Is weaving art?

If you are a weaver, you have probably been asked at some point whether your weaving falls under the category of ‘art’ or not. Sometimes it can be fun to think about it, but sometimes you might feel like you are being forced onto the defensive. Over the years, I have had several conversations about this, and below you can read how I feel about it at the moment. I am also curious about your thoughts on this, so please feel free to leave a comment; I promise to read and answer them!

Craftswoman

Weaving is a craft, in the sense of ‘a trade in which you make something by hand’, or rather, handwork that is learned to practice a profession, namely the production and processing of material goods.

Although I spend a lot of time weaving, and sometimes sell my weaving work, it has never been my intention to make it my profession. In that sense, therefore, I am not a craftswoman, but I am in the sense of ‘manual production’ of blankets, scarves, and household textiles.

I feel that I am primarily engaged in artisanal work when I make things following a specific existing pattern, such as scarves in a herringbone pattern, or when I select a pattern for a particular yarn that best showcases that yarn. In other words: when little or no design is involved. By this, I do not mean to say that artisans do not design. I am referring here to my personal experience of my own work.

Designer/Maker

For the majority of my work, I attempt to weave a visually appealing product based on a selection of yarns, colors, weaving patterns, and graphic compositions. In doing so, I view myself as a designer, maker, or designer, and also, still, as a craftswoman.

Artist

Then there is a small part of my work in which I try to represent a specific image, feeling, or theme in a weave. Due to the limitations of weaving, where threads always cross each other at a 90° angle, one is forced into a process of sublimation and abstraction, searching for the weaving technique and the colors with which the image/theme/feeling can best be expressed. This is a particularly fascinating and intensive process, and the work resulting from it can rightly be called art. There are many weavers who create art, such as Theo Rooden, Susie Taylor,

Paulien van Asperen, and Babs van den Thillart, to name a few I know and admire.

However, I feel that my own work largely falls under the category of 'craftsmanship'. Strangely enough, I often get the reaction that I am 'bringing myself down' if I see myself primarily as a designer or maker. As if art is better or 'superior' than design or craft. I view all these processes as equally valuable and fulfilling; they offer me the opportunity to explore, fathom, and utilize all aspects of weaving.

And what do you think?