[Artists-making-art] Artists-making-art Digest, Vol 16, Issue 5

Sat Feb 8 20:03:46 UTC 2014

Linda:

thanks so much for this definition of the difference between art and craft. 
I think I am now truly where I belong, and given this explanation, I know 
now why I have never been satisfied with just finishing a crafting project. 
I've always found it to be decidedly limiting in imagination, creativity and 
origionality. .

I have been so impressed with the messages I've read on this  list so far. 
It sounds like there is some wonderful energy on this listand am looking 
forward  read ing more.

-----Original Message----- 
From: artists-making-art-request at nfbnet.org
Sent: Saturday, February 08, 2014 6:00 AM
To: artists-making-art at nfbnet.org
Subject: Artists-making-art Digest, Vol 16, Issue 5

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Today's Topics:

   1. Re: arts or crafts new member (Lynda Lambert)
   2. Re: arts or crafts new member (Ann at acunningham.com)
   3. Re: arts or crafts new member (Jewel)
   4. Re: arts or crafts new member (Lynda Lambert)
   5. Re: arts or crafts new member (Lynda Lambert)
   6. Re: arts or crafts new member (Patricia C. Estes)
   7. Re: arts or crafts new member (Lynda Lambert)
   8. Re: arts or crafts new member (Patricia C. Estes)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Fri, 7 Feb 2014 08:03:18 -0500
From: "Lynda Lambert" <llambert at zoominternet.net>
To: "An exploration of art by and for blind persons"
<artists-making-art at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member
Message-ID: <6FA5C73038C44B4D9FE3E40F647EF6C7 at Lambert>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Hi Laurie,
So nice to see you here.  I did not start this group though, I am like you, 
I just came on to ask a question about something I needed to know and was so 
glad to meet Ann who helped me with my question.  I am furiously working 
right now (oops, split that infinitive!) getting work done for the opening 
of a two-person exhibition at a museum - the show is called _Vision and 
Revision:  Two artists with limited sight, not limited vision_  It is my 
pottery and mixed-media fiber works, and a legally blind painter. It opens 
one month from today, and if I stop to think about what else has to be done 
yet, I'll get nervous. So, I won't do that, but just will keep on working on 
the details. The show will appear at two locations this year and will have a 
video that plays in the gallery with the art works, Braille labeling, and 
artist's talks. I will even be teaching in the gallery one afternoon, for 
the Women in the Arts course at Geneva College. That is where I taught when 
I was a professor of fine arts and humanities, before I retired. I'll be 
lecturing on the historical context of my work and where the ideas have come 
from when creating it.

To make matters even more difficult, I am scheduled to speak at a conference 
at Slippery Rock University of PA for two sessions, the day before we hang 
our show. So, I have those presentations to be working on every day now, 
too.  I officially retired from teaching 5 1/2 years ago, but I am still 
very much involved in everything but being in the classroom.

Here is my response to the question you have asked. The gap between an 
artist and a crafter is like crossing the ocean, it is that wide. Some basic 
things may be similar between the two, but most things are very far apart 
philisophically.

Both work with the hands, and both love working with the hands and most have 
done it all their life.
Both love the materials, and the handling of them, and the satisfaction of 
the finished product that comes out of it.

While the crafter will usually be satisfied with beginning something and 
knowing where the end will be, the artist begins with no notion of where the 
end will be or even if it will be.  the crafter has a clearly defined path 
to the finished product. The artist has only some inklings of possible 
outcomes, but has to find them as she works.

The other very big thing I see as a difference between them is that the 
crafter has 'rules" to follow and seldom will ever deviate from those rules, 
as they are set in stone in her mind. On the other hand, the mature artist 
has learned that there are no rules at all.  They may begin in the early 
stages by learning techniques, but eventually with the years of working, the 
light comes on in her brain when she discovers one day - she is free of all 
rules when making art. Everything can be challenged, everything can be 
changed, and everything is fair game, for the artist. Is there any other 
profession in this world where there are no rules? It's the most 
exhilerating feeling to know that there are absolutely no rules whatsoever 
for me. Wow, makes me take a deep breath just to say it. Free, free, free, 
at last!

Laurie, the biggest difference between art and a craft is where the person 
eventually takes the techniques, I think.

A crafter seldom takes things to a different level but is usually content to 
learn something then duplicate it endlessly, then moves on to learn 
something else and does that again with it. The artist can take crafts 
materials (which is what you and I both do) and techniques, and then take 
them far beyond because they will combine their techniques and materials 
with the imagination.  If you can teach it, it is usually a craft. If you 
cannot teach it, it is normally art.  Art can begin by learning some 
techniques, or using craft materials, but then the person begins to ask the 
"what if" questions, and takes lots of risks, failures, and bends in the 
road on the way to it becoming a work of art. It is a "mind set" that is 
never satisfied with just the learning of something new, but one that 
constantly questions, experiments, and never knows where the "end" will be, 
or even if it will be.  A "crafter" will never understand what I have just 
said and will most likely be huffing and puffing and angry with it.  An 
"artist" is standing and applauding what I have said. It is that simple, and 
that complex.  The artist thrives on change and making new discoveries and 
each work leads to other querstions and more change and more new 
discoveries.

One can see the difference when you look at work in types of environments. 
One will be setting at a craft show with a table full of things that are 
basically all the same while the other will have work  on display in a 
gallery or museum.  Each has decided where they "fit" and each is very happy 
with where they are. They are different animals, with different ideas, and 
different end results and outcomes. Each one has decided their own path and 
each one is comfortable with the decision she has made.

Lynda

Lynda

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Laurie Porter
  To: Artists-making-art at nfbnet.org
  Sent: Thursday, February 06, 2014 7:26 PM
  Subject: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member

  Hi Folks:

  I?d like to introduce myself. I?m a blind person from wisconsin who is a 
fledgling and budding beginner artist. my medium is beadwork. I make 
pictures and tapestries out of tiny little seed beads  sewn together with 
thread. but most of my work is in making jewlry, but I have always looked 
upon my beadwork as an art form.

  so, I have a basic question. What is the difference between an art and a 
craft? I do believe that all crafts are forms of art  but are all arts 
considered crafts? Thanks linda and all of you for getting this list going 
as it is something I?ve always dreamed of seeing in our efforts to bring 
blind people together who love to both create and appreciate the visual 
arts.

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Message: 2
Date: Fri, 07 Feb 2014 07:08:33 -0700
From: <Ann at acunningham.com>
To: "An exploration of art by and for blind persons"
<artists-making-art at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member
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Message: 3
Date: Fri, 7 Feb 2014 11:23:35 -0500
From: Jewel <herekittykat2 at gmail.com>
To: An exploration of art by and for blind persons
<artists-making-art at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member
Message-ID:
<CABORmNtm3Wu6C=MnMC68NHdt1eSgDN2T1hyq7dvCWkbROEPn8A at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

I absolutely loved this explanation of arts versus crafts. I was also
wondering the difference, so this really makes it clear to me. I do
polymer clay. While I start with an expectation that it will be some
sort of elephant or a horse or whatever, who knows what twists and
turns will happen along the way. By the way, I'm currently working on
a Harry Potter style house elf holding a tray that can hold business
ccards. The house elf is done, but the tray still needs to be
finished.
Jewel

