It seems another thread got kinda off track and into a discussion about knitting machines.
So I'll ask: Is any machinery or power equipment allowed to be used when an item is "hand crafted"?
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I have my own idea of what the word means – however from a business perspective it really only matters what a potential customer believes it means and what products and methods they feel fall into the category.
To help them decide I think it’s more useful to show or describe (either in words, pictures or in person) how the product is created - rather than to label a piece as handcrafted. The customer can then make a decision if the product fits into their personal definition of the word.
I’m sure like many others here - I attempt to have recent photographs of work in progress on my Facebook and Twitter pages as well as in my booth display to help customers decide. Often times these photographs have the added benefit of starting a conversation as well as to help further develop an appreciation for the craft.
The list could possibly be quite extensive...Can you add to it?
Does anyone think a method or tool that uses electricity is to be considered a machine?
Friends I know that are potters plug their kiln into the wall outlet. I don't know any that heat their kilns with coal or logs...but I would imagine some still do.
Most woodworkers I know use hand tools and power tools.
Some metalworkers I know use a plasma cutter and welding equipment.
Do jewelers use some sort of electric wheel to polish their work?
I am sure that many of you could add many more instances to this list.
We are metal artist and do use a plasma cutter and mig welder, not a CNC, Jerry cuts everything out by hand with no two flowers or flower petals looking the same. It takes alot of time and a steady hand, but our customers appreciate his handywork. the average piece is $30.00, affordable price for the public. This work will never get us into a fine art show and we understand that. But it makes us $$ that we will retire on later. At the same time we also create sculptures from odd sizes metal pieces with no two sculptures ever looking the same. They are still welded with the same mig welder and cut with the same plasma cutter and designed by Jerry & I, these would get us into fine art shows, these pieces are $400.00 and up, and we sell them but not enough to go solo with. The difference is that we make a number of flowers in a group, and only one sculpture at a time. We will never own a CNC because I feel that is just good computer skills. We have been creating metal since 1997.
Leather: sewing machines, either treadle or electric motor driven have been used since the eartly 20th century. Die cutting parts is a production shop technique, yet people who operate this way continue to get into the "best shows" despite the "hand made restriction". It amazes me that some actually state on their web sites that their process is "designing - pattern making - die cutting - production" yet jurists overlook this. I still cut and skive every piece by hand. It tells me I have more skill and knowledge than the herd. If jurists don't recognize this, it is their loss not mine.
This may be not what you want to hear. But I think it's the medium that's defined as hand crafted and not how the work is produced.
Most everyone that does art shows does it for the money, not necessarily to demonstrate a hand crafted method of working.
Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100
I agree about making money.
I think we've all gone to a festival where people are spinning, dipping candles, making brooms, etc without any power tools. And with some exceptions, they don't make a lot of money compared to the time put in.
I would have to agree with Mel. My medium is wood, I use a combination of hand tools and power tools and consider everything I make as hand crafted. I consider power tools as table saws, band saws, routers etc. These are power tools that you have to skillfully use but they do not make the piece for you. I do consider anything made with a CNC machine as not hand crafted. If you can let the machine do the work for you with no intervention on your part then it is not hand crafted IMO.
Thanks for starting this, Chris. I've been thinking about it also.
How about those knitting machines? I've seen my daughter-in-law use them. There is a lot of handwork in setting them up and getting them started.
How about those prints from CostCo?
How about the laser cutting machines?
How about ram press for pottery? (I remember when these first came out and the outrage among the potters.)
There must be other other machines in other media I don't know about.
Uh oh Connie, you're treading into dangerous territory. The "old school" craftsmen would be aghast at the thought of a laser cutter. But an artist is still creating the work albeit not with brushes or pencils, but with a mouse. How many photographers use a program to make sure that image is perfect, or have a little fun with it?
But the brouhaha about knitting machines is what started it all.
I'm in this business not only to do what I love doing, but to try to make money too. So if I need to use something to make the job easier and faster, I'll use it.
So if I were a knitter, that machine would be right in my shop.
I create my art with wood as my medium and I began learning my skills at a young age by using hand tools long before I started using power tools. you gotta learn to crawl before you can walk.
After years of experience I use a combination of hand tools and machinery. I can accomplish anything with hand tools that I can accomplish with power tools... but the machinery keeps the time element of the basic tasks at a reasonable level. If I decided to create all my pieces strictly by hand tooling my prices would have to be considerably higher. My work is definitely hand crafted and my designs are mentally crafted first.
Any tools, regardless of hand or power assisted, are just that...a tool... and tools do not create...individuals create.
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