Love is Craft
📹 The dynamics between ''love for your craft'' and ''the craft nurturing love.''
👋 Dear creative. How are you doing?
A dance between love and craft
For two years now, I have been diving each year into the Love theme. And it is so much fun to craft a specific issue around this topic. This year, I wanted to focus on the love of the Craft. That love we pour into our art, writing, pieces, projects, and beyond. It is a valuable love that sheds light on a pure bond. A starter, a confirmation, a navigational map towards our truth as we grow and embody our craft.
What is craft? It is the activity of making something that requires skills and experience with your hands (Cambridge definition).
Craft is one of my favourite words for it echoes craftmanship. I have always been in awe of the love involved in creating beautiful pieces of art and daily life objects. It is beyond compare a celebration of more than a material and skill. It is the heart and soul of the maker that is visible and shared with us as a gift.
Love is at the core of many masterpieces we enjoy today. The dedication and acceptance to endure, train, and thrive for the craft. We all have a craft story and we all have witnessed craftmanship. It changes you, it activates you to either shadow one of those masters of art but also investigate and learn more about his or her craft. Craft is a powerful word that has a voice, many voices and it expands in many fields. It is a wave we have to nurture for ourselves and future generations.
What about you, how do you see love in your craft and vice versa?
Sending love craft vibes 🌞
🎙️Love Craft intro talk • My insights on this dynamic
The Power of the Golden Gap
Kiyokawa Hiroki is a lacquer art restorer in Japan. He educates people on the philosophy of Kintsugi. It is the art of joining with gold (kin is gold and tsugi is join). The beauty, philosophy, and technique of this craft have always moved me. It is a beautiful tribute to the love craft and how it serves a bigger purpose: a noble one of acceptance. As creatives, we navigate many broken pieces. We collect projects, ideas, tests, and trials. They may not be broken, yet they birth a new identity. The Kintsugi mindset of restoring pieces that have endured life is a confirmation of love craft.
The documentary is golden! The way Kiyokawa Hiroki speaks about his dedication to expanding these principles is inspiring. I liked his injunction to not only enjoy the Kintsugi philosophy. But also to question our approach to craftsmanship by looking into our cultures and the people of craft in our lives. We should stay curious and engage with ancient crafts. And why not go the extra mile and become students of these crafts?
🎁 I am gifting a phone wallpaper of one of my posters inspired by Kintsugi. It is entitled “The Power of the Golden Gap”. You can download it down below. Enjoy!
🎈Below you will discover:
❇️ My selection of Love craft books navigating art, design, and storytelling.
❇️ I also recorded a video working session on Procreate. You will enjoy my behind-the-scenes process while drawing the visual for Love Craft.
This is the first time I have explored this format of tutorial. It is an eye into how I create and think about love and craft. I hope you will enjoy these video shares.
3 books → Love Craft ideas • ⏳18 min
Draw with me → Love Craft lettering • ⏳42 min
Love Craft → final result
💈 Top 5 references from videos
📚 False Flat: Why Dutch Design is so Good (Inspiration and design eye).
🏆 Irma Boom (and My book on her craft. You can reply to this email if you are interested in the upcoming book).
📹 The Pre-Raphaelites (A collective of English painters, poets, and art critics. They were pioneers in changing The Academy. The BBC show is here).
🧠 Trevor Kowalski (He creates an atmosphere for creation).
🎁 The power of the Golden Gap (2 wallpapers for your phone and laptop. Enjoy!).
Creativity is in every little curious experimentation.
Until next time, craft it!
Keva.