On 2/7/14, Ann at acunningham.com <Ann at acunningham.com> wrote:
> Lynda, Nice answer to craft and art. If someone who is reading this is 
> still
> torn I wouldn't be surprised though since there are all sorts of shades in
> the continuum.
>
> I was talking to my daughter and a friend one day. I went off on a tangent
> tangling all sorts of events together rather randomly. They started 
> laughing
> and saying something akin to how do you make it from day to day. And I 
> said
> you guys are pilots and for you to be a good pilot you know and follow
> rules. That is what they pay you for. I am an artist and I am paid to 
> break
> the rules. No one wants to hear from me if it has already been done.
>
> What did you teach before you retired? Ann
>
> Ann Cunningham
> Tactile Art - a creative way to see the world!
> 303 238 4760
> ann at acunningham.com
> http://www.acunningham.com
> http://www.sensationalbooks.com
>
>
>> -------- Original Message --------
>> Subject: Re: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member
>> From: "Lynda Lambert" <llambert at zoominternet.net>
>> Date: Fri, February 07, 2014 6:03 am
>> To: "An exploration of art by and for blind persons"
>> <artists-making-art at nfbnet.org>
>>
>>
>> Hi Laurie,
>> So nice to see you here.  I did not start this group though, I am like
>> you, I just came on to ask a question about something I needed to know 
>> and
>> was so glad to meet Ann who helped me with my question.  I am furiously
>> working right now (oops, split that infinitive!) getting work done for 
>> the
>> opening of a two-person exhibition at a museum - the show is called
>> _Vision and Revision:  Two artists with limited sight, not limited
>> vision_  It is my pottery and mixed-media fiber works, and a legally 
>> blind
>> painter. It opens one month from today, and if I stop to think about what
>> else has to be done yet, I'll get nervous. So, I won't do that, but just
>> will keep on working on the details. The show will appear at two 
>> locations
>> this year and will have a video that plays in the gallery with the art
>> works, Braille labeling, and artist's talks. I will even be teaching in
>> the gallery one afternoon, for the Women in the Arts course at Geneva
>> College. That is where I taught when I was a professor of fine arts and
>> humanities, before I retired. I'll be lecturing on the historical context
>> of my work and where the ideas have come from when creating it.
>>
>> To make matters even more difficult, I am scheduled to speak at a
>> conference at Slippery Rock University of PA for two sessions, the day
>> before we hang our show. So, I have those presentations to be working on
>> every day now, too.  I officially retired from teaching 5 1/2 years ago,
>> but I am still very much involved in everything but being in the
>> classroom.
>>
>> Here is my response to the question you have asked. The gap between an
>> artist and a crafter is like crossing the ocean, it is that wide. Some
>> basic things may be similar between the two, but most things are very far
>> apart philisophically.
>>
>> Both work with the hands, and both love working with the hands and most
>> have done it all their life.
>> Both love the materials, and the handling of them, and the satisfaction 
>> of
>> the finished product that comes out of it.
>>
>> While the crafter will usually be satisfied with beginning something and
>> knowing where the end will be, the artist begins with no notion of where
>> the end will be or even if it will be.  the crafter has a clearly defined
>> path to the finished product. The artist has only some inklings of
>> possible outcomes, but has to find them as she works.
>>
>> The other very big thing I see as a difference between them is that the
>> crafter has 'rules" to follow and seldom will ever deviate from those
>> rules, as they are set in stone in her mind. On the other hand, the 
>> mature
>> artist has learned that there are no rules at all.  They may begin in the
>> early stages by learning techniques, but eventually with the years of
>> working, the light comes on in her brain when she discovers one day
>> - she is free of all rules when making art. Everything can be challenged,
>> everything can be changed, and everything is fair game, for the artist. 
>> Is
>> there any other profession in this world where there are no rules? It's
>> the most exhilerating feeling to know that there are absolutely no rules
>> whatsoever for me. Wow, makes me take a deep breath just to say it. Free,
>> free, free, at last!
>>
>> Laurie, the biggest difference between art and a craft is where the 
>> person
>> eventually takes the techniques, I think.
>>
>> A crafter seldom takes things to a different level but is usually content
>> to learn something then duplicate it endlessly, then moves on to learn
>> something else and does that again with it. The artist can take crafts
>> materials (which is what you and I both do) and techniques, and then take
>> them far beyond because they will combine their techniques and materials
>> with the imagination.  If you can teach it, it is usually a craft. If you
>> cannot teach it, it is normally art.  Art can begin by learning some
>> techniques, or using craft materials, but then the person begins to ask
>> the "what if" questions, and takes lots of risks, failures, and bends in
>> the road on the way to it becoming a work of art. It is a "mind set" that
>> is never satisfied with just the learning of something new, but one that
>> constantly questions, experiments, and never knows where the "end" will
>> be, or even if it will be.  A "crafter" will never understand what I have
>> just said and will most likely be huffing and puffing and angry with it.
>>  An "artist" is standing and applauding what I have said. It is that
>> simple, and that complex.  The artist thrives on change and making new
>> discoveries and each work leads to other querstions and more change and
>> more new discoveries.
>>
>> One can see the difference when you look at work in types of
>> environments.  One will be setting at a craft show with a table full of
>> things that are basically all the same while the other will have work  on
>> display in a gallery or museum.  Each has decided where they "fit" and
>> each is very happy with where they are. They are different animals, with
>> different ideas, and different end results and outcomes. Each one has
>> decided their own path and each one is comfortable with the decision she
>> has made.
>>
>> Lynda
>>
>> Lynda
>>
>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: Laurie Porter
>>> To: Artists-making-art at nfbnet.org
>>> Sent: Thursday, February 06, 2014 7:26 PM
>>> Subject: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member
>>>
>>> Hi Folks:
>>>
>>> I'd like to introduce myself. I'm a blind person from wisconsin who is a
>>> fledgling and budding beginner artist. my medium is beadwork. I make
>>> pictures and tapestries out of tiny little seed beads  sewn together 
>>> with
>>> thread. but most of my work is in making jewlry, but I have always 
>>> looked
>>> upon my beadwork as an art form.
>>>
>>> so, I have a basic question. What is the difference between an art and a
>>> craft? I do believe that all crafts are forms of art  but are all arts
>>> considered crafts? Thanks linda and all of you for getting this list
>>> going as it is something I've always dreamed of seeing in our efforts to
>>> bring blind people together who love to both create and appreciate the
>>> visual arts.
>>> ________________________________
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Artists-making-art mailing list
>>> Artists-making-art at nfbnet.org
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/artists-making-art_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>> Artists-making-art:
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/artists-making-art_nfbnet.org/llambert%40zoominternet.net
>>
>> ________________________________
>> _______________________________________________
>> Artists-making-art mailing list
>> Artists-making-art at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/artists-making-art_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> Artists-making-art:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/artists-making-art_nfbnet.org/ann%40acunningham.com

------------------------------

Message: 4
Date: Fri, 7 Feb 2014 11:44:39 -0500
From: "Lynda Lambert" <llambert at zoominternet.net>
To: "An exploration of art by and for blind persons"
<artists-making-art at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member
Message-ID: <00EE5DF7276148B7B8D3EE072C8258A0 at Lambert>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Well, this is an outrageous conversation, I know. lol   I better get back to 
the studio before I cause a riot, but this should be a good place for a 
discussion like this.

That is great, Ann! So true. There is really not a fine line between the 
two, it is very clear and distinct. And artist or a crafter can take the 
exact same materials, but the mind that works with them is quite different 
and the results are quite different. It's really about "ideas" and 
"concepts" and what we are thinking about as we work, and where we go with 
the materials in our process of working.  In Pittsburgh, PA there is a very 
fine museum/gallery called the Society of Contemporary Crafts - now, what is 
done there, and shown there is high art. So there is crafts and there is 
CRAFT, too.  There is the "crafter" and there is the "Craftsman."  very 
distinct differences between them - and as a sculptor you would be very 
aware of this, too.

