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Achieving balance-making a living in craft.

Frances Stevenson Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, University of Dundee, Dundee, Scotland.

This podcast is intended for educational use only.

Is possible to 'make a living' in craft and maintain a balance between personalcreative fulfilment/achievement and commercial gain? In the current technological climate, does 'making a living' in craft mean there is a need for compromise and if so where or what should it be?

Both of these questions will be explored. However, as well as discussing issues concerning quality of life, this paper will also look at the meaning and identity of craft and discuss this within the context of western industrial culture. The work of David Pye, Soetsu Yanagi, Peter Dormer, Tanya Harrod and Jorunn Veiteberg (amongst others) will be referred to.

To further contextualise this position, the paper will also refer to my 10 years experience of being a craft-practitioner and discuss how I moved between business practice and craft practice. It will focus on the resultant voyage of discovery which led me to frequently ask what 'making a living' in craft means from the perspective of the maker. The journey also raised questions concerning craft value, knowledge and aesthetics.

This research has significance in a wider context;

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Est-il possible pour l'artisane de maintenir une balance entre le travail, la créativité, et le profit? Que signifie l'expression "gagner sa vie" pour la personne qui pratique un métier d'art? L'auteure répond à ces questions à partir de ses 10 années d'expérience comme artisane.