Artist vs Craftsperson… Discuss…

I’m not even going to pretend today that this blog has some sort of continuous thread.  If my brain were organized, and it’s not, I would show you progress on Birkin… oh wait, I can do that.

Several more inches of stockinette added with supervision by Sandy, who would really rather play ball. And in the interest of continuity of previous subjects, I would show you progress on a washed fleece, which I cannot. It’s been too cold and I’ve been too busy to give it the uninterrupted time it needs.

What I have been doing in the minutes I have to spare is think about the whole fiber artist vs fiber craftsperson thing. I have been watching, during my knitting time, a wonderful show, A Craftsman’s Legacy, hosted by Eric Gorges, which features a different craftsperson each episode. One of the questions Gorges asked each guest is, “Do you think of yourself as an artist or a craftsman?” I find the answers fascinating and wonder how I would answer, if asked.

Something I’ve not mentioned here before is that I used to make art in other mediums. I used to work in pen and ink, acrylics, and watercolors. I’ve sold work, which I suppose makes me a “working artist”. Because of this, I do think of myself as an artist but I wonder if I can apply the term to what I do now?

Here’s what I think about art vs craft. Art is problem solving in new ways. It is fluid and can go many different ways at any time. Craft is the perfection of skill in a time-honored way. Can a person be both? Absolutely, if one is constantly innovating one’s work to include a previously unknown (to one’s self).  And craft is absolutely necessary in acquiring the skills necessary to make art in the first place.

As a knitter, if I always knit other patterns with suggested weights of yarn, I am perfecting my craft. If I start riffing off the pattern with a new idea about design or material, I am approaching art.  As a spinner, if I stick with my go-to yarn, I am perfecting my craft. Any time I dive into, “what if I…”,  I am making art. I have a list of fibers and blends that I want to try to see what they will do together and what kind of fabric they will make. Sometimes I can’t sleep at night because I really want to play with some colors and see how they translate as a finished product. I think that’s art, so yes, I am a fiber artist.

Now, I am not suggesting that craft is less than art. It is a companion to it and a thing of its own which demands respect. I’m curious to know, along with Eric Gorges, if you consider yourself to be an artist or a craftsperson? Do you agree with me, or do you think I’m way off?