Page 9 - Constructing Craft

Helen Hitchings (1920 – 2002) admiring a portrait of her by Douglas McDiarmid on display in her
Gallery circa 1950. Photo: Museum of New Zealand / Te Papa Tongarewa.

He was describing, in colloquial language, the growth of the studio craft

movement between the time that Helen Hitchings began to display handcrafts

alongside art and the period when almost everyone seemed to be involved with
craft or knew of someone who was a potter, weaver or woodworker. The interest

in craft had exploded. Indeed, the movement had reached its zenith but was still

evolving. New developments were beginning to appear but clouds were also
forming on the horizon.

The Changing Face of Craft

In the same article Peter Gibbs discussed the generation of craftspeople that

began to make their presence felt in the late 1970s and 1980s:
This generation of potters, weavers and furniture makers
weren’t happy with mindless repetition, and Eastern humility
didn’t sit well on Western shoulders. The work became more
creative and expressive. There arose a difference between

Constructing Craft