I was so fortunate to teach in a small private college (Geneva College, in 
western PA)  where I was free to teach across disciplines, as I have my MFA 
in painting/printmaking, and my MA in English Literature.  Because of this 
background, I was very marketable for a good position.  I was able to create 
multi-discipline courses - alway a combination of literature and art, as 
well as studio courses in painting, fiber arts, printmaking, drawing. It was 
a dream of a job, working in interdisciplinary studies and doing so many 
projects with profs in other disciplines.  I was very active in conferences 
on interdisciplinary studies.   I created an European experience for art and 
literature students and we lived in Austria every summer and then traveled 
to other countries. I even had an art exhibition in Austria for my students 
every summer.  They worked so hard in the studio and out on location every 
day, and at the end of the month they had a show - so much fun.  I also did 
this with Puerto Rico, and students came to PR with me each spring as part 
of their course in Puerto Rico Culture - which I have continued to visit 
every March even though I am now retired. It bacame how we spent our spring 
time.

OK, back to my studio where I am working my tail off to get a piece done 
today!
Lynda
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Ann at acunningham.com
  To: An exploration of art by and for blind persons
  Sent: Friday, February 07, 2014 9:08 AM
  Subject: Re: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member

  Lynda, Nice answer to craft and art. If someone who is reading this is 
still torn I wouldn't be surprised though since there are all sorts of 
shades in the continuum.

  I was talking to my daughter and a friend one day. I went off on a tangent 
tangling all sorts of events together rather randomly. They started laughing 
and saying something akin to how do you make it from day to day. And I said 
you guys are pilots and for you to be a good pilot you know and follow 
rules. That is what they pay you for. I am an artist and I am paid to break 
the rules. No one wants to hear from me if it has already been done.

  What did you teach before you retired? Ann

  Ann Cunningham
  Tactile Art - a creative way to see the world!
  303 238 4760
  ann at acunningham.com
  http://www.acunningham.com
  http://www.sensationalbooks.com

    -------- Original Message --------
    Subject: Re: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member
    From: "Lynda Lambert" <llambert at zoominternet.net>
    Date: Fri, February 07, 2014 6:03 am
    To: "An exploration of art by and for blind persons"
    <artists-making-art at nfbnet.org>

    ?
    Hi Laurie,
    So nice to see you here.  I did not start this group though, I am like 
you, I just came on to ask a question about something I needed to know and 
was so glad to meet Ann who helped me with my question.  I am furiously 
working right now (oops, split that infinitive!) getting work done for the 
opening of a two-person exhibition at a museum - the show is called _Vision 
and Revision:  Two artists with limited sight, not limited vision_  It is my 
pottery and mixed-media fiber works, and a legally blind painter. It opens 
one month from today, and if I stop to think about what else has to be done 
yet, I'll get nervous. So, I won't do that, but just will keep on working on 
the details. The show will appear at two locations this year and will have a 
video that plays in the gallery with the art works, Braille labeling, and 
artist's talks. I will even be teaching in the gallery one afternoon, for 
the Women in the Arts course at Geneva College. That is where I taught when 
I was a professor of fine arts and humanities, before I retired. I'll be 
lecturing on the historical context of my work and where the ideas have come 
from when creating it.

    To make matters even more difficult, I am scheduled to speak at a 
conference at Slippery Rock University of PA for two sessions, the day 
before we hang our show. So, I have those presentations to be working on 
every day now, too.  I officially retired from teaching 5 1/2 years ago, but 
I am still very much involved in everything but being in the classroom.

    Here is my response to the question you have asked. The gap between an 
artist and a crafter is like crossing the ocean, it is that wide. Some basic 
things may be similar between the two, but most things are very far apart 
philisophically.

    Both work with the hands, and both love working with the hands and most 
have done it all their life.
    Both love the materials, and the handling of them, and the satisfaction 
of the finished product that comes out of it.

    While the crafter will usually be satisfied with beginning something and 
knowing where the end will be, the artist begins with no notion of where the 
end will be or even if it will be.  the crafter has a clearly defined path 
to the finished product. The artist has only some inklings of possible 
outcomes, but has to find them as she works.

    The other very big thing I see as a difference between them is that the 
crafter has 'rules" to follow and seldom will ever deviate from those rules, 
as they are set in stone in her mind. On the other hand, the mature artist 
has learned that there are no rules at all.  They may begin in the early 
stages by learning techniques, but eventually with the years of working, the 
light comes on in her brain when she discovers one day - she is free of all 
rules when making art. Everything can be challenged, everything can be 
changed, and everything is fair game, for the artist. Is there any other 
profession in this world where there are no rules? It's the most 
exhilerating feeling to know that there are absolutely no rules whatsoever 
for me. Wow, makes me take a deep breath just to say it. Free, free, free, 
at last!

    Laurie, the biggest difference between art and a craft is where the 
person eventually takes the techniques, I think.

    A crafter seldom takes things to a different level but is usually 
content to learn something then duplicate it endlessly, then moves on to 
learn something else and does that again with it. The artist can take crafts 
materials (which is what you and I both do) and techniques, and then take 
them far beyond because they will combine their techniques and materials 
with the imagination.  If you can teach it, it is usually a craft. If you 
cannot teach it, it is normally art.  Art can begin by learning some 
techniques, or using craft materials, but then the person begins to ask the 
"what if" questions, and takes lots of risks, failures, and bends in the 
road on the way to it becoming a work of art. It is a "mind set" that is 
never satisfied with just the learning of something new, but one that 
constantly questions, experiments, and never knows where the "end" will be, 
or even if it will be.  A "crafter" will never understand what I have just 
said and will most likely be huffing and puffing and angry with it.  An 
"artist" is standing and applauding what I have said. It is that simple, and 
that complex.  The artist thrives on change and making new discoveries and 
each work leads to other querstions and more change and more new 
discoveries.

    One can see the difference when you look at work in types of 
environments.  One will be setting at a craft show with a table full of 
things that are basically all the same while the other will have work  on 
display in a gallery or museum.  Each has decided where they "fit" and each 
is very happy with where they are. They are different animals, with 
different ideas, and different end results and outcomes. Each one has 
decided their own path and each one is comfortable with the decision she has 
made.

    Lynda

    Lynda

      ----- Original Message ----- 
      From: Laurie Porter
      To: Artists-making-art at nfbnet.org
      Sent: Thursday, February 06, 2014 7:26 PM
      Subject: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member

      Hi Folks:

      I?d like to introduce myself. I?m a blind person from wisconsin who is 
a fledgling and budding beginner artist. my medium is beadwork. I make 
pictures and tapestries out of tiny little seed beads  sewn together with 
thread. but most of my work is in making jewlry, but I have always looked 
upon my beadwork as an art form.

      so, I have a basic question. What is the difference between an art and 
a craft? I do believe that all crafts are forms of art  but are all arts 
considered crafts? Thanks linda and all of you for getting this list going 
as it is something I?ve always dreamed of seeing in our efforts to bring 
blind people together who love to both create and appreciate the visual 
arts.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Message: 5
Date: Fri, 7 Feb 2014 11:47:54 -0500
From: "Lynda Lambert" <llambert at zoominternet.net>
To: "An exploration of art by and for blind persons"
<artists-making-art at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member
Message-ID: <687BD2626016484AB96E97E715BA11BD at Lambert>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
reply-type=original

Yes, Jewell, the material does not matter - we can go any way we want to
with it.  It is the ideas we work with that determine what will happen along
the way, plus allowing the medium to lead us - finding that "life of it's
own" that is there for us - a surprise or two along the way. Your project
sounds wonderful.  Lynda
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jewel" <herekittykat2 at gmail.com>
To: "An exploration of art by and for blind persons"
<artists-making-art at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, February 07, 2014 11:23 AM
Subject: Re: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member

