Artistic vs. Mechanical

[azrider]

So I was having a discussion with my wife, and made an interesting observation. Am kind of curious as to what other people think. As far as leather working goes, I don’t see myself as artistic. To me the process is very mechanical. In order to get this result, you do these three things in this order. That is actually part of what got me interested in leatherwork. I don’t have to be real artistic. Just like working on a car or a bike, you use tool x to do job x. When I want to a new project, I will start with what I want, and go backwards to figure out what steps I need to take. Occasionally, I will experiment with different uses of tools, and different steps, but its all still a very mechanical process.

Now I know there are some artists on this site, and the things they put together are a lot more than just following certain steps. So I am curious, do you consider yourself artistic or mechanical?

[Wyvern]

Definately artistic!

[electrathon]

My leatherwork is totally and completely mechanical. I am great at copying patterns, can't draw for anything. Same in life, I am one of the best fix-it guys there is, but I am horible at designing things.

Aaron

[azrider]

At least I know I am not the only one!

I guess my follow up question would be what makes you either artistic or mechanical?

[esantoro]

I would say that Hermes approaches the artistic through the mechanical. Selection and arrangement of materials also has an artistic component.

ed

At least I know I am not the only one!

I guess my follow up question would be what makes you either artistic or mechanical?

[hidepounder]

This is a great topic and I had to think about it for a while. I decided that my answer is that you have to be both. What probably sets the Masters apart from the rest of us is that they have a whole lot of both!

Bob

[wildrose]

Artistic. I have alot more trouble with the mechanical end of the "craft".

[esantoro]

How about this for art?

[Suze]

I like this one better

[azrider]

Thanks everyone for your comments. Esantoro- There is something absoulutly artistic about an all alumimum v8 block being CNC machined. Its fun to watch.

I think for me, part of why I like leatherwork so much is that I can't draw, I can't paint, and I am tone deaf. So for me, I can do somthing I see as completely mechanical. The results are getting nicer to look at though. I have always been a big fan of "form follows funtion" design. When I build things with wood, they might not look like fine furnature, but I have a 100 gallon fish tank (about 1000 pounds) sitting on a table right now with no fear that it won't hold. With leatherwork, the tools have been less expencive than metal or wood working tools. (They are certainly catching up though.) The practice and learning curve seems to be shorter too. The amazing part is, I have had people look at my leather work and call me artistic. Thats why I was curious about how other people viewed what they do.

[Tina]

I would like to think I'm both...

And the artist in me makes the mechanical part work so much better :-)

[wildrose]

Azrider, I can understand in a way where you're coming from. I consider myself artistic mainly because I've done things other than leatherwork (drawing, painting, etc), but I am always amazed when people look at my work and go on about how hard it must be; because I really don't consider leatherwork to be difficult. Of course, there are things that involve learning, talent, and practice - but to me, basic leatherwork is really a matter of following the steps. So I guess that is where mechanics come in.

[Bryan]

For me I think a bit of both, but usualy the mechanical part gets in the way of the artistic part.

[Shorts]

So I was having a discussion with my wife, and made an interesting observation. Am kind of curious as to what other people think. As far as leather working goes, I don’t see myself as artistic. To me the process is very mechanical. In order to get this result, you do these three things in this order. That is actually part of what got me interested in leatherwork. I don’t have to be real artistic. Just like working on a car or a bike, you use tool x to do job x. When I want to a new project, I will start with what I want, and go backwards to figure out what steps I need to take. Occasionally, I will experiment with different uses of tools, and different steps, but its all still a very mechanical process.

Now I know there are some artists on this site, and the things they put together are a lot more than just following certain steps. So I am curious, do you consider yourself artistic or mechanical?

Mechanical

I can relate to the tool X for part X to achieve function X.

I am function before form. But form is never neglected. I prefer symmetrical, even, clean, sexy elegant, and mysterious.

I've never been artsy. My fashion sense is non-existent. I don't decorate.

At least I know I am not the only one!

I guess my follow up question would be what makes you either artistic or mechanical?

Maybe the motivation or the priorities of the types of leather we work on. I think that's an extension of the kinds of people we are and the kinds of hobbies we keep.

I have a friend just recently looking at my work and she said I was artsy. What?!? LOL I don't consider myself artsy but she thinks its artsy. I would attribute what is artsy or mechanical as to the type of individual looking at the piece.

Edited July 15, 2009 by Shorts

[Johanna]

I've always considered myself to be a "carpenter". I can make anything, and make it work. Making it pretty and decorating it is out of my league, so I am a mechanic, not an artist. I admire the folks that can do both. But let's face it- if the gun doesn't fit, the flap doesn't close, the pockets don't line up- it's JUNK. You can make it as pretty as you want, but if it doesn't work, it's garbage.

