Topic spans: 1970 - 1997
Handmade in Canada: The Art of Craft
When they're created by an artist's vision and crafted by human hands, the objects of everyday life take on a beauty all their own. The 1960s saw a revolution for craft in Canada, as artisans expressed themselves through functional works and collectors came to value the human touch. From quilting, pottery and blown glass to children's toys and folk art, CBC Archives surveys some of the things Canadians make by hand.
13 television clips
A crafty family
For the Cammidges of Vancouver Island, crafting is a family affair. Andrew, the father, makes clay pots; his wife Joyce dyes and spins wool; and the children are expected to master a craft, too. The family has joined a growing number of Canadians who have turned to crafts as a livelihood. But it's no easy ride: in this CBC report, the owner of a craft supply shop says the odds aren't in favour of the professional craftsperson.A crafty family
• The difference between art and craft can be highly subjective, but generally the difference is functionality. Art is meant solely to be beautiful. At its core, craft has a practical purpose.• Practitioners of fine craft make a further distinction between their original work and the crafts produced by hobbyists, who rely on patterns created by others.
• The book The Craftsman's Way: Canadian Expressions (1981) pegs the rise of fine craft in Canada to the first half of the 20th century. "Because the machine now supplied the essentials of life and work, the crafts were free to become more expressive of human creativity. They were no longer taken for granted as a necessary part everyday living but became instead non-essential embellishments of it."
• In 1977, Canada's Bronfman family founded the Saidye Bronfman Award recognizing excellence in fine crafts. The award is named for Saidye Bronfman, wife of Canadian liquor baron Samuel Bronfman, and is awarded by the family's foundation.
• The Canada Council for the Arts administers the nomination and selection process for the award.
• The Canadian Museum of Civilization acquires works by recipients of the Saidye Bronfman Award for the museum's permanent collection.
• Among the craftspeople who have received the $25,000 Saidye Bronfman Award are sculptor Bill Reid, as well as artists working in ceramics, glass, bookbinding, textiles, tapestry, guitar-making and furniture design.
• In 2006 the Canada Council for the Arts announced that the Saidye Bronfman Award would, as of 2007, be given out at the same time as the Governor General's Awards in visual and media arts.
A crafty family
Medium: Television
Guest(s): Andrew Cammidge, Joyce Cammidge, Khani Fowle, Jacki Warnock
Reporter: Rob Parker
Duration: 13:30
Last updated:
Jan. 26, 2009
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13 clips in this topic . page
Radio
10:22
CBC's Peter Gzowski makes a valiant attempt to learn how to knit over the radio.
Topic
Around 1912 a loosely knit group of artists began to paint Canada as they saw it. Sketch boxes in tow, they journeyed all over the country to paint the wilderness with bold colours and a broad, decorative...
A crafty family.
The CBC Digital Archives Website.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Last updated: Jan. 26, 2009.
[Page consulted on Feb. 14, 2012.]