From JackieM (not Jackie Davis)
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Quick reminder of what part of the longer quote we are going to talk about next.
My pen pal said:
I am not even remotely referring to myself as even close to an artist!
I ran into that a lot when I was teaching. Students did not want to call themselves artists. I'd quiz them about what a person had to be - to be considered an artist. I know of some calligraphers who do not think calligraphy is an art and would not consider themselves artists - they prefer craftsmen -- but that is a whole different conversation.
In my world - if you make things where you are putting in extra time and effort - you are in the world of art. If it is just a functional item - then it is what it is. But the minute you start doing some extra thing - you are making the decisions that artists make. What color, what texture, what layout, what size, how much contrast, and on and on and on. All those decisions are aesthetic decisions.
I wish there was a word - other than student - to describe people who are working on all those aesthetic decisions - but who don't want to call themselves an artist. The word *hobbyist* is out there. It seems like it fills the need for someone to say that they are participating in an art but they are not an artist.
My gripe with that term - is that it implies that a hobby is *less than* or *other than* what an artist would do. There are some hobbyist who do much better work than I will ever do -- so, I'd prefer they call themselves artists. But -- I respect their freedom to decide for themselves.
*Maker* is another word - currently popular - but it seems like an updated way to say hobbyist.
I wonder if some people who use hobby vs artist maybe consider artists are those who get paid? That's how I am anyway. I've always considered myself an "artist" (technically -- I use to draw a lot too when I was younger; even studied art in college), but because it's not a career for me, it always felt weird to use artist. However, I don't consider my work less than at all. My sil does fun paintings, but I don't refer to her as an artist either, even though I like her work and I consider it above par. HOWEVER, if someone (had the gall) to say to me personally that I'm not an artist, I would highly disagree. I always tell others who struggle with this, to read Art & Fear, as that books makes any endeavor art (cooking, gardening, dancing, etc.)
ReplyDeleteI am a hobbyist, crafter or maker...never an artist. I think an artist has a God given talent to create and just "sees" things/colors, etc differently than the rest of us! I just stay inside my little box and play, while an artist freely steps outside and creates.
ReplyDeleteI like Marilyn's viewpoint.
ReplyDelete