I belong to many online quilt lists, because I like to keep my finger on the pulse of the quilting world. One of the lists (dedicated to fiber art and quilt art) has regularly, over the years, trotted out that old debate of " What is Art" and "Is quilting a craft or an art?".

Predictably, every time those old warhorses are led out of the barn, we all heave a collective sigh while the newbies flog a repeatedly-resurrected-dead-horse.

However, if you study the work of the great art masters over the centuries, you will find that they took the development of their craft very seriously. Great painters and sculptors spend years and decades developing their craft, so that they can eventually create great art. The two go hand in hand – they are not mutually exclusive.

On the other hand, I have seen modestly presented works of textile art, sold in artsy tourist shops around the world, that have such exquisitely rendered works of embroidery, applique & beadwork, that it transcends much of what we like to call Fiber Art. It is the mastery of textile CRAFT, and an individual expression of textile ART at the same time. If you frame it and hang it on the wall, it becomes Art!

I've seen quilters so anxious to be an artist, that they don't take time to learn their craft. In this age when everyone wants to do everything fast, and we all want immediate gratification, there is something to be said for learning your craft first, so you can later express your creative ideas effortlessly. It is like a musician studying their scales and etudes, so they can play Beethoven later, or even learn to compose music or improvise in a jazz style.

In this world that has become so polarized, perhaps we can choose to participate in a creative expression that embraces, respects and admires ART and CRAFT in the same breath. We can learn traditional techniques and then break the rules to make our own unique version of a traditional artform. We can create beautiful works of art, BECAUSE we have studied and practiced the craftsmanship that we admire in textile museum exhibits.

And…as in the art world…it is ok for us to be inspired by the Art and Craft that has come before us…without being accused of copying. All great artists have been inspired by someone who has gone before them, then growing into their own unique expression of that original inspiration.

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Our thoughts and prayers are with the community of Christchurch in New Zealand. This week we'll send a portion of sales from our New Zealand Import collection to help earthquake victims.

http://www.redcross.org.nz/donate

My neighbor's daughter is doing a semester abroad in Christchurch now, and we were relieved to hear that she is safe. We'll pass on some other NZ disaster-relief organizations in our Tuesday Creative Nudge newsletter.