'Making is Connecting'

At the end of a hot and tiring day in the studio, Jo handed me a book that re-fuelled my motivation.
'Making is Connecting', by David Gauntlett is a book that examines 'the social meaning of creativity'.

There is an inherent pleasure in making. We might call this 'joie de faire' (like 'joie de vivre') to indicate that there is something important, even urgent, to be said about the sheer enjoyment of making something exist that didn't exist before...

Whilst fine art is more dependent on hierarchies and elites, upon which it relies to validate the work, craft is more about creativity and the process of making at a vibrant, grassroots level: proud of its grounded, everyday nature, and not insecurely waiting for an artworld critic, collector, or curator to one day say that it was all worthwhile. In particular, craft seems to be about a drive to make and share things, no matter what anyone says.

Peter Dormer says: 'Making-craft, skill, and the realisation of an object through craft labour- is not a trivial issue for craftspeople. Making is both the means through which the craftsperson explores their obsession or idea and an end in itself.'