The field of ‘Craft Sciences’ refers to research conducted across and within different craft subjects and academic contexts. This anthology aims to expose the breadth of topics, source material, ...methods, perspectives, and results that reside in this field, and to explore what unites the research in such diverse contexts as, for example, the arts, conservation, or vocational craft education. The common thread between each of the chapters in the present book is the augmented attention given to methods—the craft research methods—and to the relationship between the field of inquiry and the field of practice. A common feature is that practice plays an instrumental role in the research found within the chapters, and that the researchers in this publication are also practitioners. The authors are researchers but they are also potters, waiters, carpenters, gardeners, textile artists, boat builders, smiths, building conservators, painting restorers, furniture designers, illustrators, and media designers. The researchers contribute from different research fields, like craft education, meal sciences, and conservation crafts, and from particular craft subjects, like boat-building and weaving. The main contribution of this book is that it collects together a number of related case studies and presents a reflection on concepts, perspectives, and methods in the general fields of craft research from the point of view of craft practitioners. It adds to the existing academic discussion of crafts through its wider acknowledgement of craftsmanship and extends its borders and its discourse outside the arts and crafts context. This book provides a platform from which to develop context-appropriate research strategies and to associate with the Craft Sciences beyond the borders of faculties and disciplines.
This pioneering book explores the notion of 'radical decadence' as concept, aesthetic and lived experience, and as an analytical framework for the study of contemporary feminist textile art. Gendered ...discourses of decadence that perpetuate anxieties about women's power, consumption and pleasure are deconstructed through images of drug use, female sexuality and 'excessive' living, in artworks by several contemporary textile artists including Orly Cogan, Tracey Emin, Allyson Mitchell, and Rozanne Hawksley. Perceptions of decadence are invariably bound to the negative connotations of decay and degradation, particularly with regard to the transgression of social norms related to femininity and the female body. Excessive consumption by women has historically been represented as grotesque, and until now, women's pleasure in relation to drug and alcohol use has largely gone unexamined in feminist art history and craft studies. Here, representations of female consumption, from cupcakes to alcohol and cocaine, are opened up for critical discussion. Drawing on feminist and queer theories, Julia Skelly considers portrayals of 'bad girls' in artworks that explore female sexuality - performative pieces designed to subvert and exceed feminine roles. In this provocative book, decadence is understood not as a destructive force but as a liberating aesthetic.
This paper aims to discuss methods for reviving a craft – horsehair weaving – inspired by the concept of a moving searchlight approach and a forensic perspective. Isolated artefacts, tools, tools ...with ongoing processes and photographs, together with preserved documentation, have been analysed. Ongoing documentation on social media and a webpage were used during this process. Social media aimed to get people interested in the subject, test thoughts and maintain a dialogue. The webpage aimed to gather documentation demonstrating the horsehair weaving process and how the sievewright was made. The public documentation also aimed to inspire and engage other crafters. The public display of the ongoing project has been a positive learning experience. Different methods of documentation have different advantages.
Throughout the 21st century, various craft practices have drawn the attention of academics and the general public in the West. In Craft is Political, D Wood has gathered a collection of essays to ...argue that this attention is a direct response to and critique of the particular economic, social and technological contexts in which we live. Just as Ruskin and Morris viewed craft and its ethos in the 1800s as a kind of political opposition to the Industrial Revolution, Wood and her authors contend that current craft activities are politically saturated when perspectives from the Global South, Indigenous ideology and even Western government policy are examined. Craft is Political argues that a holistic perspective on craft, in light of colonialism, post-colonialism, critical race theory and globalisation, is overdue. A great diversity of case studies is included, from craft and design in Turkey and craft markets in New Zealand to Indigenous practitioners in Taiwan and Finnish craft education. Craft is Political brings together authors from a variety of disciplines and nations to consider politicised craft.
