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<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Georgia>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!"</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Georgia>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*.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Georgia>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."</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Georgia>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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Georgia>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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Georgia></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Georgia>OK, I'm taking my parallel lines and heading to
bed,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Georgia>Patty</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=llambert@zoominternet.net
href="mailto:llambert@zoominternet.net">Lynda Lambert</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=artists-making-art@nfbnet.org
href="mailto:artists-making-art@nfbnet.org">An exploration of art by and for
blind persons</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, February 07, 2014 1:48
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Artists-making-art] arts or
crafts new member</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial>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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial>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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial>Lynda</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial><A
href="http://www.amazon.com/Louann-Brizendine/e/B001H6RZB8/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1391798400&sr=1-1">http://www.amazon.com/Louann-Brizendine/e/B001H6RZB8/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1391798400&sr=1-1</A></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=pece03@gmail.com href="mailto:pece03@gmail.com">Patricia C.
Estes</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=artists-making-art@nfbnet.org
href="mailto:artists-making-art@nfbnet.org">An exploration of art by and for
blind persons</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, February 07, 2014 1:26
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Artists-making-art] arts
or crafts new member</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Georgia>Hooray for "outrageous and for all of you for
taking the time to articulate these distinctions.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Georgia>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).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Georgia></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Georgia>Right on! Right on, Linda!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Georgia>pece out</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=llambert@zoominternet.net
href="mailto:llambert@zoominternet.net">Lynda Lambert</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=artists-making-art@nfbnet.org
href="mailto:artists-making-art@nfbnet.org">An exploration of art by and
for blind persons</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, February 07, 2014 11:44
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Artists-making-art]
arts or crafts new member</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial>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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial>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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial>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.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial>OK, back to my studio where I am working my
tail off to get a piece done today! </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial>Lynda</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=Ann@acunningham.com
href="mailto:Ann@acunningham.com">Ann@acunningham.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=artists-making-art@nfbnet.org
href="mailto:artists-making-art@nfbnet.org">An exploration of art by and
for blind persons</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, February 07, 2014
9:08 AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Artists-making-art]
arts or crafts new member</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">
<DIV>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. </DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>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.</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>What did you teach before you retired? Ann</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: andale mono,times">Ann
Cunningham</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: andale mono,times"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><EM><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Tactile Art -
a creative way to see the world!</SPAN></EM></SPAN></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: andale mono,times">303 238
4760</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: andale mono,times"><A
href="mailto:ann@acunningham.com">ann@acunningham.com</A></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: andale mono,times"><A
href="http://www.acunningham.com">http://www.acunningham.com</A></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: andale mono,times"><A
href="http://www.sensationalbooks.com">http://www.sensationalbooks.com</A>
</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><BR><BR></DIV>
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id=replyBlockquote webmail="1">
<DIV id=wmQuoteWrapper>-------- Original Message --------<BR>Subject:
Re: [Artists-making-art] arts or crafts new member<BR>From: "Lynda
Lambert" <<A
href="mailto:llambert@zoominternet.net">llambert@zoominternet.net</A>><BR>Date:
Fri, February 07, 2014 6:03 am<BR>To: "An exploration of art by and
for blind persons"<BR><<A
href="mailto:artists-making-art@nfbnet.org">artists-making-art@nfbnet.org</A>><BR><BR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial>Hi Laurie, </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial>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. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial>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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial>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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial>Both work with the hands, and both love
working with the hands and most have done it all their life.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial>Both love the materials, and the handling
of them, and the satisfaction of the finished product that comes out
of it. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial>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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial>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! </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial>Laurie, the biggest difference between
art and a craft is where the person eventually takes the techniques, I
think. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial>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. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial>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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial>Lynda</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial>Lynda</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=free.spirit1@live.com href="mailto:free.spirit1@live.com"
target=_blank>Laurie Porter</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=Artists-making-art@nfbnet.org
href="mailto:Artists-making-art@nfbnet.org"
target=_blank>Artists-making-art@nfbnet.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, February 06,
2014 7:26 PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Artists-making-art]
arts or crafts new member</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr>
<DIV
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">
<DIV>Hi Folks:</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>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. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>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.
</DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
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