Because my work is so heavily influenced by the arts and crafts movement I feel that it is important to always look back on where it has originated from, especially considering how my concept is centred on past traditions and crafts.
Looking on the V&A website it shows where Arts and crafts have been particularly prominent throughout the ages.
In Europe it had a revival during 1890-19-14, where it was especially popular in mass industrial engineering. William Morris was especially prominent in the arts and craft movement before and during this time. A leading member of the arts and crafts movement, he was best known for his pattern designs, particularly on textiles and wallpaper.
He was particularly keen that designers and makers should have a working knowledge of any media that they use. This is a reason that I stick with traditional paper cutting techniques as opposed to experimenting with laser cutting. It takes longer and is much less precise but I feel more satisfied with the work I have put into it. Part of the art for me is being involved in every step of the process.
According to the V&A, ‘It was not until the 1860s and 1870s that architects, designers and artists began to pioneer new approaches to design and the decorative arts. These, in turn, led to the foundation of the Arts and Crafts Movement.
The two most influential figures were the theorist and critic John Ruskin and the designer, writer and activist William Morris. Ruskin examined the relationship between art, society and labour. Morris put Ruskin’s philosophies into practice, placing great value on work, the joy of craftsmanship and the natural beauty of materials.
By the 1880s Morris had become an internationally renowned and commercially successful designer and manufacturer. New guilds and societies began to take up his ideas, presenting for the first time a unified approach among architects, painters, sculptors and designers. In doing so, they brought Arts and Crafts ideals to a wider public.’
Vam.ac.uk, (2015). The Arts & Crafts Movement – Victoria and Albert Museum. [online] Available at: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/the-arts-and-crafts-movement/
Morris has always renowned for his belief into the worth of something that has had time, effort and skill involved in it and this is what the craft movement is all about.
