" When Does Craft Becomes Art?"--A good question.

zoe cro-z wrote

on Jan 20, 2010 4:52 PM

I would like to hear what the experts in the field of arts and or crafts has to say about this topic.   I think there is a lot of gray area between crafts and art.   Is crochet a craft or an art? or it can be both depending on whether the maker of the crocheted work is an artist or a crafts person?  How do you define craft? and how do you define art? 

Sri wrote

on Jan 29, 2010 3:34 PM

I think that crochet is a craft however it's what you make that may take it into the realm of 'art'.

carol best wrote

on Jan 29, 2010 9:23 PM

If you designed it, it is art.  If you followed someone else s  pattern it is craft.

Sri wrote

on Jan 31, 2010 6:30 AM

I think we have to differentiate between art and Art.  Whilst it might be an art to design your own pattern it isn't Art.  Capital 'A' Art is what you find in Art Galleries, there is a significance to the object that takes it way beyond the craft/art.  Hope that doesn't sound too pretentious but it's hard to find the words to convey what I mean.

CrazyChickenLady wrote

on Jan 31, 2010 9:42 AM

I think is is both a craft and an art. I also think it is a practical need for the home. Ladies of the past crocheted for the home and for clothing. It was practical then. I think it has evolved over the years to an art form. If you look at old patterns, they were mostly plain, useful items (except for crochet lace). Today we have patterns that are practical, but they are also beautiful. How many times have you made something and the recipiant said "It's too nice to use!"? I want my items to be used and worn out! I can always make another! As for "art" and "Art". I have seen some items that should be in a gallery with a high price tag! It dosen't matter if a crocheter followed a pattern or thought it up herself. What about following a doily pattern from the early 1900's and bringing the old pattern to life? The pattern may not have been worked in a hundred years, and the crocheter brought it to life. Is that not art? Is that not a craft? Yes to both questions!

Sri wrote

on Feb 3, 2010 5:28 AM

I suppose the easiest way to demonstrate the difference between Corchet as a craft or an art and Art is to look at some of the things Artists have produced that are shown in the FiberArts magazine and on their website.  Art pushes boundaries that art/craft produced for practical wear cannot necessarily reach!

zoe cro-z wrote

on Feb 6, 2010 7:45 AM

It seems to me that crochet can become purely Art if it is created for its visual interest only and no utilitarian,( e.g. garments or fashion accesssory) value whatsoever, this statement is not meant to devalue the work and talents of the crocheter. 

CrazyChickenLady wrote

on Feb 6, 2010 7:52 AM

I think I should point out, I make doilies. I work with small thread compared to "big yarn".

cutebunnyattractive wrote

on Feb 7, 2010 7:34 AM

HELLO I LIVE IN ALASKA.. I DID LOTS ARTIST ON PAPERS OF ONE BOOK FOR BEST MAKE 34 OR 35 WINTER HATS LIFE.. SMILE.. I AM PART OF DEAF AND LITTLE BIT HARD OF HEARING.. NICE MEET TO YOU DO.. I AM STILL KEEP STAY MORE KNITTING CROCHET WINTER HATS SELL TO PEOPLE BUY IT TO ME.. SMILE..

SpinAndStitch wrote

on Mar 29, 2010 4:58 PM

I think I disagree with Sri on Art being only in galleries.  Art is something that is created by a person who wants to express something.  So if I crochet a scarf using my own handspun and handdyed yarn into a pattern that I create...then I have made art that is not easily created by another person. Wearable art, but still art.  I think a craft is a hobby that takes premade items and premade designs and combines them into something that others could easily duplicate. 

RTJUnker wrote

on Feb 17, 2011 2:10 PM

I believe that crochet is both Art, art, and craft. I use crochet in all of those ways. I don't believe that it can be confined into any one of those concepts.

I consider crochet a craft as I follow along a pattern, emptying my mind as I make row after row of stitches, typically modifying the garment slightly as I go.

Crochet becomes more art for me as my mind forms new patterns and projects, designing new garments, adapting old patterns to fit different yarns.

And Art happens when I stop designing and allow creativity full reign, layering yarn, sculpting with it, making mountains, and landscapes, and allowing the yarn to tell me what it wants to become, swirling, and moving all over the place almost of its own free will.

tokine wrote

on Nov 2, 2011 10:43 PM

RTJUnker I totally agree with you. Crochet is both! I feel the same like you.

eadgyth wrote

on Nov 3, 2011 10:55 AM

to me a craft is an art form that is useful.  it has always been both and i am glad to see that crochet is  coming into its own again!!   and im glad its for all people not just the elite  funny thing but i have noticed over the years that when one knits if you have no college education its a hobby but if you have a degree even if its in nuclear medicine, you are a fibre artist. it has a really snooty air to it.. crochet is much more user friendly!!  rock on!!!  

crochet seems to come from the heart of the giver to the heart of the receiver. that in itself is an art.

no_chandi wrote

on Nov 3, 2011 11:09 AM

We use our craft to create art.

JaneN1 wrote

on Nov 3, 2011 4:48 PM

Do our yarn tags count as art?  We think so!

We call our yarn tags "public art" because we wish to express creativity, whimsy, and the importance of hand-made objects in the midst of a world with lots of industrial stuff around.

There aren't any patterns . . . and they certainly take very little raw talent--just a creative (and slightly off-the-wall) mind!

yarntagrz.blogspot.com