Thursday, November 24, 2005

Thanksgiving



So this was a great holiday. I have a good idea for a fast easy craft project to do this weekend if I ever get off my lazy butt. haha

Turkey preparations this year were recommened to me by Ellyne who says you should soak your turkey overnight in a vinger and water bath then rinse throughly. Rub Kosher salt liberally over the whole turkey allowing it to sit for 15 minutes per pound. Rinse extremely well. butter, salt, pepper and stuff. Place in Brown paper bag and cook till browning then rip open the bag and finish off the browining process. Your turkey should come out suckulant and juicey. truely sublime.

So yes. That is about all that I have been up to. I am hoping to get in a photo shoot with Nathan (my boyfriend also photographer check out www.nathannovak.net). I have been trying to convince him to take some old kitchy retro pictures of me since I love that whole thing. With the long weekend for both of us I thought itd be a great time to do it.

I promise to post my latest watercolors tomorrow as well.

xxxhugs

Monday, November 21, 2005

The Debate

The debate over what is art and what is craft has been a long and tedious one filled with many scalding arguments and heated words. In the end the only thing I could honestly deduce was that attitude toward the piece and the atmosphere it is intended to exude is the only real defining factor between art and craft.
On an extremely general note people like to define crafts as everyday items while art is defined as specialized items for viewing purposes only. This debate charges further debates as to who works harder for their purpose; the artist or the crafts man and to that which is more skilled. In the end it seems those both works hard for their ideas and are bound by the same basic guidelines of design. The defining difference seems to be that crafts workers use those guidelines to further their work while remaining inside them on the other hand artists while fully trained in and comprehending those same guidelines throws them out to push the envelope.
This is evidenced in the "Nuba Woman II" by William Morris for example in the way he not only treats the glass but uses it to represent a personal statement. He treats the glass in new ways creating complex shapes building upon an abstract concept. Namely that we draw from Nature in our everyday lives. It is the attitude that William Morris and the viewer lend the piece which in turn creates an atmosphere which the piece should continue to exude. Meaning because the “Nuba Woman II” is treated as a piece of art it becomes art. This is the same concept the Dadaists were after in such works as Duchamp’s fountain more commonly referred to as the urinal. Which seems to be a contradiction as it is an everyday item that was made for the mass consumption of male urine. However it was given a new life by Duchamp as art through his attitude of the piece which to this day hangs in the Indiana Art Museum gallery as art proving that it is the attitude given the piece by the creator for it to exude the atmosphere of art.
The attitude lent toward crafts however is that of mass production for people’s personal use which leads to a casual atmosphere in which the work is determined useable and abuse able to say it crudely. It becomes seemingly temporary while the art seems timeless. A goblet for example remains a goblet even after hundreds of years. Look at the Facon De Venice Goblet despite the fact that you run into this piece in a museum you treat it with little a here or there. It could very well sit in your cupboard at home, on a shelf in a store, or in the garbage for all that it would matter despite its decorative details and delicate hand etched designs. The only thing giving it authority to be there seems to be its age. This lack of presence is not created by the fact that it is a goblet however but by the attitude we are introduced to when we come in contact with it. The lack of an artists name to be included with the piece as well as its cramped proximity to similarly designed pieces by other anonymous creators from the same time period in a room filled to the brim with other such clusters of like pieces cause you to treat it with a casual disregard unlike the room in which the “Nuba Woman II” rests. Which is sparsely filled, more brightly lit and defines itself with large plaque cards filled with details about it and a creators name.
So where is the problem in defining art and craft then? We touched on it slightly with Duchamp’s fountain and it’s a visible question in pieces like the dinner sets created by Judy Chicago for her “Dinner Party”, or African American quilts they are examples taken out of their usual definition as craft and given meaning through the attitude lent by the statement despite their daily association with our lives. This attitude is not always readily accepted however which is where issues of art vs. craft ensue. These blocks of acceptance are often caused by the medium used to create the piece, the style in which is done and so forth. All these issues come down to matters of personal opinion and the creators’ intent of the piece. Whether it is a concept placed on an adopted piece such as Duchamp’s found object “Fountain” and the African American Quilts or if it was originally intended from start to finish as an artistic statement all along as in Judy Chicago’s “Dinner Party” and William Morris “Nuba Woman II”.

Up to date and up coming

So I am doing pretty good on the finishing of the baby pants. They are definatly going to be up and running on time at the rate they are going. HURRAY!

I purchsed the last skein of Rowan Ribbon Twist to finish my Sweater Erin. thank goodness its getting cold enough to wear it too so I think I am going to finhish it tomorrow in glassblowing while I wait for the other people to blow their glass. That class has been aweosme for the knitting.

I am turning in a paper in there on art vs. crafts relating two peices from the chrysler museum that we had to choose and discuss. I am going to post it and am interested in what you all have to say about it.

I have also decided to delight you with the wonders of school projects since well that is a definate part of my life and why shouldn't you all get to enjoy it? So that will be coming up this break. Look forward to it.

Another use for left over yarn now includes pom-pom smowmen and pom pom scraves.

Sunday, November 20, 2005

leftover yarn uses

this is another left overs project. I really need to post that on the side bar. I'll get to it later this week since I should have time.
Candy cane Covers
So this is a fun idea to run with crochet soda tab accesories. I stumbled upon it in a knitting community I glance in on from time to time.

Anyways. I have decided to knit the plaid corset in the latest knit.1 however am first going to finish the baby pants for one very pregnent Jill and the 5 hour baby sweater.

Sunday, November 13, 2005

Back Trackin

So I go half way through a pair of short baby pants that go with an outfit that is being knit communally by the group I go to for a certain someone when I realized that they probubly actually wanted the long pants so I decided to rip it all out and start over. I began agian only to get into it and realize I had started on the wrong needle size. BLAST! so I ripped agian and may attempt it agian in a bit.

Been finishing a baby blanket for another friend. Need to pick up the last skein of Rowan Ribbon twist so I can finish the Erin sweater. I think I am going to spend the rest of this week finishing up Jesse's scarf that I ment to finish at this time last year. Ooops. goes to show how fast this year has flown by. Sigh...

Other knitting projects have been taking the back seat to school projects. Some of which are vey fun for example we're building chairs out of cardboard. I am enjoying the project so far. A few of the other prjects have inspired me to have some really good ideas. I can't wait to ahve a bit of extra time to try them out. We'll see.

Next week Amber wants to have a craft night so I am looking forward to having that and hope it'll be come a regular occurance. well I think thats cool for now.