Arts and Crafts

[nolly]

I'm mostly posting this so I have the written out version to reference later, but feel free to comment on my definitions.

Scrapbooking is a pseudocraft. If it won't be a useful skill after the fall of civilization, it's not a Real Craft. If it still takes skill, talent, and creativity, it might be Art. Things that can be done with materials that will still be around after the fall (like, say, pretty rocks or natural pigments) and require skill/talent/imagination but do not have direct survival value are Art. Things that require at least skill or talent and can create items with survival value are Crafts. Some things can be both -- cooking from an existing recipe or crocheting/sewing/knitting from an existing pattern is craft, creating your own recipes/patterns is art.

Comments

[firecat]

Insofar as scrapbooking = keeping track of information that might be useful later, it might count as a Real Craft after the fall of civilization, same way illuminating manuscripts might.

[nolly.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking of the phenomenon that has aken over large amount of display space at Michael's and other craft stores, which appears to involve spending lots and lots of money on single-purpose tools.

[firecat]

*snork*

"An activity which craft & hobby stores have turned into an opportunity to spend lots and lots of money on single-purpose tools" might be a good definition of a pseudocraft.