Craft Practitioners Research Articles

Book Review: Critical Craft: Technology, Globalization, and Capitalism by Claire M. Wilkinson-Weber and Alicia Ory DeNicola (eds)

Claire M. Wilkinson-Weber and Alicia Ory DeNicola (eds) Critical Craft: Technology, Globalization, and Capitalism, London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016; 298 pp.: ISBN 9781472594853 (pbk); 9781472594860 (hbk); 9781472594877 (ePDF); 9781472594884 (ePub) I declare my bias at the outset: I am a craft scholar and a craft practitioner. I have interviewed Western craft practitioners who work in ceramics, glass, metal, textiles and wood, and written about their work and exhibitions; I have researched the craft phenomenon historically and am an advocate for the perpetuation of craft skills. As a maker, I understand the ethos and lifestyle of craft practice. And 1 am aware that since before the Industrial Revolution, craft has represented a political alternative, whether its forms are humble or sophisticated. My review and this book should be read from this sensibility. My commitment to and passion for craft, until recently, have been closeted, except when I am in 'my community. Craft was a derisible word but, over the last 5 years, I have observed that craft practice and craft patronage are experiencing a resurgence. On the one hand, DIYers have taken up craft activities for therapy (Stitch 'n Bitch knitting), economic necessity or to counteract disquietude at the proliferation of mass production's meaninglessness and waste. On the other hand, those with copious disposable income have identified one-of-a-kind objects as symbols that indicate uniqueness and seeming concern for the planet. Universities are reinstating craft programmes that were abandoned only a few years ago, while publications have proliferated on academic and general interest bookshelves. Whereas Craft Scotland inaugurated an ad campaign in 2009 entitled 'The C Word', exploiting its outre letter to bring recognition to heritage practices, the 'c' word, craft, is now evident in the art world--for example, Grayson Perry's (2003) Turner prize; Ai Weiwei's (2010), Swiflower Seeds-, Paul Cummins & Tom Piper's (2015), Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red--and Western culture. It therefore seems no coincidence that Critical Craft: Technology, Globalization, and Capitalism, a collection of essays by anthropologists, should appear at this time. Its editors state in the Introduction that their anthropological predecessors took craft for granted as an 'old' activity of societies and likely to disappear; with craft's survival, its practices were then relegated to specialist enquiry while anthropology concentrated on society and its physical surroundings, its politics, knowledge acquisition and symbolism (p. 2). From the 1980s, craft was given legitimacy by the advent of two theoretical streams: the proposition of craft's being a constitutive activity and an increase in attention to material culture. But Wilkinson-Weber and DeNicola point out that by the 21st century craft was still not central to anthropological study and, seeing this as a shortcoming due to their own work in South Asia, they initiated a call for articles. The essence of the volume is that 'craft as a discourse and a praxis help[s] people tell themselves, their communities, their connections, and their classes' (ibid.). The telling that occurs in this volume is, for the most part, informative of craft practice in non-Western countries and, for this reason, enlightening. Geoffrey Gowlland's essay on the division of labour in Taiwanese ceramics and Alana Cant's on authorship of woodcarvings in Mexico are reminders of the West's inculcated belief in the individuality of the artist. …

A reflection on learning crafts as a practice for self-development

This paper represents a reflection on craft as a process that stimulates self-development. Central to this approach is the perception of craft, not as a means of production, but as an exercise of relating to the world. The paper suggests that through the dialogue between the mind, body and environment craft practitioners experience a particular form of connection with the world that reshapes their perceptual and conceptual understanding of it. Rather than following an ego-driven tendency to control, a craftsperson is exposed to modes of ‘knowing’ and ‘being’ that embrace the inherent uncertainty of a complex world. The learning experience of a novice (lead author) demonstrates such a course of development in this paper. In particular, the liminal space that needs to be created for the dialogue between the self and the non-self is explored. This personal narrative is woven together with the experience of craft masters within different social contexts and value systems (from traditional to modern to postmodern) and their views on the process of being and becoming a craftsperson.

