bitsandspurs

I personally prefer to call our work art, and feel we do a disservice to ourselves by calling it a craft. To make yard decorations or beer can airplanes is craft. To build a bit ,buckle or spurs is art and we wear many hats accomplishing this art.
To design the project,fabricate the components from raw metals, weld, braze,engrave, inlay,overlay, set stones,sculpt,patinate and run a business takes a lot of skills. We are a lot more than craftsmen. When you read about the work that most custom knifemakers are doing, it is always refered too as 'knife art', not craft. The same with custom guns, custom motorcyles, or 'car art'.
I really believe a good place to start improving the public's perception of our skills, is to begin refering to ourselves as artists.
Just my two cents worth. Comments are welcomed.
Hoot

Right on Hoot. You make a great point.

Stewart

I agree Hoot!
Steve

I forgot to mention that some artists are also machinests and if they make their own jigs and fixtures they are also engineers.

Since we all make tack, maybe we should call ourselves "Tacky Artists"
Some old men have too much time on their hands. Tommorow I'll be out looking for a cow elk to put in the freezer.
Hoot

Here is food for thought:

A laborer works with his hands
A craftsman works with his hands and mind
A artist works with his hands, mind and heart.

Jerry

Jerry...that's a great saying....wish I could send it to all my customers but I'm surely going to enlarge it and hang it on my shop wall..

Thanks
Another Jerry

Thanks for sharing that with us Jerry. I'm also going to put that up on my shop wall.

Stewart

i always try toi remember though, artist starve and craftsman eat.

I have a four year BFA ceramics degree so technically I am a trained professional artist, though if I had no degree I would still refer to myself as an artist and our work as art-functional art at that-sure beats something hanging off a wall. Many of my clients are so amazed at the level of skill and complexity that they generally say themselves, "Those are works of art" I think the term "craft" came about to describe functional art that's 3-D in nature and came about from a skilled trade like blacksmiths, coopers, potters, glassblowers, weavers etc, I doubt graphics and paintings would ever be called a craft. Our work is definitely art, it takes years of practice and skill, a keen eye, progression in our abilities, training and edcuaction of some sort-even if only self taught, and inspiration that's taken from nature and all things we see, and then internailzed and processed in our own minds to create works of art in metal that are functional and made to be used. My personal measuring stick of an artist is one who sees not what is, but what can be with some imagination and foresight. Taking raw materials and transforming them into something all its own is art in a nutshell. Caveman carved bones into necklaces and made art so we sure as heck can and should call oursleves artists-'cause we are
Paul

I sometimes think we are stuck in the middle of this art or craft lable. Quite a few years ago a good friend and collector of my knives wanted to try and get my work into some of the highend art and craft gallerys in New York City that he collected work from. When he would show them samples of my knives the art gallerys would say it wasn't art but wonderful craft. When he went to the craft gallerys they would tell him it wasn't craft but great art. Today if someone were ask me if I concidered myself an artist I would probably say NO I'm a Master Craftsman. Anyone can call themselves an artist but a Master Craftsman must meet certain quality requirements to hold that title and his work is proof of his ability. When I look at Western Art I think if it wasn't for the gearmakers creating the gear they put into their paintings and sculptures all they would be able to offer would be art showing wild horses ,cattle, landscapes and naked cowboys.

Larry

A laborer works with his hands
A craftsman works with his hands and mind
A artist works with his hands, mind and heart.

and I shall add this at the bottom of my sign!

but always remember.....
artist starve and craftsman eat.
Hell with this bits and spurs, I'm going in the sign business!

Very true Jerry.