Today, I’ve got a guest post from Cate of Sangui(knit)ie. Cate’s a new-ish blogger like me, and she writes excellent thought-provoking posts about creation, creativity, and all things wooly (my favorite kind of things). Here she is, talking about process vs. product in creating.
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Why do you craft? Is it the process? Or the product? If you’ve been a crafter of any type for a certain length of time, you’ve probably heard these buzz words before. Process? Or product? It’s essentially the crafty version of the introvert/extrovert argument.
The definitions are pretty straightforward. Process divas covet the actual action and process of their craft over the finished item. Product mavens value their finished product over the actions getting them there. However, there often seems to be a little bit of political side-mongering going on.
Each “side” feels superior, and everyone seems to feel you can only truly be one or the other, that each of us imperatively is one or the other. Process crafters may feel they are the superior crafters because they value the whole process of the craft, rather than hankering after a specific outcome from it. Meanwhile, Product crafters maintain that their finished items are better constructed because they care more about the outcome.
But is it really that straightforward? Of course not. It can be argued that both process and product crafters are more likely to restart a project: the process crafter might not mind (or even relish) the opportunity to spend more time in the act, while a product crafter might be more interested in gaining better results the second time around. A process and product knitter might opt for higher quality materials, the former because of tactile process of working with fine material, the latter because better material often makes a better finished product.
And lots of us reject this duality and embody both process and product crafters. We like the process and we like having a good quality object result from it. So why should we have to choose? Of course, we all probably embody one a little more than the other, but if we want to be truly happy crafters, we learn to see the beauty and the necessity in embracing both sides of the spectrum to some degree.
A process crafter who also loves a product has a goal and a reason to refine her skills. A product crafter who relishes the process has a reason to finish his project, and incurs more enjoyment as his project becomes an object. Not to mention, learning to embrace both sides certainly teaches us a lot about the other sides we are asked to choose between in the real world- and learning to bridge the gap is a skill that can come in very handy in real life.
Why do you craft? Is it the process? Or the product? If you’ve been a crafter of any type for a certain length of time, you’ve probably heard these buzz words before. Process? Or product? It’s essentially the crafty version of the introvert/extrovert argument.
The definitions are pretty straightforward. Process divas covet the actual action and process of their craft over the finished item. Product mavens value their finished product over the actions getting them there. However, there often seems to be a little bit of political side-mongering going on.
Each “side” feels superior, and everyone seems to feel you can only truly be one or the other, that each of us imperatively is one or the other. Process crafters may feel they are the superior crafters because they value the whole process of the craft, rather than hankering after a specific outcome from it. Meanwhile, Product crafters maintain that their finished items are better constructed because they care more about the outcome.
But is it really that straightforward? Of course not. It can be argued that both process and product crafters are more likely to restart a project: the process crafter might not mind (or even relish) the opportunity to spend more time in the act, while a product crafter might be more interested in gaining better results the second time around. A process and product knitter might opt for higher quality materials, the former because of tactile process of working with fine material, the latter because better material often makes a better finished product.
And lots of us reject this duality and embody both process and product crafters. We like the process and we like having a good quality object result from it. So why should we have to choose? Of course, we all probably embody one a little more than the other, but if we want to be truly happy crafters, we learn to see the beauty and the necessity in embracing both sides of the spectrum to some degree.
A process crafter who also loves a product has a goal and a reason to refine her skills. A product crafter who relishes the process has a reason to finish his project, and incurs more enjoyment as his project becomes an object. Not to mention, learning to embrace both sides certainly teaches us a lot about the other sides we are asked to choose between in the real world- and learning to bridge the gap is a skill that can come in very handy in real life.
David and I got engaged last weekend :) We’ve actually been planning the wedding for a few months, so there’s also been a lot of this:
Tissue paper flower sweatshop up in our living room!