Interpreting Tools by Imagining Their Uses

ABSTRACTBy prompting imagined or actual bodily experience, we can guide interpretation of tools to emphasize the action that those tools perform. The technique requires little more than an extension from looking at an object, to imagining how the body engages with it, perhaps even trying out those specialist postures, to nourish an interpretation centered on how the tool is used. This empathy-based approach, developed for use in classrooms and museum study environments, emphasizes tool users – scientific, trade and craft practitioners – rather than the products that the tools were used to create, and interprets science and craft as embodied processes in space and time rather than as mere precursors to their static products. This approach also encourages close inspection of specific objects to reveal wear and other changes that offer clues about how they were held, and how they moved. Interpreting objects in this way provides insights that center the object in a visitor engagement, letting objects speak for themselves. The technique may also be applicable in exhibition, using mannequins or augmented reality to add bodily information.

Reconsidering Pye’s theory of making through digital craft practice: A theoretical framework towards continuous designing

Abstract The term ‘Digital Craft’ is commonly applied in the context of craft as exercised with the aid of digital technology. If the application of digital tools and techniques merits the term digital craft, then where does the craft lie in Computer Numeric Control (CNC) making? This article takes the position that craft practice is rooted in the relationship between materials, tools and techniques as an intricate workflow. We suggest that the workflow can be considered as autopoietic in nature, in that it is both self-referential and self-making, at the same time as continuously designing. Through this, digital fabrication can be seen as a practice that co-evolves technology and material systems. The first author took a step back and reconsidered David Pye’s theory of making in relationship to digital craft practice. This is later cross-examined with a series of semi-structured interviews with contemporary craft practitioners, to devise a systematic approach to the analysis of craft practices. This research stems from the first author’s background in architecture, whose design practice is craft based using digital fabrication technology. Through this research, we examined making as a means of generating design knowledge in the process. The article suggests that the authenticity of craft lies within the deeper structure of the practice: the formation of repertoire where its social and cultural meaning is derived through coupling the practice with other systems.

Publish and Perish—The Academic Journalist’s Publishing Dilemma

Universities have fully developed requirements on how to assess full-time faculty, especially PhDs. However, these are not fully sensitive to evaluating ‘production’ faculty and/or ‘craft practitioners’ such as in journalism schools. In this opinion piece, the author explores the question of whether journalistic writings can or should be ‘recognised’ as academic research output? While arguing that journalistic writing can be recognized as academic research output, he points out that good journalism involves research, originality, social responsibility and ethics, and good journalists are flag bearers of these standards. These are analogous, if not similar, to expectations of good scholarship and hence journalistic writing merits the same acceptance as other academic ‘theoretical’ writing.

The Making-Of: An Autoethnographic Cinema on the Meanings of Contemporary Craft Practicing for a Young Hobbyist

The year 2013, declared the Jubilee Year of Handcraft in Finland, raised the level of public awareness towards crafts by engaging craft-makers in several virtual and in-person craft projects. One of the projects was a short film competition called Crafts in Our Lives, which asked craft practitioners to present their vision of how crafts have been part of their lives through film-making. This article contributes to the current debates about the meanings of contemporary craft-making through an autoethnographic short film project inspired by the competition. The short film reflects on the experiences of a young hobbyist knitter, with attention to the subversive Do-It-Yourself movement on the one hand and the resurgence of the nostalgic granny-like “nanna” practices on the other. The autoethnographic project sheds light on the meanings and experiences of a young craft-maker, and articulates the potential of a camera as a tool for reviewing one’s own maker identities.VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x02fmvg5yuo.

