AMATEUR ARTIST - CRAFT SMEN :
A DESCRIPTION OF HAND-WORK
ACTIVITIES AND QUALITY OF LIFE

Dissertation for the Degree of Ph. D.
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
SANDRA IEAN EVERS
1976

 

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This is to certify that the

thesis entitled
AMATEUR ARTIST-CRAFTSMEN: A DESCRIPTION
OF HAND-WORK ACTIVITIES AND
QUALITY OF LIFE
presented by

Sandra Jean Evers

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

Ph.D. (kgmehr Department of
Family Ecology

 

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ABSTRACT

AMATEUR ARTIST-CRAFTSMEN: A DESCRIPTION
OF HAND-WORK ACTIVITIES AND
QUALITY OF LIFE

BY

Sandra Jean Evers

The focus of this exploratory study was the
amateur engaged in a creative art-making process.‘ The
general objective was to extend the empirically based
knowledge about the creative art-making process beyond
that of students and specialists. More specific objec-
tives were to identify practicing amateur artist-craftsmen
in a general population of adults, to obtain information
about their art-making activities, and to compare their
assessments of life quality to other adults who were not
involved in arts or crafts.

The art-making process was defined as the impart-
ing of form and integration to a material or combination
of materials which results in a tangible object. Amateur
status was based on the absence of training or education
and of intent of earning income by the practice of a spe—
cific kind of art-making activity. Two assumptions were

that hand—work activities have the capacity to be creative

Sandra Jean Evers

experiences and therefore can be meaningfully examined
from that perspective, and that products of hand-work

activities are expressions of the producer's aesthetic
standards or taste.

Common hand-work activities such as knitting,
crocheting, wood-working, and quilting served as examples
of the art-making process. The characteristics of their
practice were described on the basis of components
abstracted from a generalized art-making process. The
belief that special benefits acrue to people involved in
the creative art-making process was examined by comparing
respondents who qualified as amateur artist-craftsmen to
those who did not so qualify on five measures of assessed
quality of life.

Sixty—two residents of two rural townships in the
Upper Peninsula of Michigan constituted the sample. About
half the respondents were older than 55, had completed
eight or less years of schooling, and were employed.

The median income was $8,000 but over 25% had incomes
below $4,000. Thirty-three respondents regularly engaged
in some kind of hand-work activity as a pastime. Only
seven of the 23 men were in the amateur artist-craftsman
category.

Three scales and a series of 36 open—ended
questions made up the interview schedule which was

administered to the respondents in their homes by a

Sandra Jean Evers

team of five interviewers. Basic descriptive statistics
were calculated on the art-making activities. The com-
bined constraints of the size of the sample, the wide
range of the answers, and the diversity of hand-work
activities prohibited the testing of relationships among
the descriptive data. The analysis of variance test was
used for the quality of life measures.

Data about the practice of hand-work activities
were organized around 17 components of the art-making
process each of which contained three to five categories
of variability. The components included the topics of
tools, equipment, raw materials, time investment, number
and kinds of objects made, source of ideas, technical
resources, tendency to innovate, and disposal of products.
Examination of the descriptive data indicated four factors
central to the practice of hand-work activities. They
were sex of the respondent, social context of the activi-
ties, resources of the setting or community, and degree
of involvement by the amateur artist-craftsmen.

During the study a typology of amateur artist-
craftsmen and a taxonomic scheme of the components of
‘the art-making process were developed for use in future
research. Seventeen components abstracted from a gen-
eralized art-making process were organized on the two
dimensions of kind of information obtained and segments

of the process. The information dimension was composed

Sandra Jean Evers

of objective, subjective, and normative information. The
process dimension was composed of input, process, and
output components.

Five directional relationships were hypothesized
regarding the three measures of quality of life. Amateur
artist-craftsmen were hypothesized to differ from other
respondents by (1) having higher assessments of perceived
overall quality of life, (2) placing more importance on
the beauty in their world, (3) placing more importance on
their use of spare time, (4) having lower satisfaction
with the beauty in their world, and (5) having higher
satisfaction with their use of spare time. Only the
first hypothesis was supported. The directional dif-
ferences between the means for the two groups on the last
four hypotheses corresponded to the directional relation-
ships hypothesized. Alternate interpretations of the
measures of the importance and satisfaction with beauty
and with use of spare time rendered the results unclear
and inconclusive. A combination of socio-economic char-
acteristics was an alternate explanation for the higher
assessment of perceived overall quality of life by the
amateur artist-craftsman group.

This exploratory study provided basic information
about the regular practice of hand-work activities by
amateurs from the perspective of a creative art-making

process. If aesthetic education pertains not only to

Sandra Jean Evers

the appreciation of the professional arts, but also to
the extension of aesthetic qualities into daily exper-
ience, an understanding of where and how those qualities
exist in the lives of most adults is necessary and

desirable.