>I absolutely loved this explanation of arts versus crafts. I was also
> wondering the difference, so this really makes it clear to me. I do
> polymer clay. While I start with an expectation that it will be some
> sort of elephant or a horse or whatever, who knows what twists and
> turns will happen along the way. By the way, I'm currently working on
> a Harry Potter style house elf holding a tray that can hold business
> ccards. The house elf is done, but the tray still needs to be
> finished.
> Jewel
>
> On 2/7/14, Ann at acunningham.com <Ann at acunningham.com> wrote:
>> Lynda, Nice answer to craft and art. If someone who is reading this is
>> still
>> torn I wouldn't be surprised though since there are all sorts of shades
>> in
>> the continuum.
>>
>> I was talking to my daughter and a friend one day. I went off on a
>> tangent
>> tangling all sorts of events together rather randomly. They started
>> laughing
>> and saying something akin to how do you make it from day to day. And I
>> said
>> you guys are pilots and for you to be a good pilot you know and follow
>> rules. That is what they pay you for. I am an artist and I am paid to
>> break
>> the rules. No one wants to hear from me if it has already been done.
>>
>> What did you teach before you retired? Ann
>>
>> Ann Cunningham
>> Tactile Art - a creative way to see the world!
>> 303 238 4760
>> ann at acunningham.com
>> http://www.acunningham.com
>> http://www.sensationalbooks.com
>>
>>
>>> -------- Original Message --------
>>> Subject: Re: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member
>>> From: "Lynda Lambert" <llambert at zoominternet.net>
>>> Date: Fri, February 07, 2014 6:03 am
>>> To: "An exploration of art by and for blind persons"
>>> <artists-making-art at nfbnet.org>
>>>
>>>
>>> Hi Laurie,
>>> So nice to see you here.  I did not start this group though, I am like
>>> you, I just came on to ask a question about something I needed to know
>>> and
>>> was so glad to meet Ann who helped me with my question.  I am furiously
>>> working right now (oops, split that infinitive!) getting work done for
>>> the
>>> opening of a two-person exhibition at a museum - the show is called
>>> _Vision and Revision:  Two artists with limited sight, not limited
>>> vision_  It is my pottery and mixed-media fiber works, and a legally
>>> blind
>>> painter. It opens one month from today, and if I stop to think about
>>> what
>>> else has to be done yet, I'll get nervous. So, I won't do that, but just
>>> will keep on working on the details. The show will appear at two
>>> locations
>>> this year and will have a video that plays in the gallery with the art
>>> works, Braille labeling, and artist's talks. I will even be teaching in
>>> the gallery one afternoon, for the Women in the Arts course at Geneva
>>> College. That is where I taught when I was a professor of fine arts and
>>> humanities, before I retired. I'll be lecturing on the historical
>>> context
>>> of my work and where the ideas have come from when creating it.
>>>
>>> To make matters even more difficult, I am scheduled to speak at a
>>> conference at Slippery Rock University of PA for two sessions, the day
>>> before we hang our show. So, I have those presentations to be working on
>>> every day now, too.  I officially retired from teaching 5 1/2 years ago,
>>> but I am still very much involved in everything but being in the
>>> classroom.
>>>
>>> Here is my response to the question you have asked. The gap between an
>>> artist and a crafter is like crossing the ocean, it is that wide. Some
>>> basic things may be similar between the two, but most things are very
>>> far
>>> apart philisophically.
>>>
>>> Both work with the hands, and both love working with the hands and most
>>> have done it all their life.
>>> Both love the materials, and the handling of them, and the satisfaction
>>> of
>>> the finished product that comes out of it.
>>>
>>> While the crafter will usually be satisfied with beginning something and
>>> knowing where the end will be, the artist begins with no notion of where
>>> the end will be or even if it will be.  the crafter has a clearly
>>> defined
>>> path to the finished product. The artist has only some inklings of
>>> possible outcomes, but has to find them as she works.
>>>
>>> The other very big thing I see as a difference between them is that the
>>> crafter has 'rules" to follow and seldom will ever deviate from those
>>> rules, as they are set in stone in her mind. On the other hand, the
>>> mature
>>> artist has learned that there are no rules at all.  They may begin in
>>> the
>>> early stages by learning techniques, but eventually with the years of
>>> working, the light comes on in her brain when she discovers one day
>>> - she is free of all rules when making art. Everything can be
>>> challenged,
>>> everything can be changed, and everything is fair game, for the artist.
>>> Is
>>> there any other profession in this world where there are no rules? It's
>>> the most exhilerating feeling to know that there are absolutely no rules
>>> whatsoever for me. Wow, makes me take a deep breath just to say it.
>>> Free,
>>> free, free, at last!
>>>
>>> Laurie, the biggest difference between art and a craft is where the
>>> person
>>> eventually takes the techniques, I think.
>>>
>>> A crafter seldom takes things to a different level but is usually
>>> content
>>> to learn something then duplicate it endlessly, then moves on to learn
>>> something else and does that again with it. The artist can take crafts
>>> materials (which is what you and I both do) and techniques, and then
>>> take
>>> them far beyond because they will combine their techniques and materials
>>> with the imagination.  If you can teach it, it is usually a craft. If
>>> you
>>> cannot teach it, it is normally art.  Art can begin by learning some
>>> techniques, or using craft materials, but then the person begins to ask
>>> the "what if" questions, and takes lots of risks, failures, and bends in
>>> the road on the way to it becoming a work of art. It is a "mind set"
>>> that
>>> is never satisfied with just the learning of something new, but one that
>>> constantly questions, experiments, and never knows where the "end" will
>>> be, or even if it will be.  A "crafter" will never understand what I
>>> have
>>> just said and will most likely be huffing and puffing and angry with it.
>>>  An "artist" is standing and applauding what I have said. It is that
>>> simple, and that complex.  The artist thrives on change and making new
>>> discoveries and each work leads to other querstions and more change and
>>> more new discoveries.
>>>
>>> One can see the difference when you look at work in types of
>>> environments.  One will be setting at a craft show with a table full of
>>> things that are basically all the same while the other will have work
>>> on
>>> display in a gallery or museum.  Each has decided where they "fit" and
>>> each is very happy with where they are. They are different animals, with
>>> different ideas, and different end results and outcomes. Each one has
>>> decided their own path and each one is comfortable with the decision she
>>> has made.
>>>
>>> Lynda
>>>
>>> Lynda
>>>
>>>
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: Laurie Porter
>>>> To: Artists-making-art at nfbnet.org
>>>> Sent: Thursday, February 06, 2014 7:26 PM
>>>> Subject: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member
>>>>
>>>> Hi Folks:
>>>>
>>>> I'd like to introduce myself. I'm a blind person from wisconsin who is
>>>> a
>>>> fledgling and budding beginner artist. my medium is beadwork. I make
>>>> pictures and tapestries out of tiny little seed beads  sewn together
>>>> with
>>>> thread. but most of my work is in making jewlry, but I have always
>>>> looked
>>>> upon my beadwork as an art form.
>>>>
>>>> so, I have a basic question. What is the difference between an art and
>>>> a
>>>> craft? I do believe that all crafts are forms of art  but are all arts
>>>> considered crafts? Thanks linda and all of you for getting this list
>>>> going as it is something I've always dreamed of seeing in our efforts
>>>> to
>>>> bring blind people together who love to both create and appreciate the
>>>> visual arts.
>>>> ________________________________
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Artists-making-art mailing list
>>>> Artists-making-art at nfbnet.org
>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/artists-making-art_nfbnet.org
>>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>>> Artists-making-art:
>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/artists-making-art_nfbnet.org/llambert%40zoominternet.net
>>>
>>> ________________________________
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Artists-making-art mailing list
>>> Artists-making-art at nfbnet.org
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/artists-making-art_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>> Artists-making-art:
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/artists-making-art_nfbnet.org/ann%40acunningham.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> Artists-making-art mailing list
> Artists-making-art at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/artists-making-art_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
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>

------------------------------

Message: 6
Date: Fri, 7 Feb 2014 13:26:55 -0500
From: "Patricia C. Estes" <pece03 at gmail.com>
To: "An exploration of art by and for blind persons"
<artists-making-art at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member
Message-ID: <95E84F42EA7F4ADFA9DF888A9D45EA90 at Wellness>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Hooray for "outrageous and for all of you for taking the time to articulate 
these distinctions.
I absolutely agree and have been an artist and crafter simultaneously. I am 
back to my art and love the discovery of it-but I will admit, my left brain 
does like rules and instructions-but my Girl Brain is winning! (no put down 
to Boy Brains, just a family joke).