Hobbyists, artisans and entrepreneurs

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight into the goals and values of craft practitioners in Ireland, and assesses the validity of the business support provided to Dublin based craft practitioners. This research aimed to identify entrepreneurial traits in craft businesses and to challenge the objectives of public business support programs. This research enquires into what support practitioners have participated in and the perceived relevance to their professional needs and goals. Indeed, does demand or policy shape business support programs for craft in Dublin? Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on a mix of quantitative and qualitative research using surveys and interviews. Findings – The research provides new insights into the goals and values of craft practitioners in Ireland. It identifies discrepancies between the needs of these businesses and the support programs available in Dublin. This study also highlighted three profiles of craft practitioners with distinct goals and values: the hobbyist, the artisan and the entrepreneur. Research limitations/implications – This study was limited to members registered with the Craft Council of Ireland in Dublin. It therefore excluded any professional craft business non-registered with the agency. Practical implications – This paper provides valuable insights on craft practitioners goals and values and offers useful recommendation on business support for craft micro-businesses in Ireland. Originality/value – This paper offers empirical data entirely new for Ireland and highlights the similarities between craft businesses and other micro-businesses, questioning business support rationale for the whole of this sector.

“Fiddling with Threads”: Craft-based Textile Activities and Positive Well-being

Craft-based textile activities such as knitting, crochet, tatting, and lace making have provided challenges, physical and mental stimulation, creative outlets, and social interaction for generations. The role of craft and the relationship between craft and maker vary across cultures, geographic groups, and gender. However, a common thread is that craft practitioners are often emotionally invested in these activities and many continue to make through all stages of life and into old age. Given the ageing of the global population, activities that can be carried out by people with reduced mobility and increasing physical or mental limitations as a result of ageing, and which can promote healthy ageing and positive well-being, are now becoming increasingly important. Existing research has established a link between creativity and health and well-being. But, it is only recently that multidisciplinary research involving arts and crafts, social science, and medical and health scholars and practitioners has begun to show the importance of activities, such as craft textiles, for positive well-being. The relationship between craft activities, creative engagement, mental and physical stimulation, social interaction, self-esteem, and, therefore, positive well-being has been insufficiently explored. This article reports findings of a study of lace makers at the Lace Study Centre at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia, that examined how craft activities contribute to well-being in a variety of ways. This research, which focused on female practitioners, found that craft-based textile activities and associated social practices provide insights into the individual and societal importance of “everyday creativity” for promoting positive well-being and general good health.

Mindful Stitch: Generating dialogue in and around the threads of wellbeing

This article investigates wellbeing and mindfulness within contemporary art and craft practice, exploring initial introductions by Jon Kabat-Zinn of mindfulness practices into modern westernised medicine as a group or independent outlet. 21st Century sociological observations suggest we are infected by the ‘Hurry Virus’ (Kickbusch, 2012). Studies into mindfulness practices through established services such as the NHS and Arts and Minds show how crafts can be used as a tool for slowing down pace of making/doing, influencing overall wellbeing. Mindful Stitch is a community derived workshop exploring hand embroidery as a mindful practice, using methods of social inclusion and outrospective empathy. Independent mindful craft practitioners, Kathryn Vercillo and Tara Jon Manning, show the benefits of mindfulness knit and crochet practices. Mindful Stitch addresses the gap in the research regarding hand embroidery as a mindful craft practice, catering for a wide audience, additionally welcomed to the 2013 conference The Subversive Stitch: Revisited, at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Capturing characteristics of the conceptual ideation process of master crafts persons to inform design education: a comparative study of rural craft practitioners in Indonesia and in the UK

At the very early stage of idea generation, allegedly, a master craftsperson encounters cognitive dissonance to maintain beliefs/mindsets from various conceptual stimuli. We aim to capture the underlying form of cognition by examining the structure of thoughts collected from the subjective conceptualisation. A Think-Aloud Protocol was employed to obtain verbalised thoughts of both Indonesian and UK master craftsmen. The keywords of verbalised thoughts were evaluated and extracted using a list of typical mindsets. The evaluated keywords were then analysed by means of a conceptual network to reproduce a model of the individual’s mental state. This study discovered that Indonesian master craftsmen’s conceptualisation is greatly influenced by the strong typical mindsets of Object-attribute that emphasise Rationale and Mastery, which stimulates a pragmatic viewpoint. Furthermore, UK master craftsmen’s conceptualisation greatly considers strong typical mindsets of Object-attribute that emphasise Wisdom and Passionate, which indicates a rigorous mind. This paper reveals that both pragmatic and rigorous mindsets can create potential or barriers for creative cognitive resources.

