Artists and Artisans

Summary

The video script explores the world of artisans, highlighting the distinction between artisans and artists. Artisans create functional items with a practical purpose, while artists focus on aesthetic representation. The script features interviews with various artisans, including a soap maker, a wholesale grower, and a photographer, each sharing their unique journey and contribution to their community. It delves into the challenges artisans face, such as adapting to economic changes and the importance of community and personal passion in sustaining their craft.

Takeaways

• 🛠️ An artisan is someone who works with their hands to create something functional, often serving their community with their trade.
• 🎨 The distinction between an artisan and an artist lies in the functionality of the work, but the two terms can overlap, especially in fields like pottery and jewelry.
• 🍞 Bakers, pastry makers, electricians, and plumbers are examples of artisans because they create something functional or useful.
• 🧼 Kiki Rosener and her husband started Rosener Soap, making products using natural ingredients and essential oils to benefit their community.
• 🌱 Alicia Rossini, who moved to Sugarloaf in 1995, grows herbs and opened her shop in 2005 to share the benefits of plants with others.
• 📸 Nick Sungole, a fine art photographer, opened his gallery in Sugarloaf in 1979 after being inspired by travel and a passion for photography.
• 🏞️ Sugarloaf is home to a unique artisan community, blending fine crafts and art, where people create for both functional and aesthetic purposes.
• 🏠 Many artisans in Sugarloaf have independent businesses, relying on community engagement and evolving their craft as a way of life.
• 📉 The middle class, once a key customer base for artisans, has been hit hard, leading artisans to adapt by expanding their market through online sales and private labels.
• 🤝 Success in artisan businesses not only comes from craftsmanship but also from building good relationships with customers and maintaining passion for the craft.

Q & A

What is the primary distinction between an artist and an artisan according to the transcript?

The primary distinction is that artisans create practical and functional items with their hands, serving a direct purpose, while artists create works that are primarily decorative or expressive, often lacking a direct functional use.

Can the terms 'artist' and 'artisan' overlap? If so, how?

Yes, the terms can overlap, especially in cases like pottery or jewelry making, where the items are functional but also exhibit artistic qualities through their design and craftsmanship.

What types of professions are considered artisans in the transcript?

Professions considered as artisans include bakers, pastry makers, electricians, plumbers, and butchers who work independently or own their businesses.

How do artisans differ when working for a corporation versus for themselves?

Artisans working for themselves maintain a personal connection to their craft, emphasizing quality and creativity. In contrast, artisans working for corporations, like butchers in supermarkets, may focus more on meeting business demands rather than the craft itself.

What is the business focus of Kiki Rosener and her husband as described in the transcript?

Kiki Rosener and her husband run Rosener Soap, a business they started in 1998 after moving from France. Their focus is on creating high-quality, handmade soaps using pure ingredients and naturopathic principles.

What motivated Alicia Rossini to open her shop, and what is her main product focus?

Alicia Rossini opened her shop in Sugarloaf in 2005, motivated by her interest in herbs and the benefits they provide. Her shop focuses on sharing knowledge about herbs and selling products that promote their use.

What is Nick Sungoli’s profession, and what led him to Sugarloaf?

Nick Sungoli is a fine art landscape and travel photographer who opened Exposures Gallery in Sugarloaf in 1979. His passion for photography developed after traveling in Europe post-college, which led to his professional career.

What challenges have local artisans in Sugarloaf faced in recent years?

Local artisans in Sugarloaf have faced challenges such as a decline in foot traffic and changes in their customer base, with the middle class being particularly affected economically. This has impacted their sales and business sustainability.

How do the artisans in Sugarloaf view the concept of success?

The concept of success for the artisans in Sugarloaf varies; for some, it is about financial gain, while for others, it's about recognition or personal satisfaction in their craft. Success often involves having repeat customers and producing something meaningful.

What key factor is highlighted as important for running a successful artisan business?

A key factor for running a successful artisan business is having good interpersonal skills or being able to hire someone who can manage customer relations effectively. Being part of the community and engaging with customers is also emphasized.

Outlines

00:00

👩‍🎨 Artisans and Artists: The Blend of Craft and Creation

This paragraph explores the distinction between artisans and artists. Artisans are individuals who create practical, functional items with their hands, serving the community through their craft. They may be bakers, electricians, or plumbers, but not necessarily those working in large corporations. Artists, on the other hand, create works that are more focused on aesthetics and representation, not necessarily serving a practical purpose. However, there is an overlap, especially in fields like pottery and jewelry, where the created items are both functional and artistic. The paragraph introduces several artisans, including Kiki Rosener of Rosener Soap, Alicia Rossini, a wholesale grower, and Nick Sun Goalie, a fine art photographer. Each shares their journey and the significance of their craft in their community.