Johanna

[mulefool]

Interesting question to mull over. Like Johanna said, form without function doesn't mean much to me. The most beautiful thing to me is something that works really well for its intended purpose. One of the most beautiful things I've seen was a perfectly plain saddle, but every line, edge, everything about it was perfect. Ideally a technically good craftsman will have at least an eye for nice clean lines. Doesn't have to be fancy to be artistic. I was a Fine Arts major before I dropped out of college, so I guess I would have to say I have some artistic ability, but I got involved in saddles for the function. At first I didn't care if I ever carved or not. Then I started to see some of the really great masters and I saw how the saddle could also be a vehicle for art. Chris

[celticleather]

To my eternal regret, I don't think I have an artistic bone in my body! When I was at secondary school - nearly 50 years ago - we had to make a choice of courses that we would follow. The choice was between art and artificer.

At that time, Britain still had manufacturing industries, and it seemed sensible to opt for an education that might eventually provide a living wage; for that reason I chose to learn engineering and woodwork. My engineering and woodworking knowledge has always been very useful, and today I can make a tool or gadget to suit most needs, but they are strictly utilitarian - any trace of artistry that may occur is more luck than judgement!

I eventually ended up spending 40-odd years working in the printing trade, but I had joined at a time when printing was still a craft. I was glad to leave that environment when computer technology caused the trade to become almost entirely de-skilled.

I can still produce a piece of functional leatherwork (or an engineering drawing) which some people may call artistic, but any 'arty' element is more likely to have been borrowed or adapted from something that I have seen and remembered . . . it hardly ever results from my own creativity. Today, I have an intense envy of people who can produce artistic work, and I often wonder whether a few hours of 'art' in my school curriculum would have made any difference to my creative talents.

Could I still 'learn' art? I think it's probably too late now, and I'm increasingly convinced that art is a thing of nature, not nurture.

[esantoro]

I also like to follow the mechanical and functional into the artistic. If stitching or riveting needs to exist and is done with thought and consideration, the outcome should most likely be artistic.

Here's my latest bag. I'll call this one the Walden Diplomat. Prior to stitching, I'm like a slalom skier visualizing the course in my head, where I want to turn, how I want to incorporate the hand backstitching so that whatever is done on the right side is also done on the left, etc.

ed

[hidepounder]

Ed,

Your bag is impeccably done! Now I know why you were concerned about your method of attaching clasps! Did you buid two shoulder straps for this bag? I see a contoured strap and a padded one?

Bob

[jbird]

feel I am both my mind works like a designer and I have always dreamed up all kinds of things .

I all so build a lot of things and I love that so I guess I am both.

Josh

[china]

As others have said, I like to think that I am both, unfortunatly the artistic part is still very much on the think part

[azrider]

Esantro, that is a really nice bag. I spent some time checking out your website, and all of your bags are very nicely done. It also is a great example of something being very funtional, but nice to look at when its done. The simple lines, clean edges, solid construction,and stitching all combine to make an nice piece. Do you consider your bags artistic, or simply funtional?

[esantoro]

Esantro, that is a really nice bag. I spent some time checking out your website, and all of your bags are very nicely done. It also is a great example of something being very funtional, but nice to look at when its done. The simple lines, clean edges, solid construction,and stitching all combine to make an nice piece. Do you consider your bags artistic, or simply funtional?

I never focused on the artistic. Everything was to be about function. The more I focused on function and thought about what stitching or riveting in a certain areas is supposed to do, the lines started coming together on their own. For example, some bag makers will have an extra line of stitching that is merely decorative and doesn't serve to hold anything together. Lack of such attention to real function, I think, plays out negatively in other areas of such bags as well, and leads to a nagging sense, though maybe not articulated, that something is off.

ed

[cybertracy]

i always tell people who come in somewhat intimidated, but wanting to learn leathercarving, that it's called leatherCRAFT--you don't have to be an artist (although it helps) to do the craft well, just be able to use the tools as intended and follow directions (and practice). The art is what truely sets the bar up there for us crafters though.

[JohnBarton]

It's both. It's a mechanical process with the end result being artistic. You have to be a bit of an engineer to put leather pieces together in such a way that they are very functional and durable. That's mechanical. Making them pretty at the same time - that's art.

Any of us with sufficient experience and a little common sense can throw together a functional and fairly durable briefcase in a matter of hours. I know that If I did that though mine would look like a kindergarten age kid went nuts with the rivet setter and razor knife. It would hold stuff and close and so on but it wouldn't win any prizes for fit and finish. NOW some people can use the same materials, same tools and get that rough industrial look to the point where it is art.

Not me.

What I do have a decent eye for is composition which my wife the ballet dancer says is also a form of art. I can "see" the way I want a design to turn out and usually they turn out well enough to please the customer.

But if you ask me to draw a tooling pattern - forget it. I am lucky if I can draw a daisy. Which is sad because as a kid I did have a little talent for drawing but I never developed it.

So, yes, when you create something then it can be art. Now some hold the view that if it's useful or functional, as in a bag, then it's not art. This debate will never end. For me, when I look at something and it gives me the warm fuzzies inside when I look at it that's art or love or nausea...... I like to go with art or love.