When I entered into art education I thought I would first get to the bottom of what art was, then study and practice it. What followed was an obsessive three year attempt to find an answer to the question ‘What is art?’ During this time I devoured books explored theories and attempted to push the boundaries of those theories. ‘Anything Can Be Art’ is one popular theory. This concept has permitted artists to produce a rich bank of wide ranging work including audio pieces, gestures, text, actions, the void. Traditional craft was as far removed from my practice as it was possible to be. It slowly dawned on me that this was a way to push the theory - if anything can be art why not crochet? Realism? Highly accessible themes such as animals? When I tell people I crochet animals, I know I am creating a stereotypical image in people’s minds. I do enjoy playing with this image but it’s a preconception that’s hard to shift. As the animals I make are more akin to taxidermy than anything else, I came up with the term Crochetdermy to better explain what I do. Crochet being an endangered craft in this country fits nicely into the concept. Each individual has their own take on the world and the things I do will be interpreted in different ways by different people. For me Crochetdermy is a personal challenge. It retains the ability to make me feel uncomfortable and I suspect that lack of comfort will continue to pique my curiosity and keep me creating these pieces for a long time to come.
Is it art? Happily, I never did find out what that was.