05:02

🎨 Artistic Intent and Community Engagement

The second paragraph delves into the concept of artistic intent and its impact on community engagement. It emphasizes the importance of having a specific vision in art and how it serves as a high form of communication. The paragraph discusses the significance of traditions and the local community's reception of various crafts. It highlights the art of creating spice blends and curries, which is seen as a form of art, and the diverse nature of the community, which includes both artisans and business-oriented individuals. The paragraph also touches on the challenges faced by artisans, such as adapting to economic changes and the need to be people-oriented to run a successful business. It concludes with insights on what success means for different artists and the importance of passion and community in sustaining an artisan business.

Keywords

💡Artisan

An artisan is someone who creates or works with their hands, crafting products that have practical and functional purposes. In the video, artisans like bakers, electricians, and plumbers are highlighted as individuals whose work serves the community. The concept distinguishes between those who create with both skill and a utilitarian aim.

💡Artist

An artist creates works primarily for aesthetic or expressive purposes, often without a functional component. The script contrasts artists with artisans, noting that while their work can overlap, an artist's goal is more focused on beauty, expression, or decoration, like painting a wall or creating visual representations.

💡Community

The term 'community' is emphasized throughout the script as an integral part of the artisans' and artists' experiences. The video highlights how artisans, like those in Sugarloaf, serve their local communities by providing goods and services, fostering a sense of connection through their crafts.

💡Functional Purpose

This concept refers to the practicality and usefulness of the items produced by artisans. For example, a potter makes functional items like cups, and electricians ensure homes are safely wired. The emphasis is on how these products fulfill a need beyond just aesthetics.

💡Craft

Craft refers to the skilled practice of creating items by hand. The video explores how different craftspeople, like potters and soap makers, engage in creating both functional and artistic works, blending practical skill with artistic expression. The term is associated with tradition and manual expertise.

💡Independence

The script refers to independence as a hallmark of the artisan community. Many artisans are self-employed, running their own businesses, which requires not only technical skill but also the ability to manage a business. Independence is framed as both a challenge and a source of pride for these individuals.

💡Art and Craft Overlap

The script discusses how art and craft sometimes overlap, particularly in fields like pottery or jewelry making, where the functional meets the beautiful. This overlap is seen when an artisan creates something practical that also has artistic value, blurring the line between artist and artisan.

💡Passion

Passion is frequently mentioned as a driving force behind the work of artisans and artists in the video. Artisans, like the soap maker and photographer, are described as following their passions, which not only keeps their business alive but also brings joy and fulfillment to their lives.

💡Business Challenges

Running a business is portrayed as a significant challenge for artisans, particularly when it comes to balancing their craft with the demands of selling products. The script highlights the need for artisans to be good with people or hire someone who is, suggesting that customer relations are just as important as craft skills.

💡Evolution

The term 'evolution' is used to describe how the artisans' work and businesses have developed over time. For instance, the soap maker talks about how her understanding of herbs and natural products evolved, while others reflect on how changes in the economy and community have shaped their approach to their craft.

Highlights

Artisans work with their hands, creating practical and functional items to serve the community.

Artists create works that adorn or represent something, often without a functional purpose, but can still enhance life.

The line between artisan and artist can blur, especially for potters and jewelers, whose creations can be both functional and artistic.

Certain trades like baking, plumbing, and electrical work also fall under the category of artisanship.

The concept of artisanship has shifted over time, and in some countries, it became associated with tradespeople, although historically it wasn't always that way.

Kiki Rosener runs a soap business, emphasizing the use of natural ingredients and essential oils.

Alicia Rossini, who opened her shop in 2005, finds the herbs she uses in her products as the common thread that connects her work to the community.

Nick Sun goalie, a fine art landscape and travel photographer, finds a consistent style in his work, which he views as a hallmark of artistic intent.

Rosener and her husband were inspired to start their soap business after a serendipitous encounter with a soap store while living in Tel Aviv.

The Sugarloaf community is home to both artisans and store owners, with the former balancing business with the art of their craft.

Artisans in the Sugarloaf community are often independently minded and dedicated to their craft despite not always making significant financial gains.

The economic downturn has hit the middle class hard, and artisans have had to expand their sales efforts beyond their local communities, including through online sales.

Successful artisan businesses require good people skills or someone to handle customer interactions if the artisan lacks that strength.

To sustain energy and passion in an artisan business, it’s important to take breaks from the work and come back with renewed focus.

For many true artists, success is defined by personal satisfaction in creating something, rather than financial success or public recognition.

