Why I'm Re-Embracing Craft As A Textile Artist
For a long time I thought that to be taken seriously as a textile artist, I had to denounce 'crafts'.
Craft is so often trivialised as womens work, synonymous with domesticity and a simple life. To call my work 'craft' felt like I was undermining it, getting all those classic comments from relatives and friends of friends that ask things like 'how's your little crafty business?'. Grosssssss.
Recently I realised (remembered) that simply put, the people that get it, get it, and the people that don't - well they really just don't. But that's okay, because I'm not trying to please them. I'm trying to please myself and make things I like, and hopefully that you do too.
Over the past few years, I've loved teaching all of my various workshops and classes, and teaching now takes up much more of my working life than making art pieces for exhibitions does. Which is great, because I love it. It's important to evolve with the flow of things I think, especially when you're self employed, so I found myself slowing leaning more into selling kits and haberdashery alongside my regular offerings of classes.
Craft is so often trivialised as womens work, synonymous with domesticity and a simple life. To call my work 'craft' felt like I was undermining it, getting all those classic comments from relatives and friends of friends that ask things like 'how's your little crafty business?'. Grosssssss.
Recently I realised (remembered) that simply put, the people that get it, get it, and the people that don't - well they really just don't. But that's okay, because I'm not trying to please them. I'm trying to please myself and make things I like, and hopefully that you do too.
Over the past few years, I've loved teaching all of my various workshops and classes, and teaching now takes up much more of my working life than making art pieces for exhibitions does. Which is great, because I love it. It's important to evolve with the flow of things I think, especially when you're self employed, so I found myself slowing leaning more into selling kits and haberdashery alongside my regular offerings of classes.
Craft is so much more than a finished item - it's about a skill that has been studied, learnt, perfected over time, and passed down from generation to generation.
It's about taking that time to yourself to work on something, quietly sitting with your thoughts and processing anything that might be on your mind whilst an item comes to life in your hands. In a 21st century world - making something tangible is becoming more and more uncommon.
It can be political too - in a capitalist society, making something by yourself and for yourself is an act of resistance. Choosing to opt out of habits of buying new, breaking, and then throwing away to rinse and repeat is a common path for crafters and makers, and the impact can't be understated. It's so vitally important that future generations are also able to make this choice for themselves.
It's about taking that time to yourself to work on something, quietly sitting with your thoughts and processing anything that might be on your mind whilst an item comes to life in your hands. In a 21st century world - making something tangible is becoming more and more uncommon.
It can be political too - in a capitalist society, making something by yourself and for yourself is an act of resistance. Choosing to opt out of habits of buying new, breaking, and then throwing away to rinse and repeat is a common path for crafters and makers, and the impact can't be understated. It's so vitally important that future generations are also able to make this choice for themselves.
Slowly, I'm re-embracing being a craft queen. I can still work on fancy pieces for fancy exhibitions - and in fact they are always inspiring new kits and tools that I want to provide on my website offering - and I can also be a craft queen that leads others into getting the same simple enjoyment out of making as I do.