Why Bother to Celebrate American Craft?

This week is American Craft Week, a made-up celebration about craftsmen and craftswomen and their work.  I mention that it is “made up” because several years ago, a group of people decided that it was important to try to get a larger public to notice, appreciate, and hopefully buy work created by American makers.  Although there may have originally been a commercial motive, I find far more important reasons to celebrate American craft.

Today’s society is often looking for ways to increase or stimulate creativity. TED talks focus on this.  The maker of Soylent believes that if we spend less time thinking about food we will spend more time being creative.  Mindfulness, exercise, and education are recommended to stimulate creativity.

Danielle Gori-Montanelli

But I believe that there is another source of creativity, and that it often comes from working with our hands and letting our minds loose.  The act of making requires letting the hands go to work, often letting them act as our minds, taking us to new places as objects form before our fingers and eyes.

David Patchen

Imbued in the pieces we make are our histories as well.  American craft not only reflects the talent and creativity of our culture, but also contains memories of our past in addition to the stories of our present and future.  According to Steve Fenton in Craft in America, “Objects are repositories of cultures; to understand their messages we need only open our eyes to them.”  The young makers of today may act differently from the craft pioneers of the 1970’s, but the work of both respectively reflect their times and cultures.

Meg Little

So why celebrate American Craft Week?  I believe the reason is pretty simple, that craft is a small but important, often overlooked, living and breathing component of our culture.  May the makers and artists, glassblowers and rug-hookers, woodworkers and jewelers, quilters and basketmakers, bookbinders and potters all have their moment in the sun.  Visit a studio.   Make a trip to that gallery you've been meaning to get to. Notice the handmade around you.  Celebrate.