A handicraft, sometimes more precisely
expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of
types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by hand
or by using only simple tools. It is a traditional main sector of craft, and applies to a
wide range of creative and design activities that are related to making things with
one's hands and skill, including work with textiles, moldable and rigid
materials, paper, plant fibers, etc. One of the world's oldest handicraft is Dhokra;
this is a sort of metal casting has been used in India for over 4,000 years and
is still used. Usually the term is applied to traditional techniques of
creating items (whether for personal use or as products) that are both
practical and aesthetic.Handicraft industries are those that produces things
with hands to meet the needs of the people in their locality.Machines are not
used.
Collective terms for
handicrafts include artisanry, handicrafting, crafting, and handicraftsmanship.
The term arts and crafts is also applied, especially in the United
States and mostly to hobbyists' and children's output rather than items crafted
for daily use, but this distinction is not formal, and the term is easily
confused with the Arts and Crafts design movement, which is
in fact as practical as it is aesthetic.
Handicrafting has its roots
in the rural crafts—the material-goods necessities—of
ancient civilizations, and many specific crafts have been practiced for
centuries, while others are modern inventions, or popularizations of crafts
which were originally practiced in a limited geographic area.
Many handicrafters use
natural, even entirely indigenous, materials while others may prefer modern,
non-traditional materials, and even upcycle industrial
materials. The individual artisanship of a handicrafted item is the paramount
criterion; those made by mass
production or machines are not handicraft goods.
Seen as developing the
skills and creative interests of students, generally and sometimes towards a
particular craft or trade, handicrafts are often integrated into educational
systems, both informally and formally. Most crafts require the development of
skill and the application of patience, but can be learned by virtually anyone.
Like folk art,
handicraft output often has cultural and/or religious significance, and
increasingly may have a political message as well, as in craftivism.
Many crafts become very popular for brief periods of time (a few months, or a
few years), spreading rapidly among the crafting population as everyone
emulates the first examples, then their popularity wanes until a later
resurgence.
Simple "arts and crafts" projects are a
common elementary and middle school activity in both mainstream and alternative
education systems around the world.
In some of the Scandinavian countries,
more advanced handicrafts form part of the formal, compulsory school
curriculum, and are collectively referred to as sloyd in Swedish, and käsityö or veisto in
Finnish. Students learn how to work with mainly metal, textile and wood, not
for professional training purposes as in American vocational–technical schools, but with the
aim to develop children's and teens' practical skills, such as everyday
problem-solving ability, tool use, and understanding of the materials that
surround us for economical, cultural and environmental purposes.
Secondary schools and college and university art
departments increasingly provide elective options for more handicraft-based
arts, in addition to formal "fine arts",
a distinction that continues to fade throughout the years, especially with the
rise of studio craft, i.e. the use of traditional
handicrafting techniques by professional fine artists.
Many community
centers and schools run evening or day classes and workshops,
for adults and children, offering to teach basic craft skills in a short period
of time.
0 Comments