Right on! Right on, Linda!
pece out
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Lynda Lambert
  To: An exploration of art by and for blind persons
  Sent: Friday, February 07, 2014 11:44 AM
  Subject: Re: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member

  Well, this is an outrageous conversation, I know. lol   I better get back 
to the studio before I cause a riot, but this should be a good place for a 
discussion like this.

  That is great, Ann! So true. There is really not a fine line between the 
two, it is very clear and distinct. And artist or a crafter can take the 
exact same materials, but the mind that works with them is quite different 
and the results are quite different. It's really about "ideas" and 
"concepts" and what we are thinking about as we work, and where we go with 
the materials in our process of working.  In Pittsburgh, PA there is a very 
fine museum/gallery called the Society of Contemporary Crafts - now, what is 
done there, and shown there is high art. So there is crafts and there is 
CRAFT, too.  There is the "crafter" and there is the "Craftsman."  very 
distinct differences between them - and as a sculptor you would be very 
aware of this, too.

  I was so fortunate to teach in a small private college (Geneva College, in 
western PA)  where I was free to teach across disciplines, as I have my MFA 
in painting/printmaking, and my MA in English Literature.  Because of this 
background, I was very marketable for a good position.  I was able to create 
multi-discipline courses - alway a combination of literature and art, as 
well as studio courses in painting, fiber arts, printmaking, drawing. It was 
a dream of a job, working in interdisciplinary studies and doing so many 
projects with profs in other disciplines.  I was very active in conferences 
on interdisciplinary studies.   I created an European experience for art and 
literature students and we lived in Austria every summer and then traveled 
to other countries. I even had an art exhibition in Austria for my students 
every summer.  They worked so hard in the studio and out on location every 
day, and at the end of the month they had a show - so much fun.  I also did 
this with Puerto Rico, and students came to PR with me each spring as part 
of their course in Puerto Rico Culture - which I have continued to visit 
every March even though I am now retired. It bacame how we spent our spring 
time.

  OK, back to my studio where I am working my tail off to get a piece done 
today!
  Lynda
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Ann at acunningham.com
    To: An exploration of art by and for blind persons
    Sent: Friday, February 07, 2014 9:08 AM
    Subject: Re: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member

    Lynda, Nice answer to craft and art. If someone who is reading this is 
still torn I wouldn't be surprised though since there are all sorts of 
shades in the continuum.

    I was talking to my daughter and a friend one day. I went off on a 
tangent tangling all sorts of events together rather randomly. They started 
laughing and saying something akin to how do you make it from day to day. 
And I said you guys are pilots and for you to be a good pilot you know and 
follow rules. That is what they pay you for. I am an artist and I am paid to 
break the rules. No one wants to hear from me if it has already been done.

    What did you teach before you retired? Ann

    Ann Cunningham
    Tactile Art - a creative way to see the world!
    303 238 4760
    ann at acunningham.com
    http://www.acunningham.com
    http://www.sensationalbooks.com

      -------- Original Message --------
      Subject: Re: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member
      From: "Lynda Lambert" <llambert at zoominternet.net>
      Date: Fri, February 07, 2014 6:03 am
      To: "An exploration of art by and for blind persons"
      <artists-making-art at nfbnet.org>

      ?
      Hi Laurie,
      So nice to see you here.  I did not start this group though, I am like 
you, I just came on to ask a question about something I needed to know and 
was so glad to meet Ann who helped me with my question.  I am furiously 
working right now (oops, split that infinitive!) getting work done for the 
opening of a two-person exhibition at a museum - the show is called _Vision 
and Revision:  Two artists with limited sight, not limited vision_  It is my 
pottery and mixed-media fiber works, and a legally blind painter. It opens 
one month from today, and if I stop to think about what else has to be done 
yet, I'll get nervous. So, I won't do that, but just will keep on working on 
the details. The show will appear at two locations this year and will have a 
video that plays in the gallery with the art works, Braille labeling, and 
artist's talks. I will even be teaching in the gallery one afternoon, for 
the Women in the Arts course at Geneva College. That is where I taught when 
I was a professor of fine arts and humanities, before I retired. I'll be 
lecturing on the historical context of my work and where the ideas have come 
from when creating it.

      To make matters even more difficult, I am scheduled to speak at a 
conference at Slippery Rock University of PA for two sessions, the day 
before we hang our show. So, I have those presentations to be working on 
every day now, too.  I officially retired from teaching 5 1/2 years ago, but 
I am still very much involved in everything but being in the classroom.

      Here is my response to the question you have asked. The gap between an 
artist and a crafter is like crossing the ocean, it is that wide. Some basic 
things may be similar between the two, but most things are very far apart 
philisophically.

      Both work with the hands, and both love working with the hands and 
most have done it all their life.
      Both love the materials, and the handling of them, and the 
satisfaction of the finished product that comes out of it.

      While the crafter will usually be satisfied with beginning something 
and knowing where the end will be, the artist begins with no notion of where 
the end will be or even if it will be.  the crafter has a clearly defined 
path to the finished product. The artist has only some inklings of possible 
outcomes, but has to find them as she works.

      The other very big thing I see as a difference between them is that 
the crafter has 'rules" to follow and seldom will ever deviate from those 
rules, as they are set in stone in her mind. On the other hand, the mature 
artist has learned that there are no rules at all.  They may begin in the 
early stages by learning techniques, but eventually with the years of 
working, the light comes on in her brain when she discovers one day - she is 
free of all rules when making art. Everything can be challenged, everything 
can be changed, and everything is fair game, for the artist. Is there any 
other profession in this world where there are no rules? It's the most 
exhilerating feeling to know that there are absolutely no rules whatsoever 
for me. Wow, makes me take a deep breath just to say it. Free, free, free, 
at last!

      Laurie, the biggest difference between art and a craft is where the 
person eventually takes the techniques, I think.

      A crafter seldom takes things to a different level but is usually 
content to learn something then duplicate it endlessly, then moves on to 
learn something else and does that again with it. The artist can take crafts 
materials (which is what you and I both do) and techniques, and then take 
them far beyond because they will combine their techniques and materials 
with the imagination.  If you can teach it, it is usually a craft. If you 
cannot teach it, it is normally art.  Art can begin by learning some 
techniques, or using craft materials, but then the person begins to ask the 
"what if" questions, and takes lots of risks, failures, and bends in the 
road on the way to it becoming a work of art. It is a "mind set" that is 
never satisfied with just the learning of something new, but one that 
constantly questions, experiments, and never knows where the "end" will be, 
or even if it will be.  A "crafter" will never understand what I have just 
said and will most likely be huffing and puffing and angry with it.  An 
"artist" is standing and applauding what I have said. It is that simple, and 
that complex.  The artist thrives on change and making new discoveries and 
each work leads to other querstions and more change and more new 
discoveries.

