Craft Rally at Chelsea College of Arts

On Thursday I attended the Craft Rally organised by the Crafts Council and since then I have been trying to process the vast amount of information I absorbed on the day.
It was a pleasure to be in the company of so many people all wanting to see craft renewed and valued again. There were excellent guest speakers and the topics discussed, though skimming the surface of a very deep subject, successfully inspired debate among a passionate audience.

Here are some notes I took on the day:

CONSUMER AIMED CREATIVITY - Craft As A Commodity

The commercialisation of the craft learning process to end up with a salable product has lead to emphasis on the individual. The craft is no longer a social community activity but the practice of 'the maker'.

Art school curriculum has become focused on the employability of the student rather than the skills of craft making, skilled labour is not as valued as concept based design.
Ideas are reduced to commodities, the commercial intentions suffocate experimentation and prevent creative progression.

The progression needs to be making less stuff of higher quality and as more than just a 'thing'.
Showing the story of the object and the maker, articulating the process behind the product.

The meaning of craft can be attributed to many practices and techniques so it has an ambiguous meaning to the consumer. Craft should be integrated into every practice, not identified and separated as an independent activity.

True craftsmanship is the difference between handicraft and high craft, it represents the mark of a skilled hand. It shows you the intent of the maker, the evidence of their interaction with the material, and connects the viewer and the maker through the universal experience of making.

MAKING IS A WAY OF THINKING

My definition of craft:
The process of making and thinking to create something with real value. The maker facilitates the translation of an idea to a physical object.


Speakers:

Zoe Laughlin
Specialist in material experience and physical encounters with stuff:
"mass ranging from the quark to the universe"
"flesh from the peach to the cheek"

Bricolage Textile Design

Shane Waltener

Here are some bad phone pics of his installation on the stairway at Chelsea College of Art: