The distinction between fine art and functional object is linked to the historical and cultural context in which a work was created.
The separation of “art” and “craft” is really a western idea. In general, craft objects are distinguished as decorative or utilitarian (functional).
Art objects are categorized more as being personal statements, conceptual or for contemplation. You may have gathered from the reading, as the definition of art has become broader and more encompassing, the line between art and craft has become even more blurred. A good rule of thumb is to try to see the aesthetic and artistic merit of any creative work. In this chapter we will look at some traditional craft media, techniques associated with those media and design.
Coil Building
In coiling, ropes of clay are fashioned and then stacked upon one another.
The walls of the pot are then scraped to a smooth finish and molded to the desired vessel shape.
Slab building:
Slabs can be used in the plastic state, or allowed to become leather hard and then used.
Pushes our senses to the limit because it is an unexpected use of material.
Wheel throwing:
A pot can be thrown quite rapidly and effortlessly on a wheel once the techniques have been mastered.
The body movement, rhythm of the wheel, and the placement and force of the fingers must come together
The nature of wheel throwing encourages symmetrical forms.
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What is clay? Clay is not dirt. Clay is decomposed rock.
Ceramic objects are classified according to the type of clay and the temperature at which they are fired.
Techniques of Working Glass
In glassblowing, a hollow tube or blowpipe is dipped into molten glass and then removed.
Air is blown through the tube, causing the hot glass to form a spherical bubble whose contours are shaped through rolling and pulling with various tools.
The Roman Portland Vase, which survives from the third century CE, was created in three steps:
The underlying form was blown from dark blue glass
Next, a coating of semi-opaque white glass was added to the surface of the basic blue form.
Finally, the white glass was carved away to provide the bas-relief of figures and vegetation that circumscribe the vase.
Louis Comfort Tiffany glassware attains a combination of simplicity and exotic refinement.
The refining and working of metals has been known for thousands of years.
Stainless steel is used in kitchen utensils and furniture.
Silver and gold have been prized for millennia for their rarity and their appealing colors and textures.
They are used in jewelry, fine tableware, ritual vessels, and sacred objects.
An array of design disciplines touches us in our daily lives.
Good design raises our quality of life, even if we are not consciously aware of it.