AMATEUR ARTIST-CRAFTSMEN: A DESCRIPTION
OF HAND-WORK ACTIVITIES AND

QUALITY OF LIFE

BY

Sandra Jean Evers

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Family Ecology

1976

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I wish to express appreciation to the members of

my committee for their interest and assistance.

Dr. Joanne B. Eicher, Chairman
Dr. Vera Borosage

Dr. Peter Gladhart

Dr. Robert McKinley

Dr. Beatrice Paolucci

Special appreciation is extended to Dr. Margaret J.
Bubolz for her support as an exfofficio member of the
committee, to Dr. Mary P. Andrews for her advice on sta-
tistical procedures, and Jean Grof for her assistance in
proof reading.

As a graduate research assistant for the Agri-
cultural Experiment Station Project, No. 3151, titled:
Families in Evolving Rural Communities, for which
Drs. Margaret J. Bubolz and Joanne B. Eicher were co-
directors, I received not only financial support but my
first and invaluable experience in the total research
process. Membership on that research team increased my

understanding of professionalism and cooperation.

ii

Appreciation is extended to the departments of
Family Ecology, Family and Child Sciences, Human Environ-
ment and Design and the Institute for Family and Child
Study for various graduate assistantships, and to the
College of Human Ecology for a Dissertation Fellowship.

I was fortunate to know and delighted to share
ideas, insights, criticisms, and sympathies with many
graduate students. I specifically wish to thank those
who preceded me: Drs. Virginia T. Boyd and M. Jan Hogan;
and those who are soon to follow: Sara Butler, Joanne

Keith, and Karen Miller.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter
I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . .

Objectives . . . . . . . . . .
Assumptions. . . . . . . . . .

Rationale for Assumptions of Creativity
in the Aesthetic Mode . . . . .

Creativity. . . . . . . . .
Aesthetics. . . . . . . . .

Limitation . . . . . . . . . .
Definition of Terms . . . . . . .
Research Questions and Hypotheses . .
Conceptual Framework. . . . . . .

The Art-Making Process . . . . .

Components of the art-making process
An example of the process. . . .

Assessment of Life Qualities . . .

The measures . . . . . . . .

The content . . . . . . . .

The model . . . . . . .

Creative and aesthetic subsets . .

Statement of the Problem . . . . .

II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE . . . . . . .

Section I . . . . . . . . . .

The Art-Making Process . . . .
Description of Artists and Craftsmen.

Section II . . . . . . . . . .
Quality of Life Indicators . . . .
The Life Concerns of Spare Time and

Beauty . . . . . . . . . .

iv

11

15
l7

l7

l8
19

20
20
21
23
25
26
28
28

29
29

32
32

35

Chapter Page

III. METHODOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
The Setting . . . . . . . . . . . 38

The Sample. . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Sample Description . . . . . . . . 40

The Instruments . . . . . . . . . . 45

Perceived Overall Quality of Life

(POQL). . . . . . 45
Self-Anchoring Ladder of Importance
(SALI). o o o o 46
Self-Anchoring Ladder of Satisfaction
(SALS). o o o o o o o o o o o 46
Hand-Work Done as a Regular Pastime. . . 47
Data Collection, Processing, and Analysis . 49
Data Collection . . . . . . . . . 49
Data Processing . . . . . . . . . 49
Analytic Procedures . . . . . . . . 49
IV. DESCRIPTION OF THE HAND-WORK ACTIVITIES. . . 54
Part 1
Description of the Practice of Each Hand-
Work Activity . . . . . . . . . . 55
The Knitters . . . . . . . . . . 55
The Crocheters. . . . . . . . . . 58
The Wood-Workers . . . . . . . . . 60
The Painters . . . . . . . . . . 62
The Rag Rug Weavers . . . . . . . 64
The Furniture Refurbishers. . . . . . 66
The Quilters . . . . . . . . . . 67
The Embroiderer . . . . . . . . 68
Fish Lure and Fly Makers . . . . . . 69
The Taxidermist . . . . . . . . . 70
Part 2
Summary of the Practice of Hand—Work Activ-
ities O O O O O O O O O 0 O O 71
Sex of Respondents . . . . . . . 71
Experience and Hours Invested. . . . . 71
Tools and Materials . . . . . . . . 7S

Chapter

Characteristics of the Process
Items Produced
Other Hand-Work Experiences

The Past Hand-Work Experiences of Other
Respondents in the Two Townships

Description of Four Amateur Artist-Crafts-

men Types .

The Rag Rug Weaver

The Knitter-Crocheter

The Wood-Worker .

The Painter

Summary of the Four Amateur

Craftsmen

V. QUALITY OF LIFE FINDINGS

Part 3

Part 4

Artist-

DISCUSSION OF METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS.

Format and Structure of the Questions.
Taxonomic Scheme for the Components of

A Typology of Amateur Artist- -Craftsmen

Findings About Hand-Work Activities .

VI.
Measures of Hand-Work Activities
the Art-Making Process .
Measures of Quality of Life.
Findings on Quality of Life.
VII. SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS

Summary .

