The word craftsmanship is used to describe all the different types of elements or items that are made with the hands, usually with a significant degree of creativity and originality.
Craftsmanship is one of the primary creations of the human being when he discovered the possibility of working with the natural materials that surrounded him to transform them into something different, more complex and beautiful.
One of the basic elements of craftsmanship has to do with its originality
Unlike industrial products, made in a massive way, in the serial format, and identical to each other, it can be said that no two handmade pieces are the same since they are made by hand and finished to a greater or lesser degree. of detail as it depends on the case. At the same time, the crafts represent in a magical and unique way the ideas and ways of feeling of a community as well as the environment that surrounds it and others. Each society has a particular type of crafts and artisan creations.
Link with ancestral uses and customs and culture
So, crafts must be considered a branch and branch of art, although it is associated with processes and the use of simpler materials and framed, as we indicated above, in a cultural tradition that comes from the ancestors of the community in which it is developed. .
There are certain types of crafts that are more popular, such as ceramics, looms, upholstery, pottery, enamelling, glass or metal work, design, goldsmithing, or cabinetmaking, just to name a few. Obviously each of these types of artisan production has particular characteristics, as well as specific methods and procedures that are established and copied so that the results (at least in the technical matter) are always as expected.
Some types of crafts from specific parts of the planet are especially recognized because they have to do with particular traditions, materials, and interests. For example, typical of Venice are the masks of delicate beauty, tiles from Portugal, Spain or the coast of Africa, regional products from Argentina such as mate, poncho, basketwork from different parts of Central America, etc.
A common activity in the beginnings of humanity that is relegated with the arrival of the Industrial Revolution
Since the beginning of mankind, crafts are present and were for a long time the most famous mode of production of objects and also the one that allowed many people to earn a living. Of course, in those remote and initiatory times, both the procedures and the materials used to carry it out were more basic.
Meanwhile, the Industrial Revolution, which led to a greater technicality in the production and installation of the machine as the great piece when producing goods, caused a relegation in crafts and although of course it continued to be deployed, it began to occupy a secondary role in economic activity.
Even the lower costs of the introduction of machines in production led to handicraft products being more expensive compared to industrial ones. Ultimately the artisanal activity ceased to be profitable.
However, beyond these contingencies that we point out, crafts have not lost demand in some sectors that privilege and recognize more the value of artisan products than of those produced in a massive way. Especially handicraft consumers recognize the originality and dedication with which it is produced in this field. And we cannot ignore that normally the quality is superior to the industrial production.
The professional who is dedicated to craftsmanship is called a craftsman, to display the work that we have been commenting on. In any case, we must emphasize that there are artisans who are dedicated to producing objects as part of a recreational activity without seeking to receive remuneration with it. Generally, the artisan sells his products directly to the consumer and without the intervention of intermediaries.
