People today live with mass-produced goods and depend on electronics to get through the day. However, vintage crafts have not lost their appeal. Many people collect them, while others practice them as a hobby or a livelihood. Some historians also want to preserve old skills so they won't be lost entirely.
Traditional skills arose out of necessity. In many parts of the world, stone was the most plentiful material. Everything from houses, chimneys, and boundary walls to objects of worship were made of stone. Others had wood, or clay, or even paper to work with. All of the workers achieved the function they desired, but they often beautified their creations along the way. Necessity birthed art.
A good example is knitting. Fishermen in northern climes needed to keep warm even when drenched to the skin by rain or sea spray. Their women made them thick, closely-knitted sweaters out of wool from their native sheep. The natural lanolin was often left in the wool for its waterproofing qualities. The women were not content to knit plain patterns but developed intricate cables and ribbing that have beautified knitted garments ever since.
People needed tables and chairs for their houses, linens for their beds, clothes and shoes to wear, and tools for both indoors and out. The only way for many to get items of this nature was to make them. However, that alone does not explain the turned legs and spindles of chairs, the pretty borders on sheets and pillowcases, the trim and flounces on the dresses, or the perfect symmetry and graceful curves of many an old farm implement.
People made useful things beautiful, like baskets, pottery jugs and urns, decoy ducks, hooked rugs, needlepoint chair pads, and stained-glass windows. They improved soap with fragrance, dried flowers for their scent and color, tapered and twisted their candles, and made tablecloths out of lace. Much of the charm of earlier days came out of the artistic nature of those who needed more than mere function.
Collectors preserve this heritage, as do museums. Older objects - from Colonial days, for example - may be worth hundreds or thousands of dollars. Even cloth items sometimes survive. An attic may have an old trunk full of beaded dresses, kidskin gloves, or smocked christening gowns from grandparents or even great-grandparents.
People still practice most, if not all, of the early handicrafts. Today you can take a class at a shop or a community college and learn to hook a rug, cane a chair seat, restore an oil painting, or crochet an afghan. Visitors to Colonial Williamsburg can see glass blowing, silver casting, candle making, and iron forging. Arts and crafts festivals showcase the wares of potters, woodcarvers, quilters, weavers, jewelry makers, and even book binders.
Vintage crafting is part of the heritage of every culture. These things should not be lost forever. Those who collect or who practice things of yesteryear are doing us all a service. Objects made of wood, reed, metal, stone, clay, glass, or textiles recall how things used to be and remind us that we can do for ourselves if need be.
Traditional skills arose out of necessity. In many parts of the world, stone was the most plentiful material. Everything from houses, chimneys, and boundary walls to objects of worship were made of stone. Others had wood, or clay, or even paper to work with. All of the workers achieved the function they desired, but they often beautified their creations along the way. Necessity birthed art.
A good example is knitting. Fishermen in northern climes needed to keep warm even when drenched to the skin by rain or sea spray. Their women made them thick, closely-knitted sweaters out of wool from their native sheep. The natural lanolin was often left in the wool for its waterproofing qualities. The women were not content to knit plain patterns but developed intricate cables and ribbing that have beautified knitted garments ever since.
People needed tables and chairs for their houses, linens for their beds, clothes and shoes to wear, and tools for both indoors and out. The only way for many to get items of this nature was to make them. However, that alone does not explain the turned legs and spindles of chairs, the pretty borders on sheets and pillowcases, the trim and flounces on the dresses, or the perfect symmetry and graceful curves of many an old farm implement.
People made useful things beautiful, like baskets, pottery jugs and urns, decoy ducks, hooked rugs, needlepoint chair pads, and stained-glass windows. They improved soap with fragrance, dried flowers for their scent and color, tapered and twisted their candles, and made tablecloths out of lace. Much of the charm of earlier days came out of the artistic nature of those who needed more than mere function.
Collectors preserve this heritage, as do museums. Older objects - from Colonial days, for example - may be worth hundreds or thousands of dollars. Even cloth items sometimes survive. An attic may have an old trunk full of beaded dresses, kidskin gloves, or smocked christening gowns from grandparents or even great-grandparents.
People still practice most, if not all, of the early handicrafts. Today you can take a class at a shop or a community college and learn to hook a rug, cane a chair seat, restore an oil painting, or crochet an afghan. Visitors to Colonial Williamsburg can see glass blowing, silver casting, candle making, and iron forging. Arts and crafts festivals showcase the wares of potters, woodcarvers, quilters, weavers, jewelry makers, and even book binders.
Vintage crafting is part of the heritage of every culture. These things should not be lost forever. Those who collect or who practice things of yesteryear are doing us all a service. Objects made of wood, reed, metal, stone, clay, glass, or textiles recall how things used to be and remind us that we can do for ourselves if need be.
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