I found this post on Jewish-Scrapbooking.com very interesting. In it, the poster asks a thought-provoking question:
I have scrapped for most of my life. I have taught many classes, I have worked in a scrapbook store, I subscribe to scrapping magazines, I sometimes go to crops and I am curious. . . what level scrapper does this make me???
I don't have a sizzix or a cricut or quikkutz (or however you spell it). I don't buy designer albums. I have supplies out the wazzoo. . .I sometimes create my own albums, I alter plain albums, I am a lumpy scrapper, I love fiber and ribbons. I use Jolee's tastefully. . .I have never submitted my work for publication, I think I do great work, and I see some LO's in magazines and cringe that I didn't submit something. I have never been on a design team, although I tried once, but was told that her team was filled.
I think I am a "skilled" or "advanced" scrapper; however, when you read the question "What level scrapper are you?" if you are not a beginner, what makes that determination? Is it your own perception. I totally consider myself to be a Scrapbook Designer.
Just wondering what you all think about this topic!
The responses are varied and my own answer was pretty straight forward: "I think that only you can define what level of scrapper you are. What do your experience and knowledge combine to create?" But, the more I think about it, the more that answer bothers me.
I'm going to ramble here for a moment, so bear with me.
There exists a raging debate in many craft/art communities: Is it craft or is it art? Is craft art? Is it always art? Can some of it be art? Who decides if it's art? Who decides if it's craft? Who decides if it's good. I have talked to beaders, silversmiths, quilters, scrapbookers...so many people who make strong arguments for and against being labeled as either artists or crafters.
I found a quote a while back that I really love:
"Art strives to express; craft strives for excellence. Good art has good craft, good craft is artistic. Within every craft there exists artists. Within every artist there is craft."
It doesn't really answer the question, but it eloquently sums up so many of my feelings about the subject. Why do we need to define it so harshly? If I make a quilt that I mean to be hung on the wall like art, and someone else makes a quilt that is meant to go on a bed, but I hang it on my wall because to me, it is art, what's the difference? Or if someone has only been scrapping a year ends up teaching a class to someone who has been scrapping for thirteen, who is the expert? Who is the advanced scrapper?
I am a beginning quilter. I learned to sew in the summer of 2005. (Heck, I learned to iron at my first quilting class in 2005!) I have won blue ribbons and teach classes, but I still consider myself a beginner. There is just so much technical knowledge out there that I don't possess.
So, is technical knowledge the standard? In ice skating, the skaters are given two marks: technical and artistic. And, I've always wondered about the latter. It's so subjective. A number given to rate someone's artistry? Bizarre. But, we somehow have this need to do it.
I don't know if I'm headed anywhere in particular on this great ramble. It has just been rattling in my head and I'm trying to figure it all out. Do you have an opinion?
PS: Just Let Me Scrapbook is having another GREAT sale (psst: they have clear albums)...
Don't forget to mention my name (Julie Fei-Fan Balzer) in the comments section!
PS #2: TOMORROW is the last day to sign up for my class, Scrapalicious (see the image on the left). We start class today, but I always let students sign up until we're two days in. E-mail me (balzerdesigns@gmail.com) if you have any questions.
Thanks for stopping by!
