GetCrafty Craft Facts

The art of craft resonates in the broad American culture and national traditions. If you trace the roots of art and craft in America, you will realize that the art of craft has always been part of our popular culture, even though modern aspects to the art have only been documented recently.

For instance, the art of making and or decorating pottery pieces is an art of craft that appealed to and flourished among the pre-colonial societies of the continent. Women especially enthusiastically engaged in crafts that were both functional and decorative. Examples of such crafts include needlework, pottery, Halloween-costume making, weaving and carving.

Most of these crafts evoked a feeling of domesticity such that mothers and grandmothers took upon themselves the mandate of clothing their families in their handmade clothes. All through the American cultural history, pottery was a craft that transcended social class stratification among women. Most would endeavor to make their own pottery, decorate their living rooms with some aesthetic pieces and even sell off some to make some extra dollars.

Yet the art of craft was not just an endeavor of women in traditional American societies just like it is not today. It is probably only in America that you could find studios and other display areas outside the home, featuring craft items by men in the 18th century. Records shoe that early visitors to the Centennial always expressed their admiration of the decorations and faience pieces that adorned most American homes at the time.

We even had celebrities of the day whose only claim to fame was the art of craft. Mary Louise McLaughlin who lived from 1847 to 1939 was an inspiration to her generation of women and those that came after her. Her fame in homemade crafts was maybe only equaled by that of Maria Longworth Nichols who lived from 1849 to 1932

In essence therefore, the art of craft has been part of the American culture since ages past. Our ancestral patriots lived under a lively art scene that projects even today into our society. They perhaps shaped and inspired our continued engagement to the art of craft even after the modern civilization ruled our great nation. When you engage in the art of craft, you are following in the footsteps of the American traditions. It is our heritage and our legacy to be. As such, brace up and be creative in crafts as much as you can.