‘Plumb line scribe’: Using multimedia to preserve traditional craft skills

The skills required in craft practice involve a high degree of tacit knowledge which is frequently difficult for the craft expert to articulate. Nicola Wood, a multimedia designer, has undertaken extensive research over the last ten years seeking to understand the knowledge of skilled craftsmen and find methods of capturing and passing it on. She has developed an elicitation strategy that employs an expert learner to uncover the skilled knowledge of master craftsmen, and a transmission strategy based on the concept of bridges to assist the design of learning resources for novices. Ulrik H. Lassen has used the techniques developed by Wood to record and transmit the skilled knowledge needed to make timber-framed buildings, knowledge that today is in danger of being lost. The focus of the study has been the procedure for scribing timbers, which is a central part of the building process. The aim of the research was to investigate the possibility of combining the two roles defined in Wood’s research as an expert learner and designer. Being a skilled carpenter, Lassen has acted as an expert learner, learning the skills of scribing through a combination of researching existing documentation, working with master craftsmen and his own experimentation. At the same time, he developed and tested a multimedia learning resource to provide ‘bridges’ for new learners to this knowledge. The outcome of the application of Wood’s elicitation and transmission strategy to plumb line scribing is a demonstration of the transferability of Wood’s methods within this new context. This is important because it reveals the potential for other craft practitioners to apply Wood’s methods to their own learning and teaching, and produce learning resources to provide bridges to their craft knowledge and preserve their unique skills.

Theorising a transformative agenda for craft

This paper examines the potential of craft to facilitate cultures of quality and social transformation in the interests of sustainability. This approach is theoretically grounded in the work of Tony Fry. It draws particularly on his concepts of sustain-ability and Sustainment to construct an argument for what is both valuable about craft as a practice of material fabrication, and what broader social goals craft practitioners might set themselves in recognition of this value. The transformative potential of craft is explored through David Harvey's dialectical theory of social transformation. This exploration of the potential of craft is also coupled with a recognition of current constraints within contemporary craft practices. In particular, the role of craft within practices of symbolic production and exchange is critiqued through the work of Jean Baudrillard and Pierre Bourdieu. Through these thinkers we observe how crafted artifacts are denied their sustaining potential, and how craft practitioners themselves may become absorbed in facilitating the negation of craft as Sustainment. By way of conclusion it is proposed that in order to realise both the sustaining and transformative potential of craft, practitioners must develop a capacity for ongoing critical reflection that informs vocational commitment to change through craft practice. In this capacity, it is a call for practitioners to both recognise and engage with the political agency of craft as a way of fabricating new, and more sustainable modes of (human)being.

Digital practice in material hands: How craft and computing practices are advancing digital aesthetic and conceptual methods

Craft practitioners have deftly navigated a wide range of digital media tools as they have evolved, to enhance and originate forms of practice. Human centric and analogue methods are informing digital creation, which in some cases is softening a prevalent signature aesthetic evidenced in the use of computer fabrication processes. This article observes recent applications of computing media in making spheres consistent with this progression, and evidences new roles for makers as they drive technology use and related agendas, which is leading to craft skill influencing wider realms of practice and industry.

Digitally printed textiles: A number of specific issues surrounding research

The digital printing of textiles currently encompasses a wide range of processes, from craft related to technology based. As a result, artists, designers and craft practitioners are increasingly provided with new and exciting ways of combining and intertwining multiple layers of meaning from within the handmade and the digital. This article focuses on doctoral research into some of the opportunities for, and consequences of, using craft practices as interventions in the digital printing of textiles. The article discusses a number of issues surrounding research through design (Frayling 1993: 1; Scrivener 2009: 76), and considers the impact that multiple materials, multiple processes and multiple technologies can have on practice. It seeks to explain why established research methods and methodologies are often inadequate for capturing and analysing the range and depth of interactions that exist between the material and the immaterial in digitally printed textile design. It argues instead for the development of a new generic methodology to take advantage of advanced technologies and extend existing methods for the benefit of researchers, practitioner–researchers, artists and designers, in order to bring the digital printing of textiles into line with established disciplines, such as those from the social sciences.

