I just got issue 05 of Craft Magazine (which is awesome) and there is a great "letter to the editor" which talks about crafty snob-ism. Long story short, the woman writing the letter despised scrapbooking, then found herself making the equivalent of a digital scrapbook. She realized that maybe she and the scrapbookers weren't all that different after all (except in matters of style and choice of media, perhaps). Anyway, near the end of her letter, she says,
... it's impossible to be a crafter and be a self-righteous boob for too long. One day you're making fun of tea cozies, and the next day you're getting all teary-eyed because your best friend crocheted you one ...
I'll be the first to raise my hand. Oh, yes, I can be a self-righteous boob, but luckily I keep it to myself most of the time. I've embarrassed myself enough to know that it's better to
eat crow in the privacy of my craft room than on my blog.
Too often we seem to peel off into opposing cliques: the champions of natural fibers vs the thrifty users of acrylics, knitters vs crocheters, crafters vs artists, granny crafters vs craft punks ... it's so silly. We should always acknowledge the value of making, no matter what people make or what they materials they are using, even if it's silently to ourselves.
I'm not saying we should all be one big happy family, or that there isn't a difference between arts, crafts, or kinds of materials. To each his own. But everything has it's place and everything, and everyone, has their own strengths and weaknesses. Who the heck are you to judge?
The next time you are itching to leave a snarky comment, give a backhanded compliment, or think you're Queen Sh*t of Poop Mountain, stop yourself and just click to the next blog ... you never know when someone else will do the same favor for you.