Beading: Art or Craft? You Decide

Went looking around at some of my favorite bead blogs today as a break after work. Stopped at the Lone Beader and found this post which sparked a chord in me.

"Beadwork is a craft that should also be seen as fine art. Beads are a medium which can be handcrafted out of many different materials such as glass, wood, metal, paper, clay, or felt. With the help of fiber, wire, clay, or other materials, beads can be sculpted into extreme dimensional forms using both traditional and contemporary techniques. But still, we continue to see beadwork only in jewelry and cultural exhibits. It is time that international fine art museums start thinking outside the box, and display more beaded forms and sculptures in contemporary and modern art exhibits, as well. " - the Lone Beader

My reply to her post: Well said, well said! I think many bead artists come from crafting backgrounds and they don't consider what they do to be art. Isn't craftsmanship part of the execution of a piece of art?

I have this discussion with lots of people (craft vs art). It's all in the approach, I think. If you think it's art, it is. If you think it's crafting, it is.

I ran into one of my old art professors recently and she asked what I was up to and I told her that I was beading. She said that an artist had brought in this beautiful beaded piece to a reunion of art students. I don't think that many art schools/teachers can see past the craft to the art of beads.

Whew! I might just have to quote you on this subject...

Quotation for the day comes from Barbara Sher: You can learn new things at any time in your life if you're willing to be a beginner. If you actually learn to like being a beginner, the whole world opens up to you.