This entry discusses the challenge of safeguarding crafts in Europe. Safeguarding is defined herein as the systematic process of understanding, representing, preserving, and valorizing crafts ...following the recommendations of UNESCO and the UN-World Tourism Organization. The abovementioned challenges are discussed through a multidisciplinary prism starting from the scientific challenges in the information and communication technologies sector and expanding the discussion to ethical, legal, and policy-making measures and recommendations to safeguard crafts as a form of tangible and intangible cultural heritage but also as a source of growth and impact for the communities that practice them. To this end, the role of education and training for craft preservation is discussed, considering that the declining number of practitioners and apprentices is considered today the main threat to their preservation.
Preserving the past to serve the future Palmsköld, Anneli; Gustavsson, Karin; Rosenqvist, Johanna
Formakademisk,
09/2023, Volume:
16, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Lilli Zickerman (1858–1949) was an entrepreneur who took part in organising the Swedish handicraft associations in the late 19th century. She was also a pioneer in the archives and active in the ...feminine sphere of textile handicraft. From 1914–1931 she conducted a huge inventory called Swedish Folk Textile Art that consists of more than 24,000 photographs and descriptions of vernacular textiles and manuscripts for a planned series of books and films. By mapping textile handicrafts, she aimed to preserve traditional textile craft techniques to inspire their continued production. Her intention was to create an archive for the inspiration and education of future textile artists. The inventory has had effects that are still apparent today; this paper illuminates the ways in which Zickerman’s ideas about textile handicrafts have contributed to the continuation of Swedish cultural heritage and how it has become an authorised heritage discourse that continues to guide the scholars and practitioners involved in the history of textiles and their production. Here, we will present the first article within an ongoing project on Swedish Folk Textile Art and how it was conducted. We will contextualise the ideas and knowledge that it contains by focusing on Zickerman’s intention to preserve the past to serve the future. From a critical craft perspective, we will discuss geographical mapping as a method for investigating the inventtory; the inclusion and exclusion of geographical areas, textile techniques, materials and people; the ideas and the knowledge that are expressed in the inventory; and the networks that it created. By doing so, we aim to highlight the connections between people, between people and materials, and between history and the current day.
This study investigates the purpose of craft education and how this purpose manifests according to Estonian and Finnish textile craft teachers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight ...teachers. The interview transcriptions were analysed using a qualitative content analysis method, resulting in seven main categories that revealed how the purpose of learning crafts manifests in compulsory basic education. According to the teachers, besides enhancing learning practical skills and how to use hands more skilfully, consistent craft making also enhances students’ versatile thinking; generates holistic practices; nurtures confidence, perseverance and sense of responsibility; shapes mature ways of expressing feelings; develops personal authenticity; and promotes social connectedness.
The focus of Finnish craft teacher education is on educating craft teachers in formal basic education. In this study, the aim was to research craft student teachers’ experiences of teaching practices ...that were arranged in out-of-school contexts. The data comprised craft student teachers’ (n = 18) written reflections included in their course portfolios. Their teaching practice took place in adult education centres, basic education in arts, older peoples' care homes, youth work centres, centres for people with disabilities, social work centres, museums, craft cafés and clubs and a vocational training institution. The written reflections concerned the students’ expectations at the beginning and those at the end of the teaching practice and were analysed according to the principles of qualitative data analysis. The students found both similarities and differences in craft pedagogy in different contexts. The out-of-school teaching practice broadened their future career perspectives and equipped them with new pedagogical skills.
This paper aims to discuss methods for reviving a craft – horsehair weaving – inspired by the concept of a moving searchlight approach and a forensic perspective. Isolated artefacts, tools, tools ...with ongoing processes and photographs, together with preserved documentation, have been analysed. Ongoing documentation on social media and a webpage were used during this process. Social media aimed to get people interested in the subject, test thoughts and maintain a dialogue. The webpage aimed to gather documentation demonstrating the horsehair weaving process and how the sievewright was made. The public documentation also aimed to inspire and engage other crafters. The public display of the ongoing project has been a positive learning experience. Different methods of documentation have different advantages.
