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Craft Research - Volume 15, Issue 1, 2024

Volume 15, Issue 1

Volume 15, Issue 1, 2024

Language: English
  • Editorial

      • Craft in times of change: Making as a response to crisis

        https://doi.org/10.1386/crre_00129_2

        This issue features a range of articles that explore different cultural and environmental forms of sustainability in the face of crises, including climate change and conflict, revealing how craft reconnects and sustains us as humans. Within the theme of , Ana Nolasco discusses the significance of Madeira Island embroidery, by drawing upon interviews conducted during a six-year postdoctoral study across the Portuguese-speaking archipelagos. Neetu Singh and Vanshika Gupta’s Craft and Industry Report shines light on the craft of , originated by the nomadic community of Gujarat. The Remarkable Image, contributed by Prasanna P. and Asokan T., captures a skilled weaver as he contributes to the preservation of handloom crafts in Uraiyur. In ‘Estonian blues’, Julia Valle_Noronha and Piret Puppart explore how the use of natural dyes can positively impact education, society and the environment, through a case study of the ‘Ethno’ course at the Estonian Academy of Arts. is prioritised by Tarja Kroger and Sirpa Kokko, who explore the crafting triggered in Finland by the war in Ukraine and the meanings attached to processes and artefacts encompassed within 40 writings. Niina Väänänen and Katja Vilhunen’s analyse surveyed Finnish hobbyists’ views on sustainable crafts, highlighting intangible influences on wellbeing, cultural and environmental responsibility. Valle-Noronha’s review of , held at Aalto University, Finland as part of the conference, reinforces the notion of responsive making within multiple product and service contexts. D Wood reviews the conference held at Concordia University in Montréal, Canada in May 2023, while Gemma Potter further explores our relationship with the domestic and familiar through her Portrait of the ceramicist Ingrid Murphy. Michelle Stephens reviews (2022) by Maarit Saloainen, and Bogil Lee reviews (2020) by Catherine Dormor.

  • Articles

    • Estonian blues: Natural dyes as enhancers of environmental, intergenerational and heritage bonds in fashion design education

      https://doi.org/10.1386/crre_00118_1

      This article investigates cultural sustainability through the case of the Ethno course, offered to students in the fashion design programme at the Estonian Academy of Arts. It discusses ways to enhance bonds with the environment, heritage and traditional knowledge in fashion design. Via narratives of traditional crafts and situated learning in a textile archive, the course focuses on contemporary craft applications within the various practices that compose fashion, with particular attention to local natural dyes. In this work, we discuss the structure of the course in one of its recent iterations focusing on blue-coloured pigments, its outcomes and possible implications to the field of fashion design practice and education. The findings build on both the final presented outcomes as well as students’ feedback analysed via open coding. The resulting works raise interest in a holistic approach to design concepts, reconnecting the students with nature and strengthening bonds with previous generations. They suggest that through historical narratives and hands-on engagement with nature, students developed a heightened awareness of personal and local heritage, as well as the natural environment of Estonia. In conclusion, the work discusses how this offering adds to the course’s legacy and looks into future developments in articulation with its present applications.

    • The significant object: The artistic imaginary of Madeira Island embroidery

      https://doi.org/10.1386/crre_00119_1

      In this article, I reflect on the way in which the memory of the disappearance of embroidery – as a manufacturing activity and, as a consequence, as the genus of social fabric and socio-economic relations – fosters the construction of a local identity and feeds the creation of a new symbolic language. I analyse how the division between the ‘traditional’ and the ‘contemporary’ is the result of a western culture that creates a sharp divide in time wherein everything that precedes it is in the past, and therefore fixed. Following this line of thought, craftsmanship has been associated with the traditional (i.e. unchanging), and art or design with the contemporary. By mapping the evolution of the Madeiran embroidery imaginary, I argue that this division is a historical construct. Seeing the embroidery as both an art and a craft enables a process of reinterpretation and invention, which enhances the creation of new imaginaries and alternative futures.

    • Crafted reactions to the war in Ukraine

      Authors: Tarja Kröger and Sirpa Kokko
      https://doi.org/10.1386/crre_00120_1

      The crisis caused by the war in Ukraine and the crafting it triggered in Finland are the focus of this study. As Finland is a neighbouring country to Russia and has a history of gaining independence from Russia through wars, the war in Ukraine has revived the collective memory of the Finns and disturbed their feeling of peace and security. Many Finns have responded by crafting for Ukraine. The focus of this research was to find the meanings attached to their crafting during this crisis. An open call for writings on ‘Craftwork in the time of crisis’ was launched on the platform created in collaboration with the Craft Museum of Finland. This research analysed 40 writings openly uploaded to the platform ‘Craftwork in the time of crisis’ by 13 March 2023. The qualitative data were analysed by thematic analysis, and four main themes for crafting were identified: (1) practical aid, (2) symbolic influence, (3) coping and (4) reminiscence. The findings provide insights into the complex ways in which crafting can be used as a means of coping with anxiety and other challenging emotions, confirming the findings of previous studies on the importance of crafting in times of crisis. Crisis crafting is both a strategy to distance oneself from difficult situations and a mechanism to take part in such situations. Thus, crafting for war can also be a way to normalize the war.

  • Craft and Industry Report

      • Mata Ni Pachedi: Tales of the goddess on textiles from Gujrat, India

        Authors: Neetu Singh and Vanshika Gupta
        https://doi.org/10.1386/crre_00121_1

        India is a land of vibrant culture and heritage. It is home to many diversified craft techniques, most of which have been intensely investigated, recorded, diversified and revived, while a few have languished. This work reflects the origins and process of the Indian craft Mata Ni Pachedi, which means ‘behind the mother goddess’ and is a cloth that constitutes a temple of the goddess. The original creator of Mata Ni Pachedi is the nomadic Vaghari community from Gujarat, the members of which lived along the banks of the Sabarmati River and worshipped the mother goddess in all her forms. The community created these textiles as an ode to the goddess, as sacred wall art pieces that enabled them to worship the goddess when they could not enter temples due to their low caste. Mata Ni Pachedi is a unique textile that has survived modern-day clothing techniques using natural dyes and simple block printing techniques, exploring different forms of gods and goddesses on cloth. Those in the rural community of Gujrat still worship their goddess on a piece of fabric during the festival of Navratri, in March and September. This research aims to investigate and catalogue the evolution, consumption pattern, production process and present-day scenario of the Mata Ni Pachedi craft to aid and sustain its survival and establish its context in contemporary times.

  • The Portrait Section

      • Material, gesture and touch: Ingrid Murphy, the playful ceramicist

        https://doi.org/10.1386/crre_00128_1

        As a ceramicist, Ingrid Murphy’s work explores the material culture of ceramics and human connection through technological intervention. This article discusses the key themes of ‘ceramics as interface’ and ‘augmented ceramics’ seen through much of Murphy’s practice. Murphy centres her work around the audience experience, subverting our relationship with the domestic and familiar. Through employing and exploiting aspects of digital technology, Murphy sees the objects she creates as ‘vehicles for naughtiness’, inserting herself physically and virtually into digital 3D scans of commonplace historical ceramic objects. Having exhibited work internationally, Murphy uses physical computing and technology employed within the Internet of Things (IoT) to connect viewers of her pieces through object-to-object communication. The notion of ‘ceramics as interface’ is explored further by exploiting the conductive qualities of gold lustre and liquid graphite, effectively turning her pots into capacitive touch sensors that generate interactive soundscapes that respond to gesture and physical interaction with resonant sound. The unexpected and delightful experiences that result from interacting with these objects typify Murphy’s work and playful approach to ceramics.

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