Implications for the Study of Amateur Art
and Craft Activities

vi

Page

76
76
78

8O

81
82

92
94

96
100
109
109
109

111
115

115
119
122
124
124

130

Page
APPENDICES
A. INSTRUMNTS O O O O O O O O 0 0 O O 133
B. SUMMARY OF THE PRACTICE OF HAND-WORK ACTIVI-
TIES BY THE FACTORS OF SEX, LENGTH OF
EXPERIENCE AND KIND OF ACTIVITY. . . . . 141

REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

vii

10.
11.

12.

l3.

14.

15.

16.

LIST OF TABLES

Sex of Respondents . . . . . . . . .
Age Distribution . . . . . . . . .
Years of Schooling . . . . . . . . .

Employment Status . . . . . . . . .

Income Levels . . . . . . . . . .

Marital Status . . . . . . . . . .

Levine's Test of Equality of Dispersion
Dependent Variable--POQL

Independent Variables--Amateur Artist-
Craftsman Status and Sex . . . . .

Mean, Median, and Skewness for Beauty and Use

of Spare Time as Measured on SALI and SALS
for Total Sample . . . . . . . . .

Frequency of Amateur Artist-Craftsmen By the
Kind of Hand-Work Practiced . . . . .

Yarn Use and Preference of Knitters . . .
Yarn Use and Preference of Crocheters. . .

Affirmative Responses to Questions About the
Art-Making Process . . . . . . . .

Characteristics of the Art-Making Process .

Characteristics Related to the Art-Making
Process 0 O O O O O O O O O O 0

Number of Items Made in a Year by Kind of
ACtiVitY. O O O O C O O O C O 0

Number of Different Kinds of Hand-Work Activi-

ties Experienced by Sex of Amateur Artist-
Craftsmen . . . . . . . . . . .

viii

Page
41
41
42
42
43

43

52

53

55
56

59

72

73

74

77

79

Table Page

17. Common Hand-Work Activities Attempted or
Practiced by Amateur Artist-Craftsmen
in the Past . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

18. Number of Different Kinds of Hand-Work Activi-
ties Experienced by Sex of the Other
Respondents . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

19. Summary of Results for One-Way ANOVAs for Dif-
ferences in POQL by the Factors of Amateur
Artist-Craftsman Status and Sex . . . . . 101

20. Mean and Standard Deviation of the POQL by
Amateur Artist—Craftsmen and Other
Respondents . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

21. Summary of Results for One-Way ANOVAs for Dif-
ferences in the Rankings of SALI and SALS
Life Concerns: Beauty and Use of Spare Time
by Amateur Artist-Craftsman Status . . . . 103

22. SALI Scores of Amateur Artist-Craftsmen Com-
pared to Other Respondents in the Two
Townships (Ranked by Mean Rating). . . . . 105

23. SALS Scores of Amateur Artist-Craftsmen Com-
pared to Other Respondents in the Two Town-
ships (Ranked by Mean Rating) . . . . . . 106

B-l. Affirmative Responses to Questions About the
Art-Making Process by Sex of Respondent. . . 141

B-2. Characteristics of the Art-Making Process by
Sex of Respondent . . . . . . . . . . 142

B-3. Affirmative Responses to Questions About the
Art-Making Process by Length of Experience. . 144

B-4. Characteristics of the Art—Making Process by
Length of Experience . . . . . . . . . 145

B-5. Affirmative Responses to Questions About the
Art-Making Process by Kind of Hand-Work
ActiVity O O O O O O O O O O O O O 147

B-6. Characteristics of the Art-Making Process by
Kind of Hand-Work Activity . . . . . . . 148

ix

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page

1. Two—dimensional conceptual model with
examples of possible domains and criteria . . 24

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

As twentieth century Americans we hold certain
beliefs about the benefits of creativity, leisure, and
aesthetics. Creativity is not only regarded as one of
the most important human abilities, it is frequently
characterized as the trait which distinguishes humans
from other animals. An increase in creative behavior by
scientists, artists, students, and many others would be
generally hailed as an uncontestable social good. Crea-
tivity is associated with mental and emotional health.

A creative person is seen as adaptable, a problem-solver,
an independent thinker, and a generally capable person.
In many respects the contemporary image of the creative
person is an intellectualized version of the "rugged
individualist."

When the standard of creative behavior is extended
to the total adult population, a bias becomes evident.
Consider the incongruity of a creative clerk, bus driver,
or drill—press operator. Such images pose a threat to

the order of community life. Though all adults are

believed to have the capacity to behave creatively and

to have a right to enjoy its benefits, for people such

as the bus driver, creative behavior must not occur within
their occupational roles. The only option for most peOple
to act creatively in a highly industrialized society is

in their nonworking or spare-time activities.

