Handicraft, also known as craft work or simply craft A craft is a skill, especially involving practical arts. It may refer to a trade or particular art, is a type of work where useful and decorative devices are made completely by hand or using only simple tools. Usually the term is applied to traditional means of making goods. The individual artisanship An artisan is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewelry, household items, and tools. The term can also be used as an adjective to refer to the craft of hand making food products, such as bread, beverages and cheese of the items is a paramount criterion, such items often have cultural and/or religious significance. Items made by mass production Mass production is the production of large amounts of standardized products, including and especially on assembly lines. The concepts of mass production are applied to various kinds of products, from fluids and particulates handled in bulk (such as food, fuel, chemicals, and mined minerals) to discrete solid parts (such as fasteners) to assemblies or machines are not handicrafts.
Usually, what distinguishes the term handicraft from the frequently used category arts and crafts Arts and crafts comprise a whole host of activities and hobbies that are related to making things with one's hands and skill. These can be sub-divided into handicrafts or "traditional crafts" and "the rest". Some crafts have been practised for centuries, while others are modern inventions, or popularisations of crafts which is a matter of intent: handicraft items are intended to be used, worn, etc, having a purpose beyond simple decoration. Handicrafts are generally considered more traditional work, created as a necessary part of daily life, while arts and crafts implies more of a hobby A hobby horse is a wooden or wickerwork toy made to be ridden just like a real horse . From this came the expression "to ride one's hobby-horse", meaning "to follow a favorite pastime", and in turn, hobby in the modern sense of recreation pursuit and a demonstration/perfection of a creative technique. In Britain in the late C19, however, the Arts and Crafts Movement was not a matter of hobbies, but of creating useful as well as creative work for people, using natural materials and traditional techniques. In practical terms, the categories have a great deal of overlap.
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History of Indian handicrafts
The history of Indian The demographics of India are remarkably diverse. India is the second-largest populated country in the world with over 1.18 billion people and consists of more than one-sixth of the world's population. It contributes 17.31% of the world's population and projected that India will be the largest populated country by 2025 surpassing China, and by 2050 handicrafts is an old saga. To peep in to the traces of Indian handicrafts we need to go back almost 5000 years. The first references to Indian handicrafts can be found from the Indus Valley Civilization (3000 B.C.-1700 B.C.). The craft tradition in India has revolved around religious beliefs, local needs of the commoners, as well as the special needs of the patrons and royalty, along with an eye for foreign and domestic trade. These craft traditions have withstood the ravages of time and numerous foreign invasions and continue to flourish till date owing to the assimilative nature of Indian culture and broadmindedness of the handicraftsmen to accept and use new ideas.
The Indus valley civilization had a rich craft tradition as well as a high degree of technical excellence in the field of pottery making, sculpture (metal, stone and terracotta), jewelry, weaving etc. A lot of material information from excavations at Harappa, Mohen-jo-daro etc. substantiate the craft tradition of the Indus valley civilization. The craftsmen not only catered to all the local needs but surplus items were sent to ancient Arabian cultures via ancient sea routes.
Vedic Age
The Indus Valley Civilization was followed by the Vedic age (1500 B.C.), when the Vedas were written. There are numerous references in the Vedas on artisans involved in pottery making, weaving, wood crafting etc. The Rig Veda in particular refers to a variety of pottery made from clay, wood and metal. It also refers to weavers and weaving.
State Empires
The concept of state was ushered by the rise of the Mauryan Empire in the 3rd century B.C. It is said that during the time of Ashoka 84,000 stupas were built in India, including the world famous Sanchi Stupa, which has beautiful stone carving and relief work done on it. Numerous sculptures from Bharhut, Mathura, Amravati, Vaishali, Sanchi etc show female figures adorned with an array of jewelry, which continues to inspire contemporary jewelry making. The iron pillars of Vaishali (Bihar) and Delhi, created during the time of Emperor Ashoka, are a marvel in the field of metallurgy.
Post Mauryan Age
The period between 1st century B.C. and 1st century A.D. was a period of political turmoil as a result of foreign invasions from central Asia. The impact of these intrusions can be seen in the Buddhist sculptures from Taxila, Begram, Bamiyan, Swat valley etc (all from the present day Pakistani North West Frontier province) which show a high degree of Greek influence. The depiction of Buddha, having curly hair and wearing draperies, until date is the result of this Greek influence. The sculpture of the Kushan king Kanishka from this period depicting him wearing leather boots and a heavy warm coat amply reflects the influence of the central Asian Culture on Indian craftsmanship. Jewelry, sculpture, textile making, leather products, metal working etc. were the main handicrafts that inherited these foreign influences and assimilated them in accordance with the Indian milieu.
Gupta Age
The Gupta (AD 320-647) age is referred to as the classical period in Indian history. The points in the field of craft include the rock cut temples of Ellora and the Ajanta murals. These murals give us a realistic view of the lifestyle of that time. The craftsmen of this period, under royal patronage excelled in jewelry making, woodcarving, sculpture, stone carving and weaving.
