Redefining Craft examines the evolving intersections of art, craft, and design. It delves into the distinct philosophies and ways of knowing that characterize each discipline while exploring how the creative process reflects diverse human values. The work investigates the hybrid spaces where these fields overlap, offering new perspectives on the act of making and its significance.
The History:
Redefining Craft originated in 2004 as an early WordPress blog; during this time, Dennis Stevens served as the ceramics and glass technician within the School of Art and Design at San Jose State University.
About Dennis:
Dennis holds a Doctorate in Art and Art Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, a Master's in Instructional Technology from San Jose State University, and a Bachelor's of Fine Arts from Clemson University. Before academia, he served as a Gunner's Mate in the U.S. Coast Guard.
Dennis Stevens, Ed.D. is an innovative thought leader at the intersection of emergent technologies, ethics, and democratic governance. With over 20 years of transdisciplinary expertise spanning education, policy, communications, and advisory roles, he has spearheaded initiatives that provide critical insights and transformative outcomes.
Dennis, a prolific founder, established Penelope Mimetics LLC, where he guided synthetic biology research, development, and other projects. He is also the founder and managing director of Conway Cultural Development Corporation, a non-profit that fosters stakeholder engagement in creative placemaking. With a diverse background in the arts, sciences, writing, research, and media production, Dennis brings a cross-disciplinary approach to all his endeavors.
His experience includes leading transformative initiatives in community development, synthetic biology R&D, customer discovery, instruction and training, NSF's Innovation Corps (I-CORPS) entrepreneurship program, organizational change management, and thought leadership. He has previously leveraged technology to engage online communities in meaningful educational conversations in other knowledge domains.
More About Redefining Craft:
Redefining Craft is an online platform showcasing how individuals in American studio craft communities of practice embody values through their projects. The content highlights intersections of art, craft, design, technology, and critical thinking.
The platform provides a space for exchange and learning, where individuals with diverse aesthetics evaluate the core values of craft communities of practice. Redefining Craft presents 21st-century knowledge on art and design creation, utilizing current tools and materials, and contextualizing history to document the latest developments in the craft domain.
Digging Deeper:
While traditional, historically-based definitions of art, craft, and design stem from an art-historical view, contemporary artists and designers are leveraging new materials, techniques, and technologies to create art previously unimaginable.
The emergence of new creation methods prompts a reassessment of how we evaluate and perceive art, craft, and design. The blending of these categories challenges the notion of distinct categorization for creative outputs.
At times, traditional definitions and practices in the field require updating. For instance, criticisms of the art and design canons often cite a lack of diversity in class, race, and gender representation. This underscores the need for a more conscious perspective and an updated vocabulary to address these issues.
Redefining Craft serves as a content channel and online community examining aesthetics at the intersections of art, craft, design, and technology, aiming to address 21st-century questions.
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