The shortened work week has increased the hours of
spare time people have and, thereby, increased their
opportunities to behave creatively. Facilities for leisure
activities (particularly sports activities) and technical
courses have been provided through community and state
government auspices. Some social critics, however, doubt
the average person's ability to put spare time to good
use for himself and society. They wonder if guidance in
a broader sense should be provided for the use of spare
time. Do people have enough opportunities and the right
kinds of opportunities for a healthy expression of their
creative abilities? What kinds of expression have posi-
tive social impact and should be encouraged? In brief,
how can Americans better utilize their opportunities for
creative leisure activity? Concern about such issues
was important enough for leisure to be the theme of the
1963 AFL-CIO national convention.

The aesthetic quality of life is a component of
the general concept of quality of life. The aesthetic

quality of twentieth century urban life is generally

regarded as inadequate and an assault on all human senses.
Experts sensitive to the disharmony of modern life see
part of the cause as a lack of concern by the citizenry.
Would such attitudes be changed by more aesthetic edu-
cation? If so, what kind of aesthetic education would
provide the necessary insights for a greater sensitivity
to public choices?

Aesthetic education involves the contrasting roles
of creator/artist and audience/appreciator. Within these
categories some educators regard aesthetics as an oppor-
tunity to lift one's sensibilities from the drudgery and
routine of everyday living, while others see relevance
in aesthetics interpreted in terms of daily living and
mundane choices. The latter believe that aesthetic edu—
cation must be related to the daily life experiences of
ordinary people in order for the aesthetic quality of
life to improve. Home economists have traditionally held
this viewpoint.

Public programs supporting the arts reflect the
contrasting roles of creator and appreciator. Most of
these programs emphasize professional artists and per-
formers in the creator roles with the general public in
the role of appreciator. The kinds of activities sup-
ported are representative of the traditional definition
of the arts which derived from an aristocratic heritage.

Even the popularity of folk art originated in the private

interests of fine artists. Recently support has been
extended to minority artists and performers. Our ethnic
heritage emphasized in the bicentennial activities has
also been influential in ameliorating the narrow focus
of public support of the arts.

The cultural explosion of the 19505 witnessed not
only the involvement of the university-educated middle
class as audience and appreciators of the fine and per-
forming arts. Growth also occurred on the part of the
general public in the role of the creator either as
artist or performer, and like the professional artists,
the involvement of the amateurs extended beyond the tra-
ditional fine art forms.

The amateur arts (i.e. creative and aesthetic
behavior involving the production of concrete objects by
nonprofessionals) encompass a great diversity of kinds
of activity, as well as levels of complexity. For the
category of painting the range extends from the tradi-
tional procedures to "paint by number." Given the con-
trast between the volume of art and craft materials sold
and course enrollments, most of these activities occur
outside the direct influence of aesthetic education
programs.

Who are the people engaged in amateur art activi-
ties? What are their unique characteristics? Do the

characteristics of the amateur artist parallel those of

the creative professional? Are the amateur artist's con-
cerns in the act of production the same as those of the
professional? How does the amateur artist differ from
the nonartist of similar background and situation? These
are the questions this study sought to answer.

The study was necessarily exploratory in character.
The amateur artist or craftsman was the focus of the study.
The characteristics and activities of amateur artist-
craftmen were compared directly and indirectly with two
contrasting categories of people: (1) friends, neighbors,
and fellow citizens who were not artists or craftsmen,
and (2) professional artists and craftsmen. The research
strategy was to plot the characteristics of the amateur
artist-craftsman group in relation to the two other groups
which provided significant contrast and thereby to obtain
preliminary data about amateur artist—craftsmen to use

in future research.

Objectives

 

The general objective was to extend the empiri-
cally based knowledge about the creator in the aesthetic
mode beyond that of students and specialists to the
general population of adults. Toward that end two spe-
cific objectives were:

1. To describe the activities of amateur artist-

craftsmen in relation to the creative art—making process

including characteristics of raw materials, techniques,
skills, products, and audience,

2. To compare amateur artist-craftsmen to other
respondents on perceived overall quality of life and the
importance of and the satisfaction with specific life

concerns .

Assumptions

 

1. People are able to assess specific aspects
of their lives and rank them in importance and satis-
faction.

2. People are able to make assessments of their
total life experiences.

3. Hand-work activities have the capacity to be
creative experiences and therefore can be meaningfully
examined from that perspective.

4. Products of hand-work activities are expres-
sions of the producer's aesthetic standards or taste.

The first two assumptions were necessary because
the validity and the reliability of the three scales used
in the study were not tested. Because assumptions three
and four were unusual for a study of aesthetic behavior,
it was necessary to make them explicit. The following
rationale for the third and fourth assumptions elaborates

on these distinctions.

Rationale for Assumptions of
Creativity in the Aesthetic
Mode

 

 

 

Creativity. The concept of creativity to be

 

employed here is one which recognizes degrees of crea-
tivity not in the usual sense of the creative and the
uncreative, but from the objective to the subjective.
For society a creative event is validated by the ramifi-
cations of the outcome. If an outcome has broad ramifi-
cations for a large number of people, the experience is
labelled creative. The great scientific discoveries are
examples of socially significant objectively creative
events. Some events are creative in a narrower sense
because they are recognized as significant by a group of
specialists concerned with particular problems.

