MEET THE MAKER PAGE 36

CC: Why do you continue to weave? BD: I still love to make functional objects that are a pleasure to use. I also love that the design process requires considerable calculating and planning. Weaving tends to be rhythmic and repetitive, almost meditative. The amount of movement involved also provides good exercise. Most days I walk about 2km on my loom treadles.

CC: Can you explain a bit about the complexity of weaving? BD: There are a lot of calculations – yarn requirements, spacing of warp and weft, take-up and shrinkage etc. There is also a lot to know about looms, about how to use and repair them. A very systematic approach is required to weaving, from making a warp, beaming the warp, threading the heddles, sleying the reed, then tensioning the warp, inserting the (thousands) of weft picks, and finally finishing and washing. Yarns must also be well understood as there is an endless list of variables there too, from weight, grist, fibre, spin and so on. Then there is colour, a study unto itself.

CC: Why do you use the fibre you use? BD: I prefer natural fibres such as alpaca, wool, silk, and hemp. I do use some rayon but that is considered to be a reconstituted natural fibre. Most of the alpaca I use is raised and spun in Alberta. I buy wool, hemp and some alpaca/silk blends from Quebec and my silk comes from Assam, a place along the original silk route.

Muga Silk is rich in colour, lustre and strength and I love it. It’s very hard to get as it only comes from one state in India and the insecticides and herbicides used in growing tea are harming the Muga Moth.

CC: Your work is so cozy and beautifully made, what are you inspired by? BD: I’m inspired by beautiful weaving from all parts of the globe. I am also fascinated by tessellations, moire patterns and mathematical concepts like the Fibonacci Sequence.

CC: What is important for you in your weaving? Technical excellence? Colour combinations? Usability? Comfort? BD: All of these are important. Colour would be the least though as while I enjoy all colours and their combinations fascinate me, there is no clear way to know what others prefer. Comfort is important and that is why I use so much alpaca, it being considerably softer and smoother than wool. I think the wraps and throws I specialize in are prime examples of usable objects as they can be a baby blanket, a versatile travel piece, comfort to an elderly or ill person, or a warm fashion statement. Technical excellence in mandatory in my work.

CC: What are you currently reading about? BD: Weaving, cooking and my family history.

CC: How does your environment affect your work? BD: Life is so peaceful on the farm. We see a lot of wild animals and experience the seasons very dramatically. I love working in silence and often the only noise we hear is the train a half mile away. In summer we have abundant flowers which provide materials to dye some of my fibres. We harvest our small garden in the fall and enjoy a quiet winter. In short, it is the ideal situation for two retired people to live and pursue their pent-up interests. For me, a day without weaving is a like a night without sleep.

Opposite page: Bonnie Datta in her studio

This page (top to bottom): loom shuttles with bobbins: alpaca, silk; weave structure will produce a fabric with waves and bubbles

Ribbons, nylon cord; tablet weaving with four-and six-holed tablets

Craft in Context

In 2020, the craft sector accounted for $2.4 billion

of the culture GDP in Canada.

(Statistics Canada, 2021)

UNESCO recognizes that crafts, amongst other creative activities, address the basic needs and rights of children, “building

creativity and self-esteem, helping them to work on personal issues and trauma”

(UNESCO, 2009)

In 2019, Craft Councils across Canada sold $14,024,577

in Canadian craft.

(Canadian Craft Federation)

Craft in a Tweet

CCF/FCMA @CCFFCMA

Craft is a form of making that pairs material traditions with contemporary skill, design, and technology.

It is a broad and flexible term, but at its core, craft is a meaningful way to connect with ourselves, with each other, and across borders.

We invite you to share your #craftinatweet online with us.

The Craft Spectrum

The Canadian Crafts Federation (Fédération canadienne des métiers d’art) has produced a seminal new text for craft in Canada: The Craft Spectrum. As the national arts service organization, it is our goal to create connections and champion craft through advocacy, collaborative projects, and professional development with our many member organizations across Canada - including all the Provincial and Territorial Craft Councils. Through our Craft Spectrum project, we provide new language to describe the sector, what it means, and the impact it can have.

Craft is a living creature, complex in its existence and evolving alongside humanity and society. The act of making is intrinsically tied to culture, technology, and the ideals of beauty and art, as well as the health and wellbeing of communities, economies, and education. How and why craft artists create, and the way in which we describe this activity will continue to shift over time.

The purpose of the Craft Spectrum document is to provide those working outside of the craft sector, with an introduction to craft.

The Canadian Crafts Federation acknowledges, respects, and values the diversity of voices, perspectives, and experiences of craft from across Turtle Island. By developing a spectrum of craft, rather than a rigid definition, space is created to find your place in craft, rather than a set mould you must adapt to.

I would like to thank everyone in the arts community for their interpretations and contributions to the development of this document.

This includes the members of our advocacy committee, the community testreaders, as well as everyone who shared their personal definitions in writing, in person, and online. From lecture halls to social media, from studio visits to gallery openings, in quiet corners of conferences, and across the loudspeakers at the podium — you have been heard, and you will continue to be heard.

It is no easy task to put this language in writing, and I am confident that if nothing else, we will continue to discuss the meaning of craft as the future unfolds. In the meantime, we humbly present this living document addressing the spectrum of craft.

Thank you all, for the continued conversation. Forward In solidarity, Maegen Black CCF/FCMA Director

FAQ

What is the difference between art and craft? Craft is not distinct from the world of fine art. Often set apart by its material origins or skills-based approach to making, craft crosses the lines of definition. Makers are artists and artists are makers — fine art borrows from craft, and craft rightly assumes the moniker of “art” — you can’t have one without the other.

What makes craft unique in Canada? Many rich making traditions are rooted in communities across Canada, and the materials, tools, and teachings found there. The style of ceramics from Nunavut’s Kivalliq Region is distinctive to communities in the North, as the Cheticamp hooked rugs are to the makers of Cape Breton. In towns and citites across Canada, makers also gather in community spaces, guilds, and learning studios — each unique to the region and its people — informed by a synergy of shared knowledge, supply chains, and local expertise.