dil•et•tante (dĭl'ĭ-tänt', dĭl'ĭ-tänt', -tän'tē,-tănt',-tăn'tē) n.
(ital. "one taking delight in") Somebody who devotes herself to a job or art for her own pleasure. An amateur with a certain fantasie.
*an enthusiast for the arts.
*The word is often used to mean someone with broad but superficial knowledge and interests, and as such can have a negative connotation.
Despite what it has come to mean, dilettante is not a dirty word, at least not to me.
As I see it the only thing separating a dilettante from a Renaissance Woman is time-- years of learning and life experience to turn little bits of knowledge into a fascinating whole. When truly crafting your life it is useful to be interested in a myriad of things, for example: sewing, knitting, cooking, writing, beading, thrifting, gardening, homeopathy, carpentry, html... Even if what you know would fit in a thimble, it is enough to get started and learn as you go.
My lofty ambition is to be a terribly interesting and accomplished woman 50 or 60 years down the road. I think delight and enthusiasm are the way forward.
comment by belleepoque Thursday August 11th, 2005 09:38 AM
Fellow craftistas-- this is my new column! Just so you're not thinking "who the heck is the dilettante crafter?"
comment by Sewlittletime Thursday August 11th, 2005 11:51 AM
Yay!
I LIKE the word dilletante, forget the mildly negative aspect! I certainly take delight in my craftiness.
I tell my husband that I most certainly have enough interests to keep me busy for the next 50 yrs. , or however long I may last. But I'll settle for completeing the 2 boxes full of sewing projects that are next to my sewing machine. My goal is to get just 1 box full done before Christmas.
comment by microsinger Thursday August 11th, 2005 12:21 PM
My most spiritually 'in-tune' friend used to refer to my dilletante'ism as 'scattered energies.' I didn't take it as a negative thing. I wasn't aware that I had energies so why would I care if they were scattered or not? Feels right to me.....
comment by Schmatta Monday August 15th, 2005 12:20 PM
This is so funny: I sometimes say to people I'm just meeting "I'm a Renaissance woman if you like me, a dilettante if you don't."
Those of us who are multi-faceted often don't have time (or focus) to perfect one art. We turn from one to another whenever we like.
You go, dilettante girl!
comment by valleruata Monday August 15th, 2005 06:26 PM
This has been me for years. What I love is that now that I am getting into my 40's all these different strands are beginning to intersect. Who knows where I'll be or who I'll be by 60!
comment by anthrogirl Wednesday December 28th, 2005 02:12 PM
Interesting that you should say this, and that I should come across this today (see my freestyle post about my upcoming birthday). I just took up crochet, which I love. It fits into my love of Victoriana and Edwardiana. Eventually I want to become good at filet and tatting, so I can make 19th century patterns. I cook and this coming year I'll be taking up Renaissance European cuisine. I'm also going to finally start learning Asian cuisine this coming year. All this in between teaching, reading, and the other things I do. My life has been intersecting for quite a while. I guess part of it is that I feel like experience isn't much valued, and there's so much I would like to both learn and teach.