An outcome which has ramifications in the narrowest
sense, i.e. only to the one involved, is not generally
labelled as creative except by a few experts such as edu-
cators and psychologists interested in the phenomenon
of creativity. Such events are subjectively creative,
though the researchers rarely make that distinction
explicit. Additionally discussions of subjective crea-
tivity almost always pertain to children.

Subjective creativity is judged by different canons:
it can occur when a person combines things in ways
that are individual to him, when he does not simply
imitate, but regroups given stimuli or data by means
of his own thoughts or actions, irrespective of the
effect his creation has on others. We cannot, for

instance, deny the epithet "creative" to the five
year-old who with all his might and enthusiasm has

 

given us an image of the world as he sees it,

littered with square cows and peopled with round-

bellied, neckless mums and dads. When he has, out

of his own powers, made this vision of the world

his own he has been-~subjectively--creative, even

if thousands of others have acted similarly.

(Lytton, 1972, p. 3) ~
The experience and the outcome of even the subjectively
creative event have indirect social ramifications as they
feed information back into the experience of the indi-
vidual and eventually lead to other creative events and
outcomes of perhaps broader social importance. Such are
the social benefits of the investment in education for
creativity. Also the importance of creativity at any age
is apparent because it is an investment in the maturation
of the self and has simultaneous potential for social
good. Any event which is objectively creative is also
subjectively creative for the person involved.

The self-initiating and self-perpetuating char-
acter of the amateur creator who acts without formal
support systems and presumably few informal support
systems is a source of social benefits largely indepen-
dent of investment of public resources. That such
behavior may never have very broad ramifications and
may even be a personal waste is certainly possible.

At the professional level this possibility is represented
by the caricature of the mad scientist or inventor;

notice the absence of a clearly parallel image for the

artist.

Creative experiences can be differentiated by
the degree of passivity or activity of the creator role.
The act of appreciation by an audience is a classic
example of the passive creator role. Such experiences
involve insights, perceptions, cognitions, and emotions
to reach new insights and understandings to qualify them
as creative events.

A creative experience making an aesthetic object
is the act of an artist. It is the most active of creative
experiences especially in the plastic arts where the
additional component of perceptual-motor or kinesthetic
ability is paramount to outcomes and satisfactions. Both
the creative experience and the aesthetic experience are

considered peak experiences in western society.

Aesthetics. The phrase "beauty is in the eyes

 

of the beholder" is often the rationale of the uninitiated
or the ignorant to justify aesthetic choices. The aesthe—
tician may also use the rationale but with a deeper mean-
ing which the beholder needs the special spectacles of
education to understand. This aesthetically relative
statement is conceptually parallel to the concept of
subjective creativity.

An aesthetician is a specialist whose business
is the understanding, explanation, and extension of
socially sanctified aesthetic standards. The middle

ground between the sanctified standards and what is

10

generally regarded by art experts to be the absence of
standards is the area of taste. Recently structuring
of the middle ground is beginning to emerge from the
literature. Lynes (1949) who was an early observer
proposed the concepts "lowbrow," "middlebrow," and
"highbrow." Toffler (1964) described the post World
War II extension of the highbrow tastes which were tra-
ditionally associated with an intellectual and wealthy
elite, to the university-educated middle class. His
observations, however, were about the audience role and
the performing arts. Gans (1974), also writing about the
performing arts and the mass media, suggested a framework
of many taste subcultures which are associated with levels
of income, education, and sometimes, ethnicity.
Different taste cultures and taste publics exist
because of the diversity of and disagreement about
aesthetic standards and values. For example, while
there may be agreement about the desireability of
visual order in art, there is disagreement about
how order is to be defined, and what constitutes
order and disorder in art. (p. 68)
From this viewpoint concepts of the beautiful are socio-
cultural phenomena any one of which is equally valid
within the subcultural unit. This does not mean that
the classic tradition of aesthetics is to be dismissed.
Gans believed that a comparison of the taste cultures
unrelated to their taste publics would show the so-called

higher culture to be more informative and comprehensive

than lower taste cultures and, therefore, better. But

11

such a judgment is not to be regarded as a justification
for the public support of only high culture, nor for

the denial and denigration of various taste cultures.
Gans believed "that a good life can be lived at all
levels of taste, and that the overall taste level of a
society is not as significant a criterion for the good-
ness of that society as the welfare of its members"

(p. 130).

As the foregoing discussion revealed, creativity
and aesthetics are value laden concepts associated with
social class and educational experience. By definition
the production of art is the creative activity of the
trained artist. By such unstated assumptions the popu-
lation of art events and art objects is usually defined.
An attempt was made within this study to refrain from
judgments of the quality of respondents' activities and
outcomes. Hence the assumptions in this study of adult
creativity and art experiences were in direct contrast
to the traditional approach to the study of art and

craft activities.