Detecting Apprentices and Innovators in the Archaeological Record: The Shell Bead-Making Industry of the Channel Islands

Archaeologists have demonstrated that it is challenging but feasible to identify the material remains of apprenticing activities associated with stone tool and ceramic assemblages. Building on this work, I explore apprenticing behavior in North America’s most intensive ancient shellworking context, using the large bead-making assemblages from California's Channel Islands. I examine a spectrum of production errors associated with a newly identified variant of Olivella shell bead and offer generalizations about what we should find in the material record of apprentices engaged in manufacturing ornamental goods. I also explore how we may distinguish novices’ errors from the mistakes of skilled experts experimenting with new bead forms. Existing ethnoarchaeological studies of children’s roles and contemporary craft practitioners specializing in ceramics, bead making, stone work, and other materials are foundational sources of data for this project, providing insights into the transmission of technical information from experts to novices in communities of practice. Such work directly informs archaeological research and facilitates our understanding of apprenticing from periods and regions where ethnographic information is insufficient or inapplicable.

NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR 3D REALIZATION IN ART AND DESIGN PRACTICE

As digital design technologies become ever more widespread, CAD-CAM, virtual and rapid prototyping techniques are increasingly being exploited by creative practitioners working in areas outside the industrial design and engineering contexts in which these technologies are currently predominantly employed. This review paper aims to critically examine work by artists, craft practitioners, and designer-makers who creatively engage with these new and rapidly emerging technologies and, by doing so, extend their own practice and push at the boundaries of art and design disciplines. Historic precedents for new 3D technologies in the fine and applied arts are identified, and writing by Heidegger, Baudrillard, and Virilio informs the critical review of work by art and design practitioners in sculpture, metalwork, jewellery, and ceramics. The discussion reflects on relationships between art and technology and physical and virtual making, and concludes by pointing to the possibility of new “hybrid” forms of practice which bridge the gap between physical and virtual design worlds. The paper closes by suggesting that the notion of “truth to materials” in the arts and crafts might now be extended to one of “truth to virtual materials”, as practitioners creatively negotiate relationships between digital cause and physical effect.

Agents of Change: From Collection to Connection

ABSTRACTCraft has been accused of ‘discontinuity’ (Greer, 2006), simply producing objects to be looked at rather than used. This paper suggests that there is a role for craft practitioners and craft thinkers in the world of interactive technologies. By focusing on new roles for jewellery and through discussion surrounding issues related to this new role, the research proposes that a synthesis between interactive technologies and craft creates a new space for craft and a new method of research practice.Research into wearable computing in the 1990s led by design labs such as Philips and IBM, envisioned clothes and jewellery which would enable communication and entertainment systems to be integrated into clothing and jewellery. The mode and purpose of wearing jewellery make it an appropriate choice as a controlling device in physical computing (Wallace and Dearden, 2005). The challenge for the craftsperson is to demonstrate that craft thinking can add to the field of interaction design through the application of knowledge and understanding of the cultural and personal significance of the worn object and an understanding of materials and processes.The researchers have employed methods from their individual practices as a jeweller and multimedia artist to produce physical objects interfaced with digital media as a vehicle for exploring user response. A hybrid of user-centred design methods, interactive technology and craft thinking are fundamental to the research. In user-centred design the designers engage actively with end-users to gather insights that drive design from the earliest stages of product and service development, right through the design process (Black, 2004). The value of the jeweller and multimedia artist collaborating as researchers is in applying the specific skills, knowledge and sensibilities of craft and interactive media to conception and making. However, within craft and multimedia art, evaluation frameworks as understood within other disciplines such as human-computer interaction (HCI) and product design, simply do not exist: analysis of objects and their reception by wearers is based on implicit knowledge and subjective assumptions.The combination of methods from within and without craft has enabled the researchers to suggest new ways of synthesizing jewellery and technology and suggested new areas for further research in terms of engagement and functionality. The synthesis of methods from outside the traditional domain of craft, in particular from user-centred design, has resulted in a new methodology for craft practice, repositioning the craftsperson from a guardian of tradition to an agent of change.