Crafts

Crafts (also handicrafts), the practice of making decorative or functional objects, wholly or partly by hand, and requiring both manual and artistic skill. The term crafts also refers to objects made in this way.

Crafts today predominantly comprise weaving, basketmaking, embroidery, quilting, pottery, woodworking, and jewellery making. They are made both by amateur craftsmen at home, as a hobby with a minimum of equipment, and by professionals with a regular outlet for their products.

Crafts are also used in occupational therapy. For example, patients may be taught crafts to strengthen weakened muscles or to help in gaining the use of an artificial limb. Emotionally disturbed people are also taught crafts as an outlet for feelings. Crafts also provide the disabled with an occupation that diverts attention from their handicaps. Prisoners-of-war have been known to produce crafts of high quality; a notable example of this is the straw-work marquetry executed by Napoleonic prisoners-of-war in England during the early years of the 19th century.

Crafts are as old as human history. Originally fulfilling utilitarian purposes, they are now a means of producing aesthetically appealing handmade objects in a world dominated by mechanization and standardization. Among the earliest basic crafts are basketry, weaving, straw-work, and pottery. Nearly every craft now practised can be traced back many hundreds or even thousands of years.

Craftwork formed the basis of town and city economies throughout Europe until the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century. Once items could be mass-produced, however, individual artisans were no longer needed. In reaction to the effects of industrialization, the Arts and Crafts Movement began in England in the late 19th century, led by the designer and social reformer William Morris. The strong interest in crafts throughout the Western world today grew in large part from this movement.

In many parts of the world crafts are still produced as they have been for centuries; Chinese basketry and Indonesian batik are examples. In the southern Appalachian highlands of the United States, basketry and woven goods are made today by much the same methods used by the original settlers of the region.

Ethnographic collections in museums throughout the world include examples of indigenous crafts and artisanry to document the development of various cultures; art museums with archaeological collections frequently supplement their displays of formal art objects by showing examples of related folk crafts. In addition, special museums of folk art and of crafts have been established to preserve and display examples of traditional crafts.

Contemporary craft workers can learn much from studying earlier techniques and designs, as well as the work of their peers. Many other sources are available to those interested in learning crafts. Books and magazines on history, techniques, and innovations can be found in great number for every craft. Courses are offered by schools and colleges, art schools, craft groups, and other organizations. Membership of a craft association is another source of instruction and inspiration. Such associations often sponsor lectures and demonstrations, and they offer the opportunity to share ideas with other members through publications, meetings, and crafts fairs.