Limitation

 

The respondents in this study were a subsample
of a random sample drawn in 1956 in two rural townships
of Ontonagon County, Michigan. All of the respondents

had aged 20 years; many had died. Despite these unusual

12

circumstances the sample still qualified as random.with
attrition primarily due to the death of the subjects.
The cut-over area of the Great Lakes states, of
which Ontonagon County is part, can be demonstrated by
demographic, social, and economic data to resemble the
Southern Appalachian region. To the degree that the two
regions are alike the subsample is representative of
older adults who live in rural areas that are isolated
from metropolitan centers and not in the mainstream of

American culture.

Definition of Terms

 

Amateur artist-craftsman.--The word "amateur"'

 

has three facets of meaning. They include: (1) level
of training, (2) level of ability, and (3) presence or
absence of intent to earn income by a given means. For

purposes of this study amateur artist-craftsman meant a

 

person engaged in a hand-work activity without special-
ized training for it and without the intent of earning

a living by its practice.

Hand-work activities.--Any one of a large

 

variety of activities in which materials are manipulated
and reshaped primarily by human hands and/or by hand
tools to produce a tangible, durable object as an out-

come. Examples of common hand-work activities are

13

listed on page 138 of Appendix A. Activities specifi-
cally rejected for purposes of this study were cooking,
gardening, and sewing.

Cooking and gardening were excluded because they
represent fundamentally different though related kinds of
activities and because the tangible object/outcomes
are intended to be consumed in relatively short periods
of time.

Sewing was excluded because of the investigator's
conviction that it was so widely practiced that it would
dominate the study, thereby obliterating the wide variety
of activities more closely associated with the concept of

crafts.

Regular pastime.--The activities investigated in

 

this study were those where the practitioner had accumu-
lated experience and had exhibited sustained interest

in a particular hand-work activity. Since the study was
exploratory the length of experience and demonstrated
interest could not be prejudged by the researcher. A
research strategy of allowing the respondent to interpret
"regular pastime" served two purposes: (1) the phrase
would indicate to the respondent that idiosyncratic,
exploratory, and/or novelty behavior with materials was
not the subject under consideration; (2) data would be
obtained on the range of meaning for the phrase by

respondents which could be used in future studies.

14

Quality of life.--The expressed degree of satis-

 

faction or dissatisfaction with one's life as a whole

(Andrews & Withey, 1976a).

Life concerns.--Aspects of life which are closely

 

related to basic human needs and to common concepts about
which standards of the "good" life are formulated. The
list of 21 life concerns included in this study contains
both domains and criteria.

Andrews and Withey did not specify which of the
21 life concerns were domains and which were criteria.
They only gave examples. Bubolz and Evers reviewed the
sources from which the list was developed and on that

basis divided the life concerns into criteria and domains.

Domain.--A thing, an activity, a person, or
a role. Together domains constitute a list of
social institutions created to meet people's
needs and aspirations (Andrews & Withey, 1976a,
p. 18).

List of domains

 

Natural environment
Work

Health

Religion

Clothing

Home

Family life

Sleep

Food

Friendship

Spare time

National government
Transportation

15

Criterion.--A value, standard, aspiration, or

 

goal. These are ways of judging what the domains
of life afford (Andrews & Withey, 1976a, pp. 18-19).

List of criteria

 

Accomplishment

Beauty

Fun and enjoyment
Independence (freedom)
Safety

Financial security
Interesting life
DevelOping self

Importance.--The level of importance the respondent

 

places on particular domains and criteria in his life

experience.

Satisfaction.--The degree of satisfaction or dis-

 

satisfaction with how well a domain has been met, and how
well a criterion has been realized in the respondent's

life experience.

Research Questions and Hypotheses

 

Three general research questions were based on
the two specific objectives of the study. Five specific
hypotheses were related to the second research question.
Because this was an exploratory study the research
questions and the hypotheses did not derive from pre-
vious findings reported in the literature but were logi-
cal extensions of common beliefs about artists and the

nature of the art-making experience.

16

General Research Question 1:

 

What are the characteristics of materials, tech-
niques, knowledge and skill resources, products,
and audience related to the hand-work activities
of the amateur artist—craftsman?

General Research Question 2:

 

Do amateur artist-craftsmen differ from other
respondents in the two townships on the perceived
overall quality of life and on the importance of
and the satisfaction with the domain and criterion
pertinent to hand-work activities?

Hypothesis 1:

 

Amateur artist-craftsmen indicate greater satis-
faction with their perceived overall quality of
life than other respondents in the two townships.

Hypothesis 2:

 

Amateur artist-craftsmen assign greater importance
to the beauty and attractiveness in their world
than other respondents in the two townships.

