May 31, 2006
the dividing line.
Part of the following is an email response I sent to someone very talented and bright, regarding divisions she noted in the craft(ing) community:
Over the past few weeks, i've thought a lot about your email and the divisions from within the craft(ing) community.
It makes sense that this division should be happening now, as craft has been popular (well, indie-popular) for several years now. Whereas at first, it was like, 'Holy hell! Marble magnets! That is the most awesome thing ever!,' where everyone was experimenting and not selling what they made and everyone urged everyone else on.
Then, I remember one case in particular, where someone posted in an online forum that someone else "stole" their idea. Suddenly an idea that was shared in order for people to learn and create became a protected trademark and selling point- and the moment was born where people realized that, yes, there is a market for this kind of thing! People like buying handmade instead of mass-produced! Eureka!
Somewhere along the way, an invisible line has been drawn between the "professionals" (those who sell their creations) versus the "hobbyists" (those who craft mainly for fun instead of profit). We've come to a place in the craft resurgence that the "movement" is big enough to sustain multiple groups and cliques and levels. There are the crafty superstars the ones many of us know by first name: Heidi, Leah, Melissa, Susie. There are those that network at craft fairs like Bazaar Bizarre and Crafty Bastards and those that blog and those that hate Debbie Stoller and those that don't and all of a sudden this little craft world seems almost unrecognizable from the days of "Oh! My! God! You knit too?!"
And it's a good thing. In order for things to flourish, there must be growth, but what about when people feel left out? It is a bit of a worry when I read on various blogs that individuals are scared to submit something to this site or that zine because it might not make the cut. It's not necessarily a worry that people are feeling insecure about their creations, but a worry that people are finding themselves detached from a community instead of part of it.
The punk rock aspect of this new craft revolution is that ultimately there is no hierarchy.
As "women's work" is continuing to be reclaimed and redefined, there is no reason why we, the perpetuators of this so-called movement, should start thinking that we are less important or less talented than someone because we are in it for a different reason. We are defining and molding how craft will be viewed in the future, and ensuring that there even is a future for traditions once seen as antiquated and out-of-date.
Just as we can dare to create things without a pattern, we, too, can create our own definitions of what it means to craft.
Posted by betsy at May 31, 2006 09:03 PM