Progress on the Gloves

I have been progressing on the pattern for the gloves; the original design was all wrong. Now I've been reading about hand sewing techniques from all these couture books and I'm now planning to sew the gloves all by hand. I am cutting the fabric tomorrow, after carefully ironing and trace-stitching the pattern. Then I move onto a overcast stitch around the edges so they don't fray. I'm using the same fabric from before but I'm adding a knit cashmere lining (an old sweater). I'm excited about these gloves because they will be made to fit my hand perfectly. I have made two practice gloves and measured my hand and material so hopefully all will go well.

Thinking Through Craft by Glenn Adamson. Berg: NY, 2007

Glenn Adamson has written a book detailing the place of craft in the modern world. There is a definite emphasis on the modern world here, particularly 21st century art world. Avant garde art today, in principle, has an autonomy from any social, political, and economic influence, and this allows the artistic work to represent a critique of the world(1). In other words, artists have total freedom to create works in reaction to the world around them. Adamson feels this weighty standard is necessary for the art market, but doesn't give justice to the ornately decorated frames or masterfully woven upholstery, in other words, the crafty items. What Adamson proposes is to make a new definition for craft, one that totally shifts the word from representing the objects-pottery, quilts, jewelry- to representing the process. In this idea, craft is used in the production of some artworks. For example, an artist might need to master a brush, medium and paint to make a statement about the world through realistic representation on canvas. What Adamson truly aims to produce is a separate criteria for which craft can be viewed, one that would not be of lesser importance to art. This new place will lead to a craft world where it "is favorable for all the thinking to operate in process"(p. 167)

This a multi-layered book sifts through the five core principles of craft through the lens of theory, history and criticism. Adamson defines the core principles as: supplemental (craft produced in total reliance on the experience of creating); material (craft made for physical interaction); skill (cited as the most important in Adamson's argument, because "it is the most complete embodiment of craft as an active, relational concept rather than a fixed category"[p. 4]); pastoral (the symbolic ideal of craft); amateur (the varying levels of proficiency). The carefully selected illustrations, sixteen colored plates and over thirty black and white images, help the reader to understand the arguments Adamson makes. A Piet Mondrien painting is compared to a weaving by Anni Albers to make a point about the similarities in appearance, but differences in the artists' intent and the public's reaction.


This book entices the reader to go in for a second read. The many facets that spring off from Adamson's main theme are so interesting and new (to this reader, at least) that to fully understand the complexities of his arguments, they almost need to be studied. Many opportunities are available for further exploration, mainly because so much relevant information is packed so succinctly within an interesting argument. Have fun with this book; I know I did.

Notes
1. Adamson sites Marxist social philosopher Theodor Adorno from his analysis of art, Aesthetic Theory and molds Adorno's ideas to his own.

Gloves: Pattern and Fabric Cut-out

I drew a pattern from the glove and cut out the pieces leaving about 1/4 inch seam allowance. I will be sewing the gloves by hand so that might be more than enough allowance, but I wanted to be sure. If need be, I could always adjust the fitness with darts on the front, like on the original glove. Adding the darts are not in the plan at this point tho because the fabric I have is a bit less stretchy as the knit from the original glove.

My first official project: Gloves

I am interested in getting into the spirit of this craft blog and actually create something to post. I took pictures of some of the things I've created this past year, but sadly I'm a bit of a novice. In the spirit of a fresh start I've decided to forgo the past projects and begin new.
Last year I bought knit gloves and this year I have only one of them. I decided to look through my fabric stash to see if any of the fabric would work if I tried to duplicate the design. I've found some and I'm trying it.
Here is the fabric I intend to use and a picture of the front and back of the glove.

Craft Book

I just read this article in the September issue of Art in America. I love to read the book reviews and this topic really caught my attention: the status of craft. The author Garth Clark, a ceramic gallery owner in NYC, wrote that there are two new books on craft theory and that they are the first of their kind since before WWII.
The one is not worth mentioning because Mr. Clark had such criticism of the author's obsession with the line between art and craft, but the Thinking through Craft by Glenn Adamson (Oxford and New York, Berg, 2007; 209 pages) seems interesting.
Mr. Adamson is a recent Yale Phd grad in art history with concentration on modern craft. Adamson uses three reference points when dealing with craft: work, practice and site and contextualizes the role of craft.
This seems like a interesting book and I look forward to getting it from the library.

Welcome

This is the start of my blog coverfourcorners.