Hypothesis 3:

 

Amateur artist—craftsmen assign greater importance
to the way they spend their spare time, their non-
working activities, than other respondents in the
two townships.

Hypothesis 4:

 

Amateur artist-craftsmen indicate less satisfaction
with the beauty and attractiveness of their world
than other respondents in the two townships.

Hypothesis 5:

 

Amateur artist-craftsmen indicate greater satisfaction
with the way they spend their spare time, their non-
working activities, than other respondents in the

two townships.

17

General Research Question 3:

 

Will the assessed levels of importance and degrees
of satisfaction on all the remaining life concerns
differ for the amateur artist-craftsmen from the
other respondents in the two townships in such a
way as to suggest a pattern characteristic of that
special interest group?

Conceptual Framework

 

The Art-Making Process

 

The major focus of this study was the amateur
engaged in an art-making process. The art-making process
is the imparting of form and integration to a material
or combination of materials which results in a tangible
object. An important aspect of the interaction among
the person in the creator role, the materials, and the
tools is the creative aspect when something unique
evolves. Hand-work is one general category of art-making
processes which focuses on the production of individual
objects by low to moderately mechanized means.

The process is actually a complex series of events
or stages which occur at varying rates over time and
which are interactive with each other and the setting.

To simplify matters for purposes of discussion the series
of events in the process will be telescoped to be regarded
as a one-stage process.

To initiate an art-making process the person in
the creator role exercises conscious control over the

general choices of object to be made, the raw or basic

18

materials from which it will be made, the tools, the
techniques to be used, and the standards applicable
during the process and to the final object. During the
process many more choices are made often at a low level
of consciousness.

The following is a list of common and self-evident
components of art-making processes. Some pertain more
to the initiation of the process; others pertain to the
end products. For any specific process, such as quilt-
making or sculpting, specific components may vary in
their significance for a successful conclusion of that
process. In some instances two components blend into
one. An example of such a situation exists in furniture
refurbishing where a wood stain fits equally well into
the categories of raw materials, or tools and equipment.
Despite such drawbacks the list of components is helpful
in organizing information across various art-making pro-

CGSSGS.

Components of the art-making process.

 

Length of experience

Training

Amount of time spent in the activity
Technical knowledge

Skill level

Tools and equipment

Raw materials

19

Setting for the activity

Concepts and expectations of the process
Concepts and expectations of the end-products
Tendency to innovate, experiment, and explore
Technical resources available

Sources of ideas and inspiration

Audience for the process

Audience for the end-products

Disposal of end-products

Relationship to peers, i.e. people who share

interest in and experience with the activity

The outcomes of any process include a unique
object, and the less obvious but equally important
experiential qualities of new skill levels, new insights,

and new questions.

An example of the process. If the activities

 

of a potter were fitted into the above categories the
event of focus would be the making of a single item

such as a bowl. The raw material would be the clay.

The general technique could be "throwing" as Opposed to
slab or coil construction. A more specific technique
would be "centering" i.e. placing the clay at the center
of the wheel. The tools would be the potter's wheel,
water, a sponge, a stylus perhaps, and of course, the

potter's hands.

20

The socio-cultural aspects are expressed by
such questions as the following. Are thrown bowls a
common or unique item in this society? What are the
attitudes, expectations, and judgments of the witnesses
both to the object and the experience? Do the customers
or users expect a bowl to be cheap, easily replaceable
and a certain shape for a common food preparation task?
Finally, how does the potter approach the event? Does
he set out to throw one bowl in a series of a thousand
identical bowls or to throw a unique item, however subtly
that uniqueness might be manifested?

For purposes of this study the complexities of
the art-making process were reduced to a group of essen-
tial or fundamental components, to be regarded as vari-

ables, which could be easily reported by the respondents.

Assessment of Life Qualities

 

Do the characteristics of the amateur artist-
craftsman parallel those of the professional? How does
the amateur artist-craftsman differ from the nonartist
of similar background and situation? Measures of the
importance of values, the satisfactions of needs and
the assessed overall quality of a life provided an

opportunity for some insights into such questions.

The measures. As part of the subjective social

 

indicators movement in the social sciences, Andrews and

21

Withey (1974b) developed a model of life qualities as a
strategy to sample perceived well-being or ill-being of
people over time. The model included only affective
evaluations and indicated nothing about prior cognitive
processes. Well-being indicators were acknowledged to
occur at various levels of specificity. Those at more
general levels were presumed to have been generated from
and, therefore, to relate to more specific levels.
Andrews and Withey (1974b) concentrated on the develop-
ment of a single, global measure of perceived life quality
as representative of numerous more specific measures of
various aspects of life called "life concerns."

For a study of family life and community satis—
faction, Bubolz incorporated aspects of Cantril's Self-
Anchoring Striving Scale (1965) with the Andrews and
Withey model. Emphasis was placed on the development
of intermediate level indicators. Measures of the
importance of and the satisfaction with various life
concerns were developed on the proposition that people's
perception of their overall quality of life is a function
not only of combined satisfactions but the importance
assigned to the areas for which satisfaction is

expressed (Bubolz, 1975, p. 9).

