all too often

All too often, the perceived value of an object is based on market demand rather than on the qualities the making of it offers the maker. The photo above is an example of my mother's craft work from when she was a teen. The quality of her work was not at the level of work done by her mother or grandmother, but as stated by Otto Salomon, the value of the student's work is not in the work, but in the student. To make such an object imparts qualities to the maker... a fact neglected in modern American education.

The making of such objects is part of the process of development of character and intelligence, and as we have become a nation of consumers rather than makers, we have grown more and more out of touch.

The piece shown above is an example of a needlework technique called crochet. Another form for making lace patterns is tatting. Both were part of the compulsory school curriculum for women in Finland, and as shown in the photo below, the University of Helsinki still has a room dedicated to their collection of student work which I visited in 2008. Each drawer on the wall in the background is filled with amazing works of craftsmanship, the intellectual content of each piece leaving the viewer in awe.