damn proud to be diy indie

The American Craft Council is having a conference downtown this weekend. Yesterday it started with tours of craft centers in Minneapolis (which I skipped, because I live here and I can visit the Minneapolis Institute of Arts any time, because, duh ... member). So, today was the first day I attended. I subscribe to American Craft Magazine, the bimonthly publication of the American Craft Council, and it's a lovely slick publication featuring gorgeous images of beautiful things, information about the world of fine craft, features on craft makers, and news of the craft world. I learned of this conference last spring, and signed up for it in June. It's a very, very big deal.

Most of the people attending the conference seem to be university educators and museum / gallery curators. There are some collectors, and the rest of us seem to be makers. A select few of us are younger and are heavily influenced by the connection that new technology has brought to the world of craft -- the indie craft movement, often called the DIY movement.

I didn't expect there to be controversy at this conference. I looked forward most especially to hearing Faythe Levine, the director of Handmade Nation, a documentary featuring DIY crafters working in the US, and also Maria Thomas, the CEO of etsy.com.

I have the purchasing portion of my online business on etsy, and I've been an etsy buyer for several years. I love etsy for it's amazing collection of all things handmade. It's an active, vibrant, DIY marketplace where you can find amazingly beautiful craft, and even alot of crap. Beauty is in the eye of the buyer, and seriously folks, you can pretty much find anything there. You just have to ask the search engine to find it for you.

On a panel this morning featuring three craft makers, five assumptions about craft were presented in Letterman top five countdown style and the panelists were asked to respond. Assumption #1, the final assumption presented was, "Is craft dying, and is DIY going to save it?" Underneath the words on the screen was the cover shot of Martha Stewart's Craft Encyclopedia. The moderator had just set us up for what would be the day's biggest discussion.

One panelist didn't really address the Martha Stewart issue. He said that the entire world of online tutorials and blogs was over his head, but his wife enjoyed them and they enhanced her life. The second panelist (a woman who was trained in metalwork and jewelry making, who now owns a bakery and creates accessories from sugar) said something like, "I love Martha Stewart. She is an amazing businesswoman and she is very savvy." The third panelist, fine craft metal sculptor who makes one of a kind gallery and installation pieces said something like, "I don't know if it benefits craft to have lots of people making all these things without training ..." or something completely pompous like that.

Before I knew what was happening, I said out loud (and thankfully this was the question and answer portion of their presentation), "I disagree!" They brought a hand held microphone to me and I began, "I think Martha Stewart is amazing. She has made it cool and acceptable for women like me to care for our homes in an artful way. She has allowed women to once again put importance on the fine craft of our grandparents --- quilting, making a fine meal, setting a beautiful table, creating a gorgeous dessert, planting a lovely garden, creating a beautiful aesthetically pleasing home. There are amazing blogs on the Internet where food images are food porn they are so lovely. There are wonderful craft tutorials on line that are being written by women like me. I am a full time mother and a part time potter, and I sell my work on etsy, and I make enough money to pay for my art classes and my materials. Martha Stewart is a very important person in the world of craft because she makes it accessible."

Another commenter, a fiber artist from the east coast said this, "I was an art director for Martha Stewart. She is an amazing woman and very, very smart. She's very hard to like when you work for her, but that's not the point. At any given time, she has probably 50 fine craft makers working around her and for her. She is very influential in the livelihood and the life work of craft makers." I could have kissed her, and I hope to see her tomorrow.

After the panel discussion was over, the second speaker came up to me and thanked me for what I said. Other people congratulated me for speaking out on something they felt as well. I seemed to raise an issue that is hot in the world of craft -- is it craft if anyone can do it? I would argue, as one speaker said very well, that it is craft when you are intentional, you take your time, you work at it and your work opens up new ideas and questions, and that you are not rushing to make something simply for the marketplace. So, therefore, the craft of at home mothers is equally as valid because it is the product of hands who love and cherish the work they do, as much as the fine craft maker whose work sits on a shelf in a collection. The art in our homes, quilts and pottery and wrought iron fireplace screens and stained glass windows and ceramic coffee mugs and ice cream bowls serve as aesthetically pleasing functional objects that we interact with on a daily basis. If it is beautiful baby blanket or a wall hanging or a funny refrigerator magnet, when the hands that make it take the time to go through the process, it is CRAFT.

So, then the most amazing thing happened. After lunch I was waiting in my seat for the afternoon sessions to begin, and a woman came up to me and asked, "Are you the woman who commented this morning and said she sells on etsy?"

"Yes, that was me," I replied.

"I wanted to come and thank you for what you said. I'm Maria Thomas, the CEO of etsy."

We talked for a few minutes about how we both felt we were on the defensive about what we do, she recommended a book for me to read, and it was absolutely mind blowing. We exchanged business cards, and as she walked away, I turned to two young women sitting behind me (who obviously were DIY craft makers from the titles on their name badges), and I said, "Oh. My. God."

Oh my God indeed.