized society keeps craft alive.” But then touching on yet another thread of this conference in that “we have come a long way baby, but we have a long way to go.” Turns out this was only the beginning of a very interesting weekend…..

Helen Drutt English

Creating a New Craft Culture–Friday 11 AM, Part 3
Round Table Discussion: Craft in the 21st Century: Identity, Choice, Meaning. Sandra Alfoldy, moderator. Panelists: Claudia Crisan, Thomas Patti, and Michael Sherrill

Alfoldy, Patti, Crisan, Sherrill

It’s about brain explosion time right about now, and the conference leaders are really on top of their game keeping presenters to task on time. For different perspectives on these presentations, don’t forget to check in with Harriete’s blog: ask harriete.
For those who remember watching Pee Wee’s Playhouse, remember that Word of the Day, that whenever the Word of the Day was uttered throughout the course of the show, you’d have to yell and make a lot of noise? Well, the words of the day here seem to be: Quality, Martha Stewart, and D.I.Y. The latter two mostly as a point of contention between what seems to be two very divided schools of makers (and perhaps generational, and very much represented here).

Moderator Sandra Alfoldy (associate professor of craft history at NSCAD University and associate curator of fine craft at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Halifax) set up the discussion by posing her “TOP 5 Assumptions [of Craft]” and having the the panel members speak a total of 8 minutes on each issue. Here are the TOP 5 ASSUMPTIONS:
#5. You don’t need to use traditional craft materials to be a craftsperson
#4. Craft is an environmental, sustainable set of practices
#3. Functional craft is less important than one-of-a-kind work
#2. Making it by hand makes it craft
#1. The craft field is dying and DIY (insert Pee Wee scream here) will save it!

First, a brief background on the artist panel:

Tom Patti

Thomas Patti–industrial designer and sculptor, known for his innovative use of glass and plastics to create visionary architectural systems, small-scale sculptures and large architectural commissions.

Claudia Crisan

Claudia Crisan–an artist trained in metals and fibers, she owns and operates (with her husband) a small bakery and edible art gallery called Crisan in Albany, New York.

Michael Sherrill–self-taught ceramicist and inventor of a line of tools for potters and sculptors, called Mudtools®

As far as answers to the above questions, numbers 5 through 3 didn’t really bring to light anything new, esp to the makers in the group. I mean, alternative materials have been pretty hip and more in the forefront of exhibitions these days (hence, why I’ve had to create a spreadsheet of where all my recycled work is this fall so i don’t double-commit work). Craft doesn’t inherently have environmentally sustainable practices-it’s only been recently brought to light as something we should do, as seen with Ethical Metalsmiths. And Function vs One-of-a-kind isn’t about either/or, for many of makers we embrace both; perhaps we enjoy mixing it up, or one funds the other.

The real heat came in #2 & #1. In #2 arose the CAD/CAM-is-it-evil issue, in which either you get it (meaning CAD) or you don’t. Is it a mere tool, means to an end, or is it a craft in itself like ceramics or metal. Is the hand still connected to the mind–going back to Dr. Sennett’s earlier talk, the importance of an all-body engaging the mind type of craft. For Claudia, she wholeheartedly agreed that working on the computer was no different than hammering metal. And for Thomas, he disagreed and believes a tool should never be made more important than the work.
Another Pee Wee squeal here–Either you love her or you hate her, Martha Stewart, that is. Bottom line: she’s made crafting accessible to everyone, from moms to kids, and in doing so, perhaps has sparked the desire to pursue a more serious investigation into craft for the younger generation. ‘Cause as long as you’re making that’s what really important, right? And for some of us we’re living by doing this. As Thomas says, take it to the next step and push boundaries, make meaningful, well-crafted work.

claudia's edible brooch

Jana Evans wearing Crisan brooch

attendees wearing Crisan brooches (claudia 3rd in)