Difference between handicraft and man made products
Answers
Answer:
Explanation:
No matter how hard I searched I couldn’t find a definitive answer to the never ending debate “Handmade vs. Handcrafted”. If you’re into any aspect of art or crafting I can almost guarantee you’ve had this discussion before one form or another. So what do the experts say?
The American Heritage Dictionary defines “Handmade“ as; made or prepared by hand rather than by machine. It’s definition of “Handcrafted”; to fashion or make by hand.
Merriam Webster: Handmade; made by hand or by a hand process. Handcrafted; to fashion by handicraft. Handicraft; 1 a: manual skill b: an occupation requiring skill with the hands 2: the articles fashioned by those engaged in handicraft.
Webster: Handmade; made by hand or a hand process Handcrafted; A work produced by hand labor
Almost every definition was identical. For fun I got out my old dusty Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary published in 1963 to see what they had to say 45 years ago. I wasn’t surprised to see there wasn’t much of a difference. Handmade; made by hand or a hand process. Handcraft; to fashion by handicraft. Handicraft; 1a: manual skill. b: an occupation requiring a skill with the hands.
Lastly I tried to find a more modern definition so I tried Wikipedia. Handmade; means something made by hand, rather than by a machine. Much to my surprise the word handcrafted came up with “No article title matches”. Tried “What is handcrafted” only to come up with a ton of ad’s for people describing handcrafted (as they see it) items for sale.
After several hours of research I gave up. I guess I’m going to have to give you my narrative of handcrafted vs. handmade and let you decide which classification to choose.
Since most agree that “handmade” is a process of making something by hand, or with your hands, does it mean entirely by hand or the process of putting something together using your hands? Reading the definitions I found, it means just about the same thing.
So you receive a jigsaw puzzle for your birthday and put it together using your hands. Did you handcraft the puzzle or was the puzzle handmade by you? What if you actually drew out a picture, cut it up into hundreds of pieces then put it back together again, is it handmade or handcrafted? You actually made the puzzle didn’t you?
In an article I wrote Art vs. Crafts - A Debate With a New Twist I mentioned the definition for “Artisan”; “ also called a “craftsman; skilled manual worker who uses tools and machinery in a particular craft“ . An interesting interpretation on the subject.
If you were presented with a kit to make a bracelet and did, I believe your bracelet would fall under the category “handcrafted”. You used your skills and put together something that was pre-fabricated.
Using the same analogy if you were to use the same kit and produce something other than a bracelet, or enhanced the bracelet using the parts in a different manner than described or instructed, then you’d still have “handcrafted”. If you were to actually make and add additional parts or assemble the kit in a different manner, then I would say it’s still “handcrafted”.
I believe this because I purchase and use prefabricated items for the creation of the items I design jewelry or otherwise. I may purchase jewelry findings or artisan-made beads to enhance or complete a piece of jewelry I design and make. How I used the findings, where I put them, and the ability to design the jewelry around the findings I use, I call handcrafted. Is this bad, no. Either way, I used my hands and my mind (what matters most) in the creation of a particular item. And yes, I use a variety of tools to help me in the process.
As much as I’d hate to admit it, I think “handmade” should refer to items which are uniquely made from totally raw materials. If you raise the sheep, process the wool, then weave it by hand into a rug, I’d consider that “handmade”. But wait, you need tools to weave a rug don’t you? So does that knock it out of the handmade category? What if you use a machine in the process? But what if you built that machine yourself? Is your rug handmade or handcrafted? Oh my gosh, this is too much informational overload to process.
I work with natural materials in a different art medium; gourds . They are a natural material. I grow them, dry them, clean them, sand, carve, inlay, embellish, paint and finish them in different manners. I still consider them handcrafted rather than handmade because I didn’t make the gourd itself. I simply used something and added to it using my hands and imaginative ability. I use my ability to craft something out of an existing item.