Why are crafts called the applied arts?

Answer 1

Crafts are called applied arts because the crafter is using art elements such as color, shape, line, form, etc, to create an object that has practical use. Art principles are also used in crafting, such as balance, harmony, variety, unity, etc. Let me show you how this all works in Quilting, which is an applied art.

Art Elements:

Form could be the shape of the quilt as well as the shape of the blocks or a quilt's pictural parts such as flowers or appliques. Line is the physical lines visable in the quilt's design. Shape is also part of the visable design. One might see the actual shape of the individual pieces used in a traditional quilt block, or stand back and see the graphic shapes created by the different blocks all together. Color is important because it is chosen by the crafter and helps to set the mood of the finished project. Texture is important as a visual element because, even though most quilters use cottons which have a smooth physical texture, the quilting, which is the actual process of sandwiching the top to the batting and backing, provides ample texture to the finished piece. Texture can also apply to fabric that is folded, or stuffed. Space applies primarily to how the blocks and/or pictural parts are positioned on the quilt. Are there strips of different fabrics placed in between the blocks, called sashing, or lots of background fabrics showing in an appliqued piece? Value is, of course, the amount of lights, mediums and darks used in the design.

Art Principles:

Emphasis is the first thing you see when you look at a quilt. It could be the theme of the design, such as houses, or flowers, or even the repeated parts like a color or fabric used over and over. Balance is the visual symmetry, not necessarily the physical symmetry of the quilt. Harmony is how well the different bits work together on the finished piece. Variety could be the different types of fabrics used such as printed and solid. It even applies to the blocks and borders (the outer bands that encircle the center, think picture frame). Do the different parts hold your interest? Movement, like shape applies to how your eye moves over the quilt. Do you see just the center? Do the fabrics make you look from the border to the inside? Rhythm often refers to repeated elements within the design. Proportion is how well each section relates the each other. Some quilters will keep adding borders, or make really large borders in order to make the quilt reach a certain size. That tends to throw the proportion way off. I usually suggest not making the borders exceed the size of the individual blocks. If the blocks are 6.5 inches, for example, the individual borders (a quilt can have multiple borders) should not exceed 6.5 inches. Unity refers to how all the visual parts go together to make the finished piece. Do the colors make sense? Does your eye move across the quilt?

Since I am a traditional quilter, I am able to discus briefly how these parts all work together. Art quilters use fabric in the same way painters use paints. Even though an art quilt may be displayed rather than placed on a bed, it is still constructed in much the same way as a traditional quilt, even the art quilts that use non-traditional "fabrics" such as plastic, tyvek, leather, etc.