Saturday, October 4, 2008

A quick "hello" and some philosophical questions . . .

First, a little distracting eye candy to get us in a warm, summery mood:


Ok, so things have been a bit crazy here, and I've got six or seven posts in my head that I haven't gotten out yet, and I've even been resorting to a little post-dating on some of my blog entries to try and keep them close to the dates when they "should've" been posted (like this one dated September 25th and actually published sometime er, later) . . .

But there's just no getting around this one. Back in August, while it was still summer, the marvelous Sister Diane of DIY Alert, your local Portland guide to all things arty and crafty and do-it-yourself-like, interviewed me for the DIY Alert blog's PDX Profiles. It was a lot of fun, and I've been meaning to do a thank you shout-out to Diane - and then she sent me the link to that great pickle recipe in the comment section of this post, leaving me even more indebted. The interview got me thinking about serious questions like the difference between art and craft . . .

For me, the line between art and craft is pretty blurry . . . they’re both verbs in my book. Craft is the method and quality of the making; the art is in the meaning it holds and conveys.
So, here are the two big philosophical questions for today's (not post-dated) post:

Is post-dating blog posts morally suspect?
What do you see as the difference between art and craft?

Feel free to comment on one or both, or simply to ponder in lurking silence . . . (we'll address the issue of lurking on another day . . .).

Until then, I'm going to bribe you with a little more eye candy from this summer's trip to Whidbey Island:


6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good Picture. The only thing missing is a white chicken... Good site.

so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.

W.C.W.

Chance said...

I believe you actually mean pre-dating; you're putting an earlier date on the posts, if I understand you correctly. I do this all the time. Life occasionally prevents a post from happening, so I just write the post I would have written that day, and pre-date it. No big deal.

Diane Gilleland said...

Thanks for the shout! :-)

I don't see all that much distinction between art and craft - in fact, it bugs me when "Art" is seen in elevated terms over "Craft." It's all acts of making, and it's all extremely good for us. Why create barriers to entry?

Oh - and I'm all for pre-post-or any other kind of dating that helps a blog keep moving forward in a busy life. :-)

gl. said...

i think it depends on how you're using the blog. i have a blog where i change the dates because i use it as a record-keeping system. but my other blogs are dated as i write them, which just reflects how my life is working at the moment. sometimes at the top of the post i'll write the actual dates the events occurred just to keep things straight for my own sake. do whatever works for you.

art vs craft: i prefer creation/creating. but otherwise i think i believe something similar to you: craft is the physical skill, art is the meaning.

Bridget said...

chance: Hmmmm . . . Yes, I guess it would be pre-dating . . . obviously, time can be a little confusing for me!

chance, GL, SisterD: thanks for the perspective on the whole, er, PRE-dating thing . . . I'm feeling the forgiveness, and it's a beautiful thing!

BoneFolder said...

I've backdated blog postings before, on the logic of "it's my blog, I'll do whatever the hell I want." The last thing a blog needs is a moral obligation. But as a blog consumer I don't like backdated postings just because it sometimes confuses my rss reader and I may miss those posts.

ShareThis