Monday 20 February 2023

 

Hello. 

It's been a long break, but after a fabulous weekend attending two workshops with the lovely Antonis at Country View Crafts, I am feeling motivated to get back into creating and making. 

Something that I have been pondering lately is what is the difference between an artist and a crafter? Where do I stand? Am I an artist? Am I a crafter?  If you research this on line you can find comparison charts to explain he differences. The Cambridge Dictionary describes a crafter as someone who makes decorative objects with their hands, especially as a hobby and an artist is someone who paints, draws or makes sculptures.

When asked to name an artist most of us would think of those who create fine works of art like Picasso, Degas, Cezanne, Turner, O’Keefe, Warhol etc. I am not like these people and therefore I don’t know if I could be called an artist! I studied oil painting as my main subject at teacher training college, I dabbled with screen printing, book making, jewellery making with enamelling, calligraphy and more recently mixed media using acrylics and ephemera and developed a shabby vintage, industrial style. So I set about researching who is or how can you become to be called an artist? I came across many definitions  but one particular one that states that “an artistic personality type uses their hands and mind to create new things. They appreciate beauty, unstructured activities and variety. They enjoy interesting and unusual people, sights, textures and sounds. These individuals prefer to work in unstructured situations and use their creativity and imagination.” Research also shows that even if you believe you have no talent, anyone can learn to be an artist with the right training, tools and passion. So I believe I have been well on the way to being an artist. But I find it difficult to just paint and draw. I can ‘sketch’ from real life (in my own way!), I love designing and making mixed media projects, I can teach the techniques I have learned and I love creating layered collages and am told I have a natural disposition for composition. The Tate says collage describes both the technique and the resulting work of art in which pieces of paper, photographs, fabric and ephemera are arranged and stuck down onto a supporting surface. This is something I love to do and in many different ways. 

Do you consider yourself to be an artist? How do you define art? 

I'll be back soon with some photos of the projects I created with Antonis.

Bx