The Intricacies of Craft

In a world that has become increasingly computerised and mechanised, it is always refreshing to see expressions of our Caribbean brothers and sisters’ individuality through the making of craft. 

What is craft?

What is craft? When one uses it, there is a strong possibility that another person thinks about something quite different. One person imagines handmade pieces while another thinks of stenciled furniture and stamps. And it does not get any easier when one goes beyond the word craft to a specific discipline such as glass or textiles. Again, everyone will imagine something different.

Craft can be defined as the making of decorative or functional objects generally by hand. By skillfully employing a range of techniques an individual can create a variety of stunning objects. These objects can be practical such as a piece of furniture, ornamental, for example a textile wall hanging or both. There are gifted people who can look at a piece of metal and see a vase, fuse some glass and produce a wall hanging or use the coconut palm and weave a basket. Other materials used can include metal, fibre, wood, glass, resin and clay.

To name a few, the various disciplines in craft include:

• Basketry
• Papercrafts
• Woodworking
• Ceramics
• Weaving
• Textiles
• Tapestry
• Jewellery Making

Basketry is the craft of making baskets or objects woven like baskets such as, bags, mats, rugs and other items, through weaving and plaiting techniques. Traditional basketry materials include reed, cane, twigs, rush, fibre and strips of wood, wire or plastic.

Paper craft is the craft of fashioning objects from any kind of absorbent paper that has been soaked in a solution of water and glue. When dried sealant and paint are applied. Decoupage another type of paper craft involves the use of flat pieces of pattern patterned paper to decorate three dimensional objects.

Woodworking techniques such as sawing, joining and finishing can be employed to make a wide variety of useful ornamental objects from jewellery boxes to picture frames, spoons, bowls and toys.  

Ceramic is pottery or a hollow clay sculpture fired at high temperatures in a kiln or oven to make them harder and stronger.  Ceramic objects can be molded completely by hand or shaped on a potter’s wheel, a device with a rotating horizontal disk. To make the object waterproof, glazes may then be applied and the piece fired again. Types of ceramic include earthenware, porcelain, stone ware and terra cotta.

Weaving is a method of creating fabric by interlacing two sets of yarn threads called the warp and weft. Further, textile is a type of cloth usually made by weaving, knitting, crocheting, knotting or pressing fibre or yarn together. Materials include fibres of raffia which is an African palm tree with large fibrous leaves, wool, cotton, linen, silk or synthetics. Textiles have an assortment of uses the most common of which are clothing, and are used as containers for bags and baskets. In the household it is used in carpeting, upholstered furnishing, towels, covering for tables, beds and other flat surfaces. It is also used to make a variety of other objects. Tapestry is a hand woven textile or cloth weave, typically decorated with figures, scenes or both.  Tapestries are used as wall hangings, curtains, carpets or furniture coverings.

Jewellery making is the craft of creating trinkets such as necklaces, bracelets or rings. It ranges from simple work with beads and found objects to advanced metalworking. A craftsman novelty is manifested in the materials used. This is illustrated by Albert Wheatley, President and Designer of Coconut Republic who makes jewellery from coconut shells and conch shells. Conchs are harvested for their edible meat but Albert knows the exquisiteness of their ornamental value. Indeed the Caribbean Gift and Craft Show really depicted “excellence through innovation”.

Craft is what happens when a person with imagination and skill has the opportunity to be creative. The difference between amateur produced craft and extremely decorative craftsmanship lies in the degree of innovation in form, quality and technique.