The Crafter's Arc

I posted this over at Craft Test Dummies today, but I thought I'd "reprint" my own article here.... it speaks to the personal process of crafting. Anyway....

I was chillin’ over at GRB today, having a nice chit-chat with my friend and shop proprietrix, Eva. We were discussing how new jewelry makers (or any newbie crafter, for that matter) have a tendency to be project-driven. That is, they want to see a craft and duplicate it exactly, with little chance for error.

It’s my theory that we all pretty much start out this way- we want things to be pretty safe. Then, with skill/medium/technique mastered, it’s time to move on… either adding a new technique to the same material (like adding a new stitch to your knitting repertoire) or trying a new material with your mastered technique (like like knitting with wire instead of yarn.)

In any event, I really believe that we crafters keep moving, adding techniques and materials to our creative toolbox, slowly moving up the crafter’s arc… up into the art-zone….  which is where you are no longer “project driven” but rather “vision-driven”- where you have an idea in your head, and then, using all of the techniques and materials that you’ve mastered, find a way to make it work.

Comments

[Rachel (Nyc)]

...and that's why you can never have enough space for your continuously evolving pile of craft supplies!