I make sculptures. The kind that would be silly for someone to buy. They are impermanent, fragile, cumbersome to move and install, and they require electricity. They are primarily for my own satisfaction, and sometimes they are for exhibiting. Working on them allows a place in my life for my mind and imagination to be unhindered: there are no outside criteria dictating what I make; its for me and me only, and it's fabulous when they can then wander out and engage with other people in some public space. This kind of working establishes me (from other's points of view and/or my own) as a "fine artist."
I also make small, accessible, inexpensive prints, drawings, and collages that I sell on Etsy. These always begin with my own creative process and interests. They are sometimes affected by what has come before and done well in the shop: to some extent, I make what people want. This, I think, puts me in the category of "designer" to some extent. I am driven by the need to make some extra cash, and by the delight I take in making something that is accessible and available to people with ordinary incomes, and by the fun of just pumping out lots of work and participating in a thriving handmade art/craft economy that is a refreshing challenge and escape from mass-produced industrial culture. The part of me that was changed by reading Bread and Puppet's Cheap Art Manifesto thrives in this way of working.
The new work I am developing (to be launched in June and July: YAY!) puts me solidly in the "craft" category though it overlaps with design in many ways. Its is utilitarian, it involves making things that people can use to make other things, or to use around the house. It is labor intensive and requires a lot of practice. It involves a creative mind, a learned skill, and business savvy all at once. Its is a job.
What do these categories mean, and why have I spent so much time trying to figure out which identity is "most" important? Of all 3 identities, the "fine artist" one comes with the most baggage, in my experience - the most criteria for purity, intelligence, genius. Which seems to result in a lot of "fine artists" being poor and dependent on middle-agents to negotiate our exposure and our incomes. I've been warned by people in the fine arts world not to use my own name on my design- and craft-based work, that it somehow taints my serious image as a fine artist. The class assumptions inherent in all the different categories are easy to take for granted, yet so clear when you look at them from a tiny distance.
So many artists now are rejecting these false distinctions between the arts, and we all need a better understanding of the underlying economic realities of the arts industries. We - I - especially need to look at the the kinds of messages we - and I - internalize from those industries and their values about what makes you special or worthy of attention as an artist.
Something about being a couple of years out of my last bit of schooling, combined with having this baby growing in my belly and the very real implications this will have to my art life in the next couple of years (reduced chances for long stretches of art time in the studio, but also increased creative energy in some ways; as well as increased financial demands and more responsibility) - is making me care less and less about these definitions and other people's judgements. But there are still little voices duking it out in my head. I appreciate the world of designers and crafters so much, as those communities I have run into are inclusive and open minded in a way I have not found in the "art world." Thank you crafters and designers. I am honored to join you.
Why am I rambling about all this? Because I want your story, I want to know what YOU think. I am interested in hearing from people who consider themselves "designers" and "crafters" - how do you define those terms? What do they mean to you? What's the difference between a designer, a crafter, and artist? I know so many of us struggle with identity issues as makers. I wanna talk about it. With you!