Commercial crafts
A few days ago I listened to a basket maker talk about her craft and was inspired by her enthusiasm. Another archetypal rural craft the relationship to maker and material is fascinating and incredibly linked to the environment and nature.
In relation to the last entry I made about straw one of the objects discussed incorporated this into it. A dainty chair of rushed seating from France incorporated straw within the weave to give a gold finish. I have always taken for granted this type of furniture but it has an incredible amount of effort invested in it and I will be bearing this in mind from now on when parking myself.
As twigs are becoming a bit of a reoccurring theme for me the thought of raiding hedgerows and bushes for material is very appealing. Like veneer the qualities of the branches are diverse and hearing this talked about seemed to have a lot in common with the way I have been thinking about wood. Basket making seems to be in an ambiguous place commercially and artistically, woven baskets that we would think nothing about buying for very little are all handmade. Extremes of woven materials exist between the luxury of a traditionally made object and those imported and undervalued. The evolution of such a craft into an art form feels like an important consideration, not just in a sense of form over function but historically and culturally too.
To think about Marquetry commercially is also interesting. Laser cutting means that designs that would have traditionally have taken many many hours to cut by hand can now be produced quickly and with impeccable accuracy. A company in Wales produces Marquetry in this way commercially which is intriguing.
What is the demand for Marquetry commercially and who is buying it?……….well looking at the link Stella McCartney seems to be a happy customer and it is certainly interesting to see what is on offer and what people appear to be buying, not to mention a question of taste. There are some interesting commissions on the site from interior designers and architects. If one were to undertake a large scale project this approach could enable marquetry to be used with much less restriction for the artist. Marquetry could be produced on a huge scale as public works or with architecture in mind?
Panelling, billboards, the sides of buildings or expanses of wall……..lots to get carried away with