      One can see the difference when you look at work in types of 
environments.  One will be setting at a craft show with a table full of 
things that are basically all the same while the other will have work  on 
display in a gallery or museum.  Each has decided where they "fit" and each 
is very happy with where they are. They are different animals, with 
different ideas, and different end results and outcomes. Each one has 
decided their own path and each one is comfortable with the decision she has 
made.

      Lynda

      Lynda

        ----- Original Message ----- 
        From: Laurie Porter
        To: Artists-making-art at nfbnet.org
        Sent: Thursday, February 06, 2014 7:26 PM
        Subject: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member

        Hi Folks:

        I?d like to introduce myself. I?m a blind person from wisconsin who 
is a fledgling and budding beginner artist. my medium is beadwork. I make 
pictures and tapestries out of tiny little seed beads  sewn together with 
thread. but most of my work is in making jewlry, but I have always looked 
upon my beadwork as an art form.

        so, I have a basic question. What is the difference between an art 
and a craft? I do believe that all crafts are forms of art  but are all arts 
considered crafts? Thanks linda and all of you for getting this list going 
as it is something I?ve always dreamed of seeing in our efforts to bring 
blind people together who love to both create and appreciate the visual 
arts.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Message: 7
Date: Fri, 7 Feb 2014 13:48:48 -0500
From: "Lynda Lambert" <llambert at zoominternet.net>
To: "An exploration of art by and for blind persons"
<artists-making-art at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member
Message-ID: <0C82603A06C14829A1FDF9CA9822F0BB at Lambert>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Patricia, I just finished reading the book "The Female Brain" by Luann 
Brizendine, and OH, HOw I wish I had this wonderful information a long time 
ago. Raising my brood of children would have been so much easier if I had 
known these things about the differences between male and female brains. 
And, my goodness, I would have been a much better teacher, too. I would have 
a better understanding of my fellow human beings - but at least I do 
understand a lot more about it now since reading this book. It was so 
enlightening to me and I was telling my husband all about it as we would 
ride along in the truck. One day he said to me, "I guess it is like this 
conversation we are having right now in this truck."  This was his insight 
as I was rapidly sharing so much information as he sat quietly 
listening...lol  I said, "Yes, now I understand this conversation here in 
this truck so much better."  We laughed.

Of course we are both crafters and artists - one feeds into the other. We 
all begin somewhere - and for me, it begins with my mother taking an 
afternoon to teach me how to do some embroidery stitches and to creat a 
picture on a linen tea towel - I was probably 8 years old. Then, it 
continues on with my precious neighbor taking an hour each morning, one 
summer, to teach me how to read a pattern and how to sew a blouse, skirt, 
and then an entire outfit - I was about 10. We learn from those around us, 
and how lucky we were to have them in our life. What I do today, is an 
homage to those women in my life so long ago. I celebrate them with  every 
stitch  I make in my art these days. And, I say "thank you" to them for 
giving me the beginnings of who I am today, and who I am becoming with each 
new day and each new idea I work with.

Lynda

http://www.amazon.com/Louann-Brizendine/e/B001H6RZB8/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1391798400&sr=1-1
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Patricia C. Estes
  To: An exploration of art by and for blind persons
  Sent: Friday, February 07, 2014 1:26 PM
  Subject: Re: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member

  Hooray for "outrageous and for all of you for taking the time to 
articulate these distinctions.
  I absolutely agree and have been an artist and crafter simultaneously. I 
am back to my art and love the discovery of it-but I will admit, my left 
brain does like rules and instructions-but my Girl Brain is winning! (no put 
down to Boy Brains, just a family joke).

  Right on! Right on, Linda!
  pece out
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Lynda Lambert
    To: An exploration of art by and for blind persons
    Sent: Friday, February 07, 2014 11:44 AM
    Subject: Re: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member

    Well, this is an outrageous conversation, I know. lol   I better get 
back to the studio before I cause a riot, but this should be a good place 
for a discussion like this.

    That is great, Ann! So true. There is really not a fine line between the 
two, it is very clear and distinct. And artist or a crafter can take the 
exact same materials, but the mind that works with them is quite different 
and the results are quite different. It's really about "ideas" and 
"concepts" and what we are thinking about as we work, and where we go with 
the materials in our process of working.  In Pittsburgh, PA there is a very 
fine museum/gallery called the Society of Contemporary Crafts - now, what is 
done there, and shown there is high art. So there is crafts and there is 
CRAFT, too.  There is the "crafter" and there is the "Craftsman."  very 
distinct differences between them - and as a sculptor you would be very 
aware of this, too.

    I was so fortunate to teach in a small private college (Geneva College, 
in western PA)  where I was free to teach across disciplines, as I have my 
MFA in painting/printmaking, and my MA in English Literature.  Because of 
this background, I was very marketable for a good position.  I was able to 
create multi-discipline courses - alway a combination of literature and art, 
as well as studio courses in painting, fiber arts, printmaking, drawing. It 
was a dream of a job, working in interdisciplinary studies and doing so many 
projects with profs in other disciplines.  I was very active in conferences 
on interdisciplinary studies.   I created an European experience for art and 
literature students and we lived in Austria every summer and then traveled 
to other countries. I even had an art exhibition in Austria for my students 
every summer.  They worked so hard in the studio and out on location every 
day, and at the end of the month they had a show - so much fun.  I also did 
this with Puerto Rico, and students came to PR with me each spring as part 
of their course in Puerto Rico Culture - which I have continued to visit 
every March even though I am now retired. It bacame how we spent our spring 
time.

    OK, back to my studio where I am working my tail off to get a piece done 
today!
    Lynda
      ----- Original Message ----- 
      From: Ann at acunningham.com
      To: An exploration of art by and for blind persons
      Sent: Friday, February 07, 2014 9:08 AM
      Subject: Re: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member

      Lynda, Nice answer to craft and art. If someone who is reading this is 
still torn I wouldn't be surprised though since there are all sorts of 
shades in the continuum.

      I was talking to my daughter and a friend one day. I went off on a 
tangent tangling all sorts of events together rather randomly. They started 
laughing and saying something akin to how do you make it from day to day. 
And I said you guys are pilots and for you to be a good pilot you know and 
follow rules. That is what they pay you for. I am an artist and I am paid to 
break the rules. No one wants to hear from me if it has already been done.

      What did you teach before you retired? Ann

      Ann Cunningham
      Tactile Art - a creative way to see the world!
      303 238 4760
      ann at acunningham.com
      http://www.acunningham.com
      http://www.sensationalbooks.com

        -------- Original Message --------
        Subject: Re: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member
        From: "Lynda Lambert" <llambert at zoominternet.net>
        Date: Fri, February 07, 2014 6:03 am
        To: "An exploration of art by and for blind persons"
        <artists-making-art at nfbnet.org>

        ?
        Hi Laurie,
        So nice to see you here.  I did not start this group though, I am 
like you, I just came on to ask a question about something I needed to know 
and was so glad to meet Ann who helped me with my question.  I am furiously 
working right now (oops, split that infinitive!) getting work done for the 
opening of a two-person exhibition at a museum - the show is called _Vision 
and Revision:  Two artists with limited sight, not limited vision_  It is my 
pottery and mixed-media fiber works, and a legally blind painter. It opens 
one month from today, and if I stop to think about what else has to be done 
yet, I'll get nervous. So, I won't do that, but just will keep on working on 
the details. The show will appear at two locations this year and will have a 
video that plays in the gallery with the art works, Braille labeling, and 
artist's talks. I will even be teaching in the gallery one afternoon, for 
the Women in the Arts course at Geneva College. That is where I taught when 
I was a professor of fine arts and humanities, before I retired. I'll be 
lecturing on the historical context of my work and where the ideas have come 
from when creating it.

