Arts and Crafts

Art is a craft, but not all crafts are art. So, this is as deep as it's gonna get this time, dear readers. If you'd like a philosophical explanation of what qualifies as art, please reference the entry of this blog entitled "Art?"

Crafts can be art. I think the line between crafts and art can be very fine, so for our purposes, let's be shallow.

When I think of crafts, I think of relief society. If you're not familiar with the mormon culture, relief society is a woman's organization that gets together to do be edified spiritually, but also to have activities, many of which involve "crafts." These crafts may involve, but are not limited to, toll-painting, step by step instructions, inspirational vinyl lettering, quilt tying, and modgepodge. These are crafts. Many times they're utilitarian, and it's okay if they're one-dimensional.

"Crafts," although they can be artistically executed and require creativity, do not have to be, and more often than not, do not qualify as art. Let's juxtapose the relief society experience with my 3-d art class. In this class, we're given assignments like wire sculptures, where I had to brainstorm thumbnails, experiment with and assemble the wire, and figure out how to make it aesthetically pleasing. It was so open ended. I was graded on the balance, the quality of line, and other elements of art. Art is more expressive and unique. Its point is to be analyzed, to provoke thought, and to please aesthetically. Crafts are more like cookie cutters. They can also be aesthetic, they can be decoration, they can be something functional.

Now let us apply. In a classroom, you give every kid strips of paper and teach them how to weave them together. Art?
False. Craft. It's not open ended. It's utilitarian.
You have each child look in a mirror and draw themselves. Art?
Ding ding! It's open ended. They have to work through problems, there's no set instructions, and it can be critiqued with the elements of art.

Let's not misunderstand. Crafts have their place in the classroom. It's good for kids to learn how to follow instructions. It's good to have an objective and work through obstacles to achieve it. Crafts can even involve a level of inventiveness and creativity. However. It is NOT okay to do crafts in lieu of art. It's important, whether it is a kindergarten class or a group of sixth graders, to give kids an outlet to be creative, to activate that part of the brain, to figure out how to create "art."

There is no debate between Arts and Crafts. They are in the same category. They're related. But they are different and distinctive. It must be understood that they are two different tools that are necessary to teach, but can't be used in substitution of each other.