Arts & Crafts
Arts and
crafts comprise a
whole host of activities and hobbies that are related to
making things with one's own hands and skill. These can be
sub-divided into handicrafts
or "traditional crafts"
(doing things the old way) and the rest. Some crafts have
been practised for centuries, while others are modern
inventions, or popularisations of crafts which were
originally practiced in a very small geographic area.
Additionally, this term refers to the Arts and Crafts
movement which was a design movement of the late
19th and early 20th century, whose proponents
included William Morris
and Edwin
Lutyens. They believed
that medieval craftsmen achieved a joy in the excellence of
their work, which they strove to emulate.
These activities are called crafts because originally many of them were
professions. Adolescents were apprenticed to a
master-craftsman, and they refined their skills over a
period of years. By the time their training was complete,
they were well-equipped to set up in trade for themselves,
earning their living with the skill of their hands.
The Industrial
Revolution and the
increasing mechanisation of production processes gradually
reduced or eliminated many of the roles professional
craftspeople played, and today 'crafts' are most commonly
seen as a form of hobby.
Most crafts require a combination of skill and talent, but
they can also be learnt on a more basic level by virtually
anyone. Many Community centres
and schools run evening or
day classes and workshops offering to teach basic craft
skills in a short period of time. Many of these crafts
become extremely popular for brief periods of time (a few
months, or a few years), spreading rapidly among the
crafting population as everyone emulates the first
examples.
The term craft
also refers to the products
of artistic production or creation that require a high
degree of tacit knowledge, are highly technical, require
specialized equipment and/or facilities to produce,
involve manual labor
or a blue-collar
work ethic, are accessible to
the general public and are constructed from materials with
histories that exceed the boundaries of western art
history, such as ceramics,
glass, textiles,
metal
and wood. These products are produced within a
specific community of
practice and while
they differ from the products produced within the
communities of art and design, the boundaries of such often
overlap resulting in hybrid objects. Additionally, as the
interpretation and validation of art is frequently a matter
of context, an audience may perceive crafted objects as art
objects when these objects are viewed within an art
context, such as in a museum or in a position of prominence
in one’s home.
Source: Wikipedia
Arts and Crafts Society
This
US-based society provides an events list, photographs,
bibliography, lists of early Arts and Crafts exhibitions
and societies, classifieds, ...
Crayola Creativity Central : Arts and Crafts
Projects, Inspiring ...
Crayola
Creativity Central offers kids arts and crafts ideas for
rainy day fun. We also have coloring books and pages, art
and craft projects, games, ...
Arts and Crafts
Great
place from All For Kids for beginners and advanced alike to
come live chat, and pick up some tips. Need a question
answered, this is the place.
The Arts and Crafts
Home
We
are providers of a complete home furnishing service, from a
fork to a dining table to a whole house. We specialise in
the finest replicas of the greatest ...
Founders Of The Arts and Crafts
Movement
Anthology
of writings on interior design by William Morris and his
contemporaries; information about the early years of the
movement in England and America.
Arts and Crafts
Gallery
of children's drawings and paintings, as well as online
coloring lessons. From the Australian Starlight Foundation.
Tour By Mexico ® - San Cristobal de las Casas
in Chiapas State, Mexico
handicrafts
such as:. costume dresses. tinwares. pottery ... This is
one of the most interesting circuits in the state of
Chiapas, since it stats in the ...