Are artisans also artists? This is a question that has been ruminating in my mind for a while now. It was triggered again recently when I attended the Weave a Real Peace (WARP) conference in Colorado in mid-May 2024. When there, I listened to the keynote presentation by Lynda Teller Pete, a Navajo weaver from Two Grey Hills, Newcombe, New Mexico. She is also a writer, and consultant, author of Spider Woman’s Children. Lynda calls herself and her prolific sister Barbara Teller Ornelas artists. What is the difference and how do we explain it? It’s difficult, she says, almost a blended concept. She goes on to explain that We are artists because we are not into production work, and we don’t sell to middlemen. We sell direct to collectors. Lynda, as the keeper of the family and community stories, says that the traditions of the culture are sacred and preserved in the rug designs. Artistry is a very colonial term. We live as a Navajo and as weavers we strive to be great artists. We see the resiliency of our ancestors. Art and family are all one thing. I see the same thing In Oaxaca and throughout Mexico.
Teller Pete continues to discuss how some criticize them for offering workshops for non-Natives, claiming that she and her sister are encouraging cultural appropriation and giving away cultural secrets. We also teach weaving to non-Navajos. How else will people know about the weaving? We are giving an insight into how difficult it is and how we have survived with our skills. We aren’t training people to become weavers. This is an educational process. We have talked about the differences here at Oaxaca Cultural Navigator between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation, and in this case, the circumstances fall under the category of cultural appreciation. The same holds true in the weaving community of Teotitlan del Valle, where some object to weavers teaching workshops to outsiders, claiming this gives away their culture and borders on cultural appropriation.
Let’s get back to Artist v. Artisan. I asked Lynda about this directly at the conference, and her response was that the definitions between the two are blurred. I came home wanting to know more. So, I’ve thought about and researched this topic. In my view, art is an expression of personal creativity, and the artist is an innovator and originator, rooted in traditional practices and with outstanding skills, yet able to express self and the world in new ways using tradition as a steppingstone. An artist breaks boundaries and interprets the traditional, giving us something new and exciting. An artisan is a master crafts person who perfectly executes traditional processes, often keeping cultural continuity by replicating what has been done in the past.
Furthermore, artists use creative imagination and conscious skill to create, such as paintings, sculptures, music or writing. They prioritize self-expression and creativity. Whereas artisans are skilled workers who practice a trade or handicraft, often making functional or decorative items. They value technical mastery and tradition. According to conservative interpretation, artisans can include bakers, silversmiths, jewelers, glassblowers, leather workers, potters, and weavers.
Artists create work driven by personal expression, creativity and aesthetic value. This work is often unique, one-of-a-kind, and may provoke thought, evoke emotions, or convey a message. Artisans focus on creating functional, practical, and often decorative objects using traditional methods and skills. Their work combines both artistic and technical skills, often resulting in handcrafted items like pottery, jewelry, furniture or textiles. It is said that artists are associated with fine arts, and artisans with craftsmanship. Artists sign their work and artisans often do not.
The art and artisan world in Mexico is changing. As Lynda Teller Pete explains, the boundaries between the two categories are blurred. The Chavez Santiago family of weavers, with whom I have lived for twenty years, are now all putting their initials into their woven rugs and textiles. They are innovating by creating new designs and revitalizing the use of natural dyes. Jewelry and alebrijes makers have signed their work for at least the last twenty years. Most of the artist-artisans I know are innovators – modifying their designs and products to appeal to a broader market, making clothing that is more breathable and lighter weight, taking elements of traditional pre-Hispanic designs and modifying them for a more contemporary appeal, incorporating non-traditional materials into their work like jute and other plant fibers, copper and other elements. Are they artists or artisans?
We would love to hear from you. What are your views of artist and artisan? Does artisan connote something lesser than artist? Is a weaver entitled to call her/himself an artist? Is a jewelry maker or potter an artist or artisan?
Notes: See shop.oaxacaculture.com for artist and artisan made clothing, rugs, home goods, jewelry from Mexico. We have a great selection of over 100 pieces! If you are coming to Oaxaca for Day of the Dead, come to our Day of the Dead photography workshop in Teotitlan del Valle with award-winning Luvia Lazo, and our October 30, folk art tour that includes hands-on experiences and lunch!
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Now, a health update from Norma: I’m almost eight weeks out from spinal fusion surgery at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center in Denver. This is the reason you haven’t heard from me in a while. As we say in Mexico, this surgery was heavy! Intense. Painful. I was on opioid pain medications for six weeks and managed to taper off completely in the seventh week. The incision is almost healed. It’s been a journey. I now have titanium in my back with a spacer between L4-L5 vertebrae, two rods and four screws. I can walk without pain in my legs. Before surgery, I could barely take five steps without stopping. It’s still a work in process. I’m exercising and walking and intend to go to Japan for two weeks in early September. But I know I’ll have to take it easy. Right now, I’m building up to walking 6,000 steps a day.
