What qualifies a soapmaker to be an "artisan"?

[gigisiguenza]

I make bread using a recipe that was originally called artisan. It happens to taste exactly like my grandmother's rolls did my whole childhood. Does that make her rolls artisan? Or my bread? I don't really care. The taste and texture are perfect.

I also make crochet and loom knit items. I make them functional. I like color, so they get color. But my primary concern is the function. My favorite pattern for one item was originally called artisan. I don't really care. It is an easy and fast pattern that is colorful and very functional, both in the making and the use.

I think it is like William Shakespeare once said, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Call your product what you like. I am going to look at it and judge for myself the craftsmanship and beauty.

Susie, I like the way you stated this. I grew up with art and artisan folk and training, so I think, like many others, I tend to hear "artisan" and think - unique, craftsmanship, handmade, quality, and artistic - and I judge the use of the word from that perspective. But, like you, I make bread using an old recipe that I'm sure others would think of as artisan, but to me it's just the basic bread I make once or twice a week LOL.

I think that in our current world, full of instant gratification and manufactured everything, the simple act of handcrafting things that could easily be bought in a second from the store has made anything handmade become synonymous with "artisan" to the general public. Only among the artists and creators themselves, I think, do we feel the need to define and defend specific titles for what we do and how we do it.

For me, the world would be a lackluster place if I could not create. Be it two dimensional art, fiber art, clay, tapestry weaving, knitting, whatever. If my brain is not inspired, if my hands cannot create a physical thing to represent the concept in my head, I think I would go bonkers. It is my sanity and my solace, has been all my life. So the world can call what I do and what I create whatever they please, as long as they leave me alone to create it