art Archives - Liz Kitchens

I was at a function recently talking to the husband of a friend. His wife had excitedly texted me the previous evening having learned I was transitioning my art from clay to fabric. “Me too! She said. “Maybe we can get together and sew soon”.

“Oh yes”, he replied enthusiastically, “Stephanie (not real name) loves doing crafts. One entire bedroom is now devoted to her craft projects.” Now, ostensibly, these remarks could be construed as positive and supportive. I took umbrage, however, at the manner in which he referenced her “craft”, even finding his remarks faintly patronizing. I realize the boundaries between craft and art have long been contested. What defines an artist or a craft maker, or even divides an artist from a craft maker? Perhaps intention makes the distinction. If a maker intends to express something perhaps that makes it art.

As I’ve said in previous posts, I consider myself a creativity evangelist. I believe in the power of art to change lives. I’m director of The Jeremiah Project, an after school and summer creative arts program for at risk middle school age kids. I’ve observed over the last thirteen years how art can literally transform troubled teens into confident young adults. And, art transformations are definitely not restricted to the young. Jeffrey Kluger, science writer for Time Magazine contends creativity increases with age. And, creativity can literally be a life-saver for aging adults. “A Dose of Creativity“, produced by Aroha Philanthropies, documents the benefits of creative engagement among aging adults- fewer doctors’ visits, the need for less medication, memory enhancement, fewer falls, a sense of belonging, “a second chance at life” according to one of the budding artists in the documentary.

I guess that is why I took offense at labeling my friend’s artwork “craft”. This word, at least in my mind, trivializes it. Engaging in any artistic endeavor is not easy. It takes a lot of bravery to create a poem, painting, or piece of pottery and subject it to others’ scrutiny. I think of the word “craft” as kid art or crocheted doilies. (not that there is anything wrong with kid art or hand made doilies). I believe Stephanie is very intentional about her artwork. This is a woman who spent five years hand carving, etching and painting a dining room table for her family. I call art on that!

We creative types feel a relentless urge to create. It’s not enough, however, for me just to enjoy the process of creation, I feel a concurrent drive to make money off my wares. Therein lies the rub. I love creating sculptures out of colorful polymer (Sculpy/Premo) clay, and assigning tongue-in-cheek titles or descriptions, kind of an art with a message focus. Here is an example-

Flower Power

This sculpture is entitled Flower Power and features an SUV propelled by flower power (a little enviro message poking fun at gas guzzling Hummers.). Sculpting these pieces takes hours and hours as they are quite detailed. I would like to mass produce them but my 60 year old hands aren’t capable. Therefore, I tried other means of mass production- creating posters- one called “Homeland Sweet Homeland” which pokes fun at the color coding terrorist alert system at airports. I created magnets for a political issue. I created “Om for the Holidays” cards targeting the yoga community.

Om for the Holidays

I found neither the yoga community or politicians have much of a sense of humor. My mass quantities of unsold products now languish in my attic, out of sight so as not to remind me I was unable to even recoup my costs in these failed endeavors.

My daughter in-law let something slip a while ago. She mentioned that a former employee (in our family business) had snickered about my Jack magnets, saying, “Seriously? Did she really think those things would sell?” I was crushed. To think people were laughing at my failed entrepreneurial attempts was more than a little humiliating. You see, when someone creates something out of nothing whether it be a poem, sculpture or idea, it is almost like creating a child- you feel protective of the concept, even vulnerable. Putting one’s creative efforts on display elicits more than a little anxiety. To have someone I like and admire laugh at me was a little tough. I’ve tucked her mockery away in my heart for the past couple of years. Every once in a while when I conceive of a new idea, it pops out to ridicule the new idea. However, today, I’m sharing this experience with all of you- this has happened to everyone who is creative. Failure is glorified in places like Silicon Valley where entrepreneurs say things like, “failure means you just haven’t gotten your success yet. or “failure is mandatory; it’s as pervasive here as the weather”. Such statements are a great comfort. My concurrent urges to create and succeed take heart in the Thomas Edison story about creating the incandescent light bulb. He said after his thousandth failure, “I now know 1000 things that won’t work.” Now that is optimism!

So, let’s bring our failure monsters- the little barbs and big criticisms we’ve endured over the years, out into the light of day. This blog represents my coming out party. I think I will even plaster those Jack magnets all over my refrigerator to remind me failure is just another word for creativity.

Jack magnet

Is It Art or Is It Craft?

Failure Is Just Another Word for Creativity