Transcripts

an artisan is someone who makes

something with their hands or works with

their hands and serve the community with

whatever it is they make or do with

their hands

whatever the artisan makes or does has a

practical and functional purpose the

artist whatever they make is something

to either adorn a wall or it has to do a

representation of duty of some kind that

is not necessarily functional it will

enhance your life and sometimes the term

artist and artisan can overlap when

you're dealing for instance with a

Potter or a jeweler because it is

functional what they're making but they

can also make lines that are perhaps

more beautiful or more elaborate and

then you see the artistry in it a baker

a pastry maker those are all artisans an

electrician a plumber they're artisans

now you'll find a butcher in a

supermarket but it's not quite the same

thing they're working for the

supermarket not for themselves those

people who work with their hands who

have a trade and there's an art to their

trade there is if you just you don't you

can't just do it you have to learn it I

think in this country Wake is perhaps

the distinction between trades people

but actually originally that wasn't that

way you know it kind of became that way

here perhaps but that's not the way it

originally was

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my name is Kiki Rosener my business is

Rosener soap and I run my business with

my husband yerin Reznor we moved here in

1998 and for my thrill after living for

many years before that in France and we

opened our door

in 1998 my name is Alicia Rossini I

moved to Sugarloaf in 1995 I opened my

shop in 2005 and I am a wholesale grower

my name is Nick Sun goalie and I am a

fine art landscape and travel

photographer I came to Sugarloaf to open

up the exposures gallery back in 1979

after college I took traveling I've got

the travel bug and I decided after I had

made a three-month trip to Europe and I

would at some point you know buy a

camera like all other tourists and start

taking photos and then kind of led to

this obsession that spilled over after I

graduated from college at the time with

it when we lived in Israel we had two

small girls and we thought of moving

from there and we walked in the street

it was in Tel Aviv and we felt something

that we saw something that we thought

it's a bakery and we went in and

suddenly we realized that it's a silk

store there are all these big lots of

soap see we said both of us together

this is what we can do we can make so I

think that the herbs are a common thread

that's really what keeps me going the

people you meet the community and it

just kind of was an evolution really of

just knowing that the herbs work so well

for me and then when I opened the shop

the intention really was to share that

with other people and how

them understand the plants as well what

we've always tried to strive for is

purely of ingredient I was trained in

the use of essential oils and base oils

I was trained in the use of herbs I was

trained in the use of kind of

naturopathic medicine if you will the

actual combining of fatty acid and and

and alkali is not something that I was

trained in per se but the use of

ingredients that I was trained in there

is a line that follows from the

beginning to the end that stylistically

I think that one was to look at my work

one would say this looks like the work

of one person which I've always thought

is the hallmark of someone who has

artistic intent who has a specific

vision all art it's really a it's a very

high form of communication I really

wanted to reach out to the local

community in regards to medicine and

supplements and it's something that I

felt the community would really welcome

and they have well should I offer the

places a lot of people come because of

the traditions of a place that you is

very unique this place exists for nearly

250 years as a craft place I work you

know the flowers are my palette

basically when I make my spice blend and

I'm grinding them and all the colors

making my curries I consider that art I

live in this community which is quite

diverse in the type of work that's being

done it is an art Hamlet but a lot of

the art that's being done here is

actually done

in a fine craft sort of way so for

instance there are people who can sit

down on the potter's wheel and just kind

of pull up a form and then they have a

cup and then there are those people who

have that way of gift being able to

control the clay in such a way that they

can make these amazing forms into a work

of art there is a mix in this community

they're not just artisans there are

people that just have stores here they

don't have the same the same attitude

necessarily because for them it's about

business you know in a community such as

this one you have a lot of independently

minded people because who does this

today it's not like you're making big

bucks right so the artisans it's about

business too but not just about business

there's also that really important

aspect of I make this it's a dance

that's all I can say it's always

changing always transitioning I've seen

people come and people leave and we just

I think follow our heart in a way when

we first moved here there was huge foot

traffic and in Sugarloaf

but that those people were really hurt

in the last 15 years my customer is the

middle class and when I first moved here

in 1998 it was the lower middle class -

and the first people I saw not come back

for them and then the middle class

started waning we have we've seen a

middle class that has been very hard hit

we've seen the middle class that can no

longer purchase the way they used to the

changes we made is to reach out further

outside of this community so you know

internet sales and private labels we

wanted to make a kind of a luxury

product that was accessible to everyone

you know the problem with the artisan is

that they're not necessarily good with

people

so to run a good artisan business you

need to be able to be good with people

or else if you're really not you need to

be able to afford someone who is it's

just kind of how it is in an artisan

community but I've always kept my door

open to the public so when people come

in from Israel I'm here when people

travel from the farm they kind of want

to get a sense of sugar loaf I think a

key to an artisan business is very much

being a part of your business

we both have few other passion and I

think that this is really important to

keep a business when you're not just

involved in the business all the time

and think that you have to go outside

from it and come back to it all the time

with more energy what I'd like to

actually touch on is the idea of what

successful might be for some that would

mean bucketfuls of money other people

that would be accolades from the public

you need to have something that people

will come back for I think from all

artists real true artists

it's a satisfaction of a yearning that

you have to produce something I do think

it is of utmost importance to be good

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