Articles and Resources: Art & Craft? or Art vs. Craft?

 

I assigned my class to read this article on scrapbooking (which talks directly about troubling the arts/crafts divide), and then I gave them the choice to read one additional essay of three options—one about sewing and mending clothing, one about woodworking, and one about quilting. These are less explicit in their approach to the central question, though I am planning to group students by the essay they chose to read and have them discuss and present to the rest of the class what each author’s approach to crafting illuminates within the larger conversation. Essentially we’re asking, “What does this author’s relationship to craft have in common with what we know about an artistic practice and art’s function or goal in society?” They’ve reflected quite a bit on this concept through readings and discussions from our first unit, so I am hoping the connections will come easily.