Medieval India
The Medieval period of Indian history in the context of handicrafts showed a marked shift from north India to the Deccan and southern parts of the country, though the handicraftsmen under the Delhi Sultanate period flourished in the field of pottery, weaving, wood carving, metal working, jewelry etc. The contribution of the Cholas and the Vijaynagar Empire in the field of bronze sculpture, silk weaving, jewelry, temple carving is beyond parallel. The fine example of stone carving from central India can be seen in the form of the Khajuraho Temples, built by the Chandelas. Rich and ornate wood and stone carving can be found in medieval temple of Jagannath at Puri in Orissa.
List of handicraft trades
Handicrafts include:
- Assemblage The origin of the word can be traced back to the early 1950s, when Jean Dubuffet created a series of collages of butterfly wings, which he titled assemblages d'empreintes. However, both Marcel Duchamp and Pablo Picasso had been working with found objects for many years prior to Dubuffet. They were not alone, alongside Duchamp the earliest woman – collage in three dimensions
- Beadwork Beadwork is the art or craft of attaching beads to one another or to cloth, usually by the use of a needle and thread or soft, flexible wire. Most beadwork takes the form of jewelry or other personal adornment, but beads are also used in wall hangings and sculpture
- Bone carving Bone carving is the act of creating art forms by carving into animal bones. It can result in the ornamentation of a bone, or the creation of a figure. It has been practiced by a variety of world cultures, including the Māori Queen of New Zealand buffalo, camel, elephant bone carving.
- Cabinet making Cabinet making involves techniques such as creating appropriate joints, dados, bevels, chamfers and shelving systems, the use of finishing tools such as routers to create decorative edgings, and so on
- Chip carving Chip carving, also sometimes called spoon carving, is a style of wood carving in which knives are used to remove small chips of wood from the project surface in a single piece. Chip carvings have two planes: the wood surface and the point beneath the surface where the cuts intersect. Patterns can be free form style or based on geometric figures
- Collage A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole possibly involving seeds, fabric, paper, photographs and/or found objects
- Crochet Crochet is a process of creating fabric from yarn or thread using a crochet hook. The word is derived from the French word "crochet", meaning hook. Crocheting, similar to knitting, consists of pulling loops of yarn through other loops. Crochet differs from knitting in that only one loop is active at one time (the sole exception being
- Embossed aluminum or silver
- Gardening Gardening is the practice of growing plants. Ornamental plants are normally grown for their flowers, foliage, overall appearance, or for their dyes. Useful plants are grown for consumption or for medicinal use. A gardener is someone who practices gardening
- Buffalo Some zoologists split the Water Buffalo into two or three species, the Domestic Asian Water Buffalo, the Philippines Carabao and the Wild Asian Water Buffalo, a rare endangered species which is the domestic buffalo's ancestor horn carving, Rhino Rhinoceros – Greek ῥῑνόκερως – often colloquially abbreviated rhino, is a group of five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia horn carving.
- Knitting Knitting is a method by which thread or yarn may be turned into cloth or other fine crafts. Knitting consists of consecutive loops, called stitches. As each row progresses, a new loop is pulled through an existing loop. The active stitches are held on a needle until another loop can be passed through them. This process eventually results in a
- Lathart Categories: Decorative arts | Woodworking | Art genres | Folk art |
- Marquetry Marquetry is the art and craft of covering a structural carcass with pieces of veneer forming decorative patterns, designs or pictures. The technique may be applied to case furniture or even seat furniture, to decorative small objects with smooth, veneerable surfaces or to free-standing pictorial panels appreciated in their own right. Parquetry is
- Metalwork Metalworking is the process of working with metals to create individual parts, assemblies, or large scale structures. The term covers a wide range of work from large ships and bridges to precise engine parts and delicate jewellery. It therefore includes a correspondingly wide range of skills, processes, and tools
- Mosaic Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral. Small pieces, normally roughly cubic, of stone or glass of different colors, known as tesserae, ,
- Needlework Needlework is a broad term for the handicrafts of decorative sewing and textile arts. Anything that uses a needle for construction can be called needlework. The definition may expand to include related textile crafts such as a crochet hook or tatting shuttles
- Pottery Pottery is the ceramic ware made by potters. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery can also refer to the material of which the potteryware is made. Major types of pottery include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. Pottery is one of the oldest human technologies and art-forms, and remains a major industry today and Ceramics In art history, ceramics and ceramic art mean art objects such as figures, tiles, and tableware made from clay and other raw materials by the process of pottery. Some ceramic products are regarded as fine art, while others are regarded as decorative, industrial or applied art objects, or as artifacts in archaeology. They may be made by one
- Pressed flower craft Pressed flower craft consists of drying flower petals and leaves in a flower press to flatten and exclude light and moisture. Pressing flowers makes them appear flat, and often there is a change in color, ranging from faded colors to a greater intensity of vibrant colors — uses real flowers and leaves
