Craft vs Art...Who Decides?

I’ve been making knots for nearly twenty years now. It is hard to believe when I consider it. What’s even crazier, is that I have only touched the surface of what can be accomplished with cord and my fingers. Only a week or so ago, I finally ventured into the world of macrame patterns—most people would recognize these as “friendship bracelets”—but to me, they are so much more. Thanks to an amazing group on Facebook of macrame artists from Mexico, I was encouraged to make the foray into these beautiful, intricate, and often intimidating patterns.

The designs reminded me of the weathered mamachas of South America— weavers who would sit on the ground and work on mind boggling fiber art composed of hundreds of threads. Often young girls would be assisting, watching, learning—the creativity so inherent in their lives and culture that passing it along was like a gem to be treasured. Intricate and miraculous patterns that held centuries of culture and story, were passed along as diligently to the next generation as much as DNA.

As I made my way into this new world of complicated arrows and patterns, twists and turns—I felt a sense of returning home, all the while wondering where the reverence for lineage of the creative gem was lost in our time and culture. Thinking of my Mammaw, always with a creative project, and a master cross-stitcher—sitting with her, watching her discern logic from patterns that I could never make sense of. The photo of this blog is one of the first things I ever made with her—she was so patient to sit and share how to thread a needle and allow me to play with her rainbow collection of threads. She gently guided me through the process of getting my initials out, one painfully slow needle-point at a time. Is it this slowing down and the necessary patience required for such tasks a reason we don’t pass the gem of creativity anymore? In a world of fast paced consumerism and instant gratification, passing along the creative torch requires a deliberate slowing down that most of us are not accustomed to.

What makes art and what makes craft? Reflecting on the modern perception of art and from where it comes made me wonder how often the crafts of women—from weaving, quilting, lace tatting, crochet, cross-stitch, embroidery—often were placed into the realm of craft, rather than art. Who decided what was art and what was craft? We must be honest that historically, it was most likely elite males, which is a limited scope and perception. Undoubtedly women’s skills and talents were left unnoticed, unrecognized or viewed merely as “handicraft” rather than “ high art”.

I think the lines have blurred now, as high-end craft and craft guilds around the country push the limits to what craft can become. As Glenn Adamson, curator and historian says,” Craft is making something skillfully; it’s just that simple. But from that basic definition, infinite complexities arise.” I love this thought, as I have often said my obsession with knots is how something as simple as cord can be transformed into something of intricate complexity and beauty that evokes human response and emotion—-aka: art.

Either way, I know that when people see these patterns I am now obsessed with, they will exclaim “Oh!! These are like the friendship bracelets that we used to make!” I can only respond with a knowing smile, and remind them that these knots, lines, patterns, and stories contain roots that run far, far deeper than that.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on what you consider to be craft and art? What discerns the two? Who gets to decide and why? This could be a PhD dissertation, and I am only sharing a blip of thought on the matter—so I’d love to hear what you have to say!