Arts and Humanities Commons^™

"Soft Stuff": Community, Identity, And Contemporary Craft In Education, Courtney Weida

Courtney Lee Weida

This chapter explores cognitive, sensory, and emotional dimensions of contemporary craft education. I have often overheard ceramics and craft teachers lament not only adolescent students’ inability to model clay, knit, and/or crochet – but also express concern for adult students who have scarcely ever worked with their hands in a direct engagement with tactile art media. Learners who encounter warm, soft, and time-honored materials of craft can engage not only with craft histories and hand-made sensibilities, but can also “get in touch with” a sense of their own development and the embodiment of internal transformations. This chapter juxtaposes historical voices …