Art or Craft?

Well, the summer fair stall was a washout. Rain forced the event indoors and meant that stalls were down corridors rather than as a nice market in the walled garden. I was encouraged when I was told my spot was just inside the entrance; one of the very first stalls. But what this actually means is that people come in and head straight past you at speed in order to get to "the action", ie tea, cake, beer, Pimms, bouncy castle etc.. The next time they pass is on their way out when they've spent all their money. It also means the traffic is mostly limited to the first and last 30 minutes of the event. I made 2 WHOLE SALES and a loss :-(

By contrast, one of my friends had a very successful afternoon at a different craft fair. She almost sold out of one entire range of products. And it got me thinking. The main criticism I have received from other stallholders/fair organisers is that my stall is not focussed enough. I don't have a product, I have a range of things, and customers don't like this. They like to look at a stall and say "ah, plants", or " jewellery", or "cushions", whereas mine they look at and go "ooo stuff", or "gosh aren't you creative" and then they shuffle on by because it's all too bewildering. They aren't there to see an exhibition, they're there to shop and they like it to be easy and clear. But that's just not how I work. I have one or two things I make repeatedly, but on the whole each piece of work is a one off. And I think, for me, that's possibly the difference between art and craft. If I were happy to be a crafter, where the making and selling is the main focus, then I should be able to happily reproduce a technique or product over and over because it sells. But I just can't do it.

I can't do it partially because my boredom threshold is too low, partially because the materials I work with (sometimes) are vintage watch and clock pieces, so it's unlikely I could reproduce the same thing even if I wanted to. But I suspect these are excuses. The simple fact is I don't want to be a production line. For me the thrill is the design, the putting together of bits and pieces into a new whole, starting with a blank space and filling it with ideas. I love to try new techniques and mediums, to have a go at something different and see where it takes me. And I guess that makes me an artist, of sorts.