        To make matters even more difficult, I am scheduled to speak at a 
conference at Slippery Rock University of PA for two sessions, the day 
before we hang our show. So, I have those presentations to be working on 
every day now, too.  I officially retired from teaching 5 1/2 years ago, but 
I am still very much involved in everything but being in the classroom.

        Here is my response to the question you have asked. The gap between 
an artist and a crafter is like crossing the ocean, it is that wide. Some 
basic things may be similar between the two, but most things are very far 
apart philisophically.

        Both work with the hands, and both love working with the hands and 
most have done it all their life.
        Both love the materials, and the handling of them, and the 
satisfaction of the finished product that comes out of it.

        While the crafter will usually be satisfied with beginning something 
and knowing where the end will be, the artist begins with no notion of where 
the end will be or even if it will be.  the crafter has a clearly defined 
path to the finished product. The artist has only some inklings of possible 
outcomes, but has to find them as she works.

        The other very big thing I see as a difference between them is that 
the crafter has 'rules" to follow and seldom will ever deviate from those 
rules, as they are set in stone in her mind. On the other hand, the mature 
artist has learned that there are no rules at all.  They may begin in the 
early stages by learning techniques, but eventually with the years of 
working, the light comes on in her brain when she discovers one day - she is 
free of all rules when making art. Everything can be challenged, everything 
can be changed, and everything is fair game, for the artist. Is there any 
other profession in this world where there are no rules? It's the most 
exhilerating feeling to know that there are absolutely no rules whatsoever 
for me. Wow, makes me take a deep breath just to say it. Free, free, free, 
at last!

        Laurie, the biggest difference between art and a craft is where the 
person eventually takes the techniques, I think.

        A crafter seldom takes things to a different level but is usually 
content to learn something then duplicate it endlessly, then moves on to 
learn something else and does that again with it. The artist can take crafts 
materials (which is what you and I both do) and techniques, and then take 
them far beyond because they will combine their techniques and materials 
with the imagination.  If you can teach it, it is usually a craft. If you 
cannot teach it, it is normally art.  Art can begin by learning some 
techniques, or using craft materials, but then the person begins to ask the 
"what if" questions, and takes lots of risks, failures, and bends in the 
road on the way to it becoming a work of art. It is a "mind set" that is 
never satisfied with just the learning of something new, but one that 
constantly questions, experiments, and never knows where the "end" will be, 
or even if it will be.  A "crafter" will never understand what I have just 
said and will most likely be huffing and puffing and angry with it.  An 
"artist" is standing and applauding what I have said. It is that simple, and 
that complex.  The artist thrives on change and making new discoveries and 
each work leads to other querstions and more change and more new 
discoveries.

        One can see the difference when you look at work in types of 
environments.  One will be setting at a craft show with a table full of 
things that are basically all the same while the other will have work  on 
display in a gallery or museum.  Each has decided where they "fit" and each 
is very happy with where they are. They are different animals, with 
different ideas, and different end results and outcomes. Each one has 
decided their own path and each one is comfortable with the decision she has 
made.

        Lynda

        Lynda

          ----- Original Message ----- 
          From: Laurie Porter
          To: Artists-making-art at nfbnet.org
          Sent: Thursday, February 06, 2014 7:26 PM
          Subject: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member

          Hi Folks:

          I?d like to introduce myself. I?m a blind person from wisconsin 
who is a fledgling and budding beginner artist. my medium is beadwork. I 
make pictures and tapestries out of tiny little seed beads  sewn together 
with thread. but most of my work is in making jewlry, but I have always 
looked upon my beadwork as an art form.

          so, I have a basic question. What is the difference between an art 
and a craft? I do believe that all crafts are forms of art  but are all arts 
considered crafts? Thanks linda and all of you for getting this list going 
as it is something I?ve always dreamed of seeing in our efforts to bring 
blind people together who love to both create and appreciate the visual 
arts.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

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Message: 8
Date: Fri, 7 Feb 2014 20:54:43 -0500
From: "Patricia C. Estes" <pece03 at gmail.com>
To: "An exploration of art by and for blind persons"
<artists-making-art at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member
Message-ID: <35AF1D7D30354C14A11963A2A17E797B at Wellness>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Linda, the brain is so fascinating-or is it the mind?? My first real 
understanding of it (before I studied holistic psychology and energy 
medicine) was when our youngest was caught doing something or other that 
five year olds do, and he burst into tears and managed to blurt out 
emphatically, "My girl brain made me do it!"
Yes, Luke, I know what you mean! But he didn't go to school, yet, and we 
didn't have a TV...I think he just *knew*.
Dr. Christian Northrop teaches about the female brain, too. Her example is 
that she and her, then, husband were flying somewhere and she noticed that 
she was reading "Enriching the Mother/Daughter Relationship" and he was 
reading "How to get the most out of your Band Saw."
To bring art into this, I am sure you are familiar with the book,"Drawing on 
the Right side of the Brain." Pretty fascinating, if one has time to 
complicate one's life by experimenting with drawing things upside down.
Energetically, if you want to engage both hemispheres, Brain Gym says to 
"think of an X." And to relax the mind, think of two parallel lines.

OK, I'm taking my parallel lines and heading to bed,
Patty
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Lynda Lambert
  To: An exploration of art by and for blind persons
  Sent: Friday, February 07, 2014 1:48 PM
  Subject: Re: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member

  Patricia, I just finished reading the book "The Female Brain" by Luann 
Brizendine, and OH, HOw I wish I had this wonderful information a long time 
ago. Raising my brood of children would have been so much easier if I had 
known these things about the differences between male and female brains. 
And, my goodness, I would have been a much better teacher, too. I would have 
a better understanding of my fellow human beings - but at least I do 
understand a lot more about it now since reading this book. It was so 
enlightening to me and I was telling my husband all about it as we would 
ride along in the truck. One day he said to me, "I guess it is like this 
conversation we are having right now in this truck."  This was his insight 
as I was rapidly sharing so much information as he sat quietly 
listening...lol  I said, "Yes, now I understand this conversation here in 
this truck so much better."  We laughed.

  Of course we are both crafters and artists - one feeds into the other. We 
all begin somewhere - and for me, it begins with my mother taking an 
afternoon to teach me how to do some embroidery stitches and to creat a 
picture on a linen tea towel - I was probably 8 years old. Then, it 
continues on with my precious neighbor taking an hour each morning, one 
summer, to teach me how to read a pattern and how to sew a blouse, skirt, 
and then an entire outfit - I was about 10. We learn from those around us, 
and how lucky we were to have them in our life. What I do today, is an 
homage to those women in my life so long ago. I celebrate them with  every 
stitch  I make in my art these days. And, I say "thank you" to them for 
giving me the beginnings of who I am today, and who I am becoming with each 
new day and each new idea I work with.

  Lynda

  http://www.amazon.com/Louann-Brizendine/e/B001H6RZB8/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1391798400&sr=1-1
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Patricia C. Estes
    To: An exploration of art by and for blind persons
    Sent: Friday, February 07, 2014 1:26 PM
    Subject: Re: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member

    Hooray for "outrageous and for all of you for taking the time to 
articulate these distinctions.
    I absolutely agree and have been an artist and crafter simultaneously. I 
am back to my art and love the discovery of it-but I will admit, my left 
brain does like rules and instructions-but my Girl Brain is winning! (no put 
down to Boy Brains, just a family joke).

    Right on! Right on, Linda!
    pece out
      ----- Original Message ----- 
      From: Lynda Lambert
      To: An exploration of art by and for blind persons
      Sent: Friday, February 07, 2014 11:44 AM
      Subject: Re: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member

      Well, this is an outrageous conversation, I know. lol   I better get 
back to the studio before I cause a riot, but this should be a good place 
for a discussion like this.