- Puppetry Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance which involves the manipulation of puppets. It is very ancient, and is believed to have originated 30,000 years BC. Puppetry takes many forms but they all share the process of animating inanimate performing objects. Puppetry is used in almost all human societies both as an entertainment – in
- Quilting Quilting is a sewing method done to join two or more layers of material together to make a thicker padded material. A quilter is the name given to someone who works at quilting. Quilting can be done by hand, by sewing machine, or by a specialist longarm quilting system - also reference Quilt A quilt is a type of bedding composed several layers generally combined using the technique of quilting. Many are made with decorative designs, and some of these are not used as bed covering at all, but are rather made to be hung on a wall or otherwise displayed and Art quilts Quilt art, sometimes known as art quilting, is an art form that uses traditional quilting techniques to create art objects. Practitioners of quilt art create it based on their experiences, imagery, and ideas rather than traditional patterns. Quilt art generally has more in common with the fine arts than it does with traditional quilting. This art
- Saddlemaking A saddle is a supportive structure for a rider or other load, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is the equestrian saddle designed for a horse, but specialized saddles have been created for camels and other creatures. The earliest saddles were simple pads attached with a surcingle seen by 800 BC, with the saddle tree
- Scale model A scale model is a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object . Very often the scale model is smaller than the original and used as a guide to making the object in full size. Scale models are built or collected for many reasons
- Sewing Sewing is the craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic Era. Before the discovery of spinning yarn or weaving fabric, archaeologists believe Stone Age people across Europe and Asia sewed fur and skin clothing using bone, antler or
- Shoemaking Shoemaking is a traditional handicraft profession, which has now been largely superseded by industrial manufacture of footwear
- Spinning Spinning is an ancient textile art in which plant, animal or synthetic fibers are twisted together to form yarn. For thousands of years, fiber was spun by hand using simple tools, the spindle and distaff. Only in the High Middle Ages did the spinning wheel increase the output of individual spinners, and mass-production only arose in the 18th
- Stained glass The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works made from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings. Although traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also
- Wood burning Pyrography is the art of decorating wood or other materials with burn marks resulting from the controlled application of a heated object such as a poker. It is also known as pokerwork or wood burning
- Wood carving Wood carving is a form of working wood by means of a cutting tool held in the hand, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation of a wooden object. The phrase may also refer to the finished product, from individual sculptures, to hand-worked mouldings composing part of a tracery
- Woodturning Woodturning is a form of woodworking that is used to create wooden objects on a lathe . Woodturning differs from most other forms of woodworking in that the wood is moving while a stationary tool is used to cut and shape it. Many intricate shapes and designs can be made by turning wood
- Woodworking Along with stone, mud, and animal parts, wood was certainly one of the first materials worked by primitive human beings. Microwear analysis of the Mousterian stone tools used by the Neanderthals show that many were used to work wood. The development of civilization was closely tied to the development of increasingly greater degrees of skill in
See also
- Artisan An artisan is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewelry, household items, and tools. The term can also be used as an adjective to refer to the craft of hand making food products, such as bread, beverages and cheese
- Arts and crafts Arts and crafts comprise a whole host of activities and hobbies that are related to making things with one's hands and skill. These can be sub-divided into handicrafts or "traditional crafts" and "the rest". Some crafts have been practised for centuries, while others are modern inventions, or popularisations of crafts which
- List of acronyms used in arts and crafts
- Rural crafts Rural crafts refers to the traditional crafts production that is carried on, simply for everyday practical use, in the agricultural countryside. Once widespread and commonplace, the survival of some rural crafts is now in doubt[citation needed]
Categories: Arts and crafts | Crafts
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Sun, 25 Jul 2010 07:45:08 GMT+00:00
during CWG Business Standard Besides promotion of silk, the focus would be on handloom and handicrafts items. During the campaign, a number of road shows and exhibitions would take ...
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These gives you a rough idea of how the place looks like
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Mon, 26 Apr 2010 09:39:25 GM
Indonesian Furnitures and . Handicrafts. have the excellence of complexion and characteristic that can't be found on other countries.
Q. This is a school project. I need you, the Y! Answers community, to help me out on what practical materials I should use. I need to gather lots of ideas. I have thought of wood shavings. What else do you think looks good on a parol (star shaped lantern)?
Asked by Rated R guy - Tue Nov 20 03:10:59 2007 - - 5 Answers - 0 Comments
A. we had this contest in elementary and our group won. we used indigenous materials like abaca fiber. we also used raffia, coconut (the one that we call "gunot" in the province), various dried leaves (like banana), corn (the dried "peeling") as well as dried flowers to accentuate our "parol."
Answered by kahlan nynaeve - Tue Nov 20 04:57:38 2007
