Following the now-notorious Don’t Put a Bird On It: Saving “Craft” from Cuteness article in The New Yorker, there has been a lot of talk among crafters about the inadequacy of using the word “craft” as the overarching term to describe the unimaginably wide variety of things that we, as a community, make and do.
In response to the definitions presented in the New Yorker piece, Jessica from Mad In Crafts has started an interesting conversation on her blog about the many ideas that come to mind when we think of the word “craft”, and suggests that we might be better off with taking a different, more inclusive—and perhaps less fraught— approach.
If you’re a crafter or maker, I highly recommend checking out both pieces. I found myself agreeing with points made in each, and I also found it to be incredibly valuable to see so many perspectives expressed in the comments. I don’t know about you, but I’m really excited that we, as a community, are piecing together our own definitions of what it means to be someone who makes.
So, what’s your take? Are you a crafter? Or are you a maker or an artist? Or maybe something else entirely? And does that label really matter in the first place?
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