      That is great, Ann! So true. There is really not a fine line between 
the two, it is very clear and distinct. And artist or a crafter can take the 
exact same materials, but the mind that works with them is quite different 
and the results are quite different. It's really about "ideas" and 
"concepts" and what we are thinking about as we work, and where we go with 
the materials in our process of working.  In Pittsburgh, PA there is a very 
fine museum/gallery called the Society of Contemporary Crafts - now, what is 
done there, and shown there is high art. So there is crafts and there is 
CRAFT, too.  There is the "crafter" and there is the "Craftsman."  very 
distinct differences between them - and as a sculptor you would be very 
aware of this, too.

      I was so fortunate to teach in a small private college (Geneva 
College, in western PA)  where I was free to teach across disciplines, as I 
have my MFA in painting/printmaking, and my MA in English Literature. 
Because of this background, I was very marketable for a good position.  I 
was able to create multi-discipline courses - alway a combination of 
literature and art, as well as studio courses in painting, fiber arts, 
printmaking, drawing. It was a dream of a job, working in interdisciplinary 
studies and doing so many projects with profs in other disciplines.  I was 
very active in conferences on interdisciplinary studies.   I created an 
European experience for art and literature students and we lived in Austria 
every summer and then traveled to other countries. I even had an art 
exhibition in Austria for my students every summer.  They worked so hard in 
the studio and out on location every day, and at the end of the month they 
had a show - so much fun.  I also did this with Puerto Rico, and students 
came to PR with me each spring as part of their course in Puerto Rico 
Culture - which I have continued to visit every March even though I am now 
retired. It bacame how we spent our spring time.

      OK, back to my studio where I am working my tail off to get a piece 
done today!
      Lynda
        ----- Original Message ----- 
        From: Ann at acunningham.com
        To: An exploration of art by and for blind persons
        Sent: Friday, February 07, 2014 9:08 AM
        Subject: Re: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member

        Lynda, Nice answer to craft and art. If someone who is reading this 
is still torn I wouldn't be surprised though since there are all sorts of 
shades in the continuum.

        I was talking to my daughter and a friend one day. I went off on a 
tangent tangling all sorts of events together rather randomly. They started 
laughing and saying something akin to how do you make it from day to day. 
And I said you guys are pilots and for you to be a good pilot you know and 
follow rules. That is what they pay you for. I am an artist and I am paid to 
break the rules. No one wants to hear from me if it has already been done.

        What did you teach before you retired? Ann

        Ann Cunningham
        Tactile Art - a creative way to see the world!
        303 238 4760
        ann at acunningham.com
        http://www.acunningham.com
        http://www.sensationalbooks.com

          -------- Original Message --------
          Subject: Re: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member
          From: "Lynda Lambert" <llambert at zoominternet.net>
          Date: Fri, February 07, 2014 6:03 am
          To: "An exploration of art by and for blind persons"
          <artists-making-art at nfbnet.org>

          ?
          Hi Laurie,
          So nice to see you here.  I did not start this group though, I am 
like you, I just came on to ask a question about something I needed to know 
and was so glad to meet Ann who helped me with my question.  I am furiously 
working right now (oops, split that infinitive!) getting work done for the 
opening of a two-person exhibition at a museum - the show is called _Vision 
and Revision:  Two artists with limited sight, not limited vision_  It is my 
pottery and mixed-media fiber works, and a legally blind painter. It opens 
one month from today, and if I stop to think about what else has to be done 
yet, I'll get nervous. So, I won't do that, but just will keep on working on 
the details. The show will appear at two locations this year and will have a 
video that plays in the gallery with the art works, Braille labeling, and 
artist's talks. I will even be teaching in the gallery one afternoon, for 
the Women in the Arts course at Geneva College. That is where I taught when 
I was a professor of fine arts and humanities, before I retired. I'll be 
lecturing on the historical context of my work and where the ideas have come 
from when creating it.

          To make matters even more difficult, I am scheduled to speak at a 
conference at Slippery Rock University of PA for two sessions, the day 
before we hang our show. So, I have those presentations to be working on 
every day now, too.  I officially retired from teaching 5 1/2 years ago, but 
I am still very much involved in everything but being in the classroom.

          Here is my response to the question you have asked. The gap 
between an artist and a crafter is like crossing the ocean, it is that wide. 
Some basic things may be similar between the two, but most things are very 
far apart philisophically.

          Both work with the hands, and both love working with the hands and 
most have done it all their life.
          Both love the materials, and the handling of them, and the 
satisfaction of the finished product that comes out of it.

          While the crafter will usually be satisfied with beginning 
something and knowing where the end will be, the artist begins with no 
notion of where the end will be or even if it will be.  the crafter has a 
clearly defined path to the finished product. The artist has only some 
inklings of possible outcomes, but has to find them as she works.

          The other very big thing I see as a difference between them is 
that the crafter has 'rules" to follow and seldom will ever deviate from 
those rules, as they are set in stone in her mind. On the other hand, the 
mature artist has learned that there are no rules at all.  They may begin in 
the early stages by learning techniques, but eventually with the years of 
working, the light comes on in her brain when she discovers one day - she is 
free of all rules when making art. Everything can be challenged, everything 
can be changed, and everything is fair game, for the artist. Is there any 
other profession in this world where there are no rules? It's the most 
exhilerating feeling to know that there are absolutely no rules whatsoever 
for me. Wow, makes me take a deep breath just to say it. Free, free, free, 
at last!

          Laurie, the biggest difference between art and a craft is where 
the person eventually takes the techniques, I think.

          A crafter seldom takes things to a different level but is usually 
content to learn something then duplicate it endlessly, then moves on to 
learn something else and does that again with it. The artist can take crafts 
materials (which is what you and I both do) and techniques, and then take 
them far beyond because they will combine their techniques and materials 
with the imagination.  If you can teach it, it is usually a craft. If you 
cannot teach it, it is normally art.  Art can begin by learning some 
techniques, or using craft materials, but then the person begins to ask the 
"what if" questions, and takes lots of risks, failures, and bends in the 
road on the way to it becoming a work of art. It is a "mind set" that is 
never satisfied with just the learning of something new, but one that 
constantly questions, experiments, and never knows where the "end" will be, 
or even if it will be.  A "crafter" will never understand what I have just 
said and will most likely be huffing and puffing and angry with it.  An 
"artist" is standing and applauding what I have said. It is that simple, and 
that complex.  The artist thrives on change and making new discoveries and 
each work leads to other querstions and more change and more new 
discoveries.

          One can see the difference when you look at work in types of 
environments.  One will be setting at a craft show with a table full of 
things that are basically all the same while the other will have work  on 
display in a gallery or museum.  Each has decided where they "fit" and each 
is very happy with where they are. They are different animals, with 
different ideas, and different end results and outcomes. Each one has 
decided their own path and each one is comfortable with the decision she has 
made.

          Lynda

          Lynda

            ----- Original Message ----- 
            From: Laurie Porter
            To: Artists-making-art at nfbnet.org
            Sent: Thursday, February 06, 2014 7:26 PM
            Subject: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member

            Hi Folks:

            I?d like to introduce myself. I?m a blind person from wisconsin 
who is a fledgling and budding beginner artist. my medium is beadwork. I 
make pictures and tapestries out of tiny little seed beads  sewn together 
with thread. but most of my work is in making jewlry, but I have always 
looked upon my beadwork as an art form.

            so, I have a basic question. What is the difference between an 
art and a craft? I do believe that all crafts are forms of art  but are all 
arts considered crafts? Thanks linda and all of you for getting this list 
going as it is something I?ve always dreamed of seeing in our efforts to 
bring blind people together who love to both create and appreciate the 
visual arts.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

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