The content. 'Andrews and Withey compiled a list

 

of 123 life concerns by a strategy of (l) reviewing

previous surveys of people's concerns, (2) structured

22

pilot interviews, (3) consulting published lists of
values, and (4) consulting lists of national and inter-
national agencies concerned with social indicators (1974b).
Using several statistical mapping techniques, most life
concerns grouped by strength of association into seven
to 12 clusters representing major areas of life exper-
ience which were positioned various distances from the
self. From the list of 123 life concerns, Bubolz
selected 21 on the basis of (1) their influence on the
global measure, (2) their pertinence to the self, the
family, and the near environment, and (3) their cor-
respondence to the project objectives regarding family
life and community satisfaction.

Both lists of life concerns were further sub-
divided into domains and criteria. Domains are things,
activities, people, and roles. Examples of domains are
marriage, a job, and recreation. A list of domains is
suggestive of a taxonomy of social institutions created
to meet people's needs and aspirations. Domains are
sometimes referred to directly as needs. Examples of
criteria are: accomplishment, fun, and beauty. "Cri—
teria are values, standards, aspirations, goals and--in
genera1—-ways of judging what the domains of life afford"
(Andrews & Withey, 1976a, pp. 18-19). Sometimes criteria
are referred to directly as values. Such concepts

probably vary somewhat in what they mean to different

23

people but the major differences are likely to be less
of meaning and more on how much of these attributes they
want and in relation to what domains they want them
(Andrews & Withey, 1976a, p. 19).

Andrews and Withey did not specify which of the
123 life concerns were domains and which were criteria.
They only gave examples of each. Bubolz and Evers
reviewed the sources from which Andrews and Withey
developed the list of life concerns and on that basis
divided the list into criteria and domains.

Both.groups of researchers related the concept
of human needs closely to the concept of values. Bubolz
cited Rokeach's (1973) definition of values (cognitive
representations of individual and social needs) as expres-
sive of that relationship. Andrews and Withey presented
criteria, i.e. values, as the standards by which many of
the domains, i.e. needs, are evaluated. Maslow's (1954)
hierarchy of needs provided the underlying theoretical

framework for the human needs section of the model.

The model. By placing the domains and criteria

 

on intersecting dimensions a matrix was formed which
provided the framework in which a person's actual evalu-
ations of well-being were hypothesized to occur (see
Figure 1, page 24). The model focused on three levels:
the global, the level of each life concern separately,

and the third level represented by each cell of the

Domains

 

24

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Criteria
In A.
f—
6 {n
m U)
m 0)
o c
U 0) 0
0:6 > U a
5m ml ‘30
090) u 0"!)
.c I6 0 'o m
on (0 GO)
:> >134 >~. mu ' ° ° ° 0
mu uu u CHI-I
«40 DU 0) (D
Ezoo m m 44 a 818
U (D (U :3 C
«a m a: In H
F House/apartment Ei.-+->-—-----—--~ ----~---->E1
.13 I.
Job W I
I I
| I
Family life I '
I I
Neighborhood I I
I I
o I I
. | I
I I
O I '
. I I
W' 4/
E --9 --------------- 49E
.j ..
Eij = Affective evaluative response to a par-
ticular domain with respect to a particular criterion.
Ei = General affective evaluative response to a

domain (across criteria).

E j = General affective evaluative response to a

criterion (across domains).

E = General affective evaluative response to

life-as-a-whole--i.e., perceived quality of life.

SOURCE: Andrews & Withey, 1974a, Exhibit 1.

Figure l. Two-dimensional conceptual model with examples
of possible domains and criteria.

25

matrix where a domain and a criterion intersected. In
hypothesizing how evaluations combined across domains

the matrix was treated as a statistical table with no
assumptions made concerning the necessary rules of combi—
nation or that every cell even contained a relevant evalu-
ation. The same rationale applied across the criteria
and for the global evaluations.

The model, of course, is no more than a represen-
tation of a set of hypotheses about the types of
thoughts people may have when they evaluate their
well-being and how these different thoughts may
function with respect to one another. Neverthe-
less, . . . the model can be used to generate a
large number of empirically correct predictions,
which suggests that the model itself may be in
reasonably close accord with reality. (Andrews &
Withey, 1976a, p. 23)

Creative and aesthetic subsets. Andrews and

 

Withey acknowledged that the model invited speculation
beyond their investigation and analyses. Among the
alternatives they recognized was a dimensional expansion
of the model to incorporate evaluations at a still more
specific level than any of those presented. People are
likely to evaluate their lives at any of several levels
of concern including those more specific than the domains
and criteria used by Andrews and Withey. In principle

each could be sub-divided ad infinitum. Such sub-

 

concerns could represent a domain-by-criterion entry

analogous to a corner in the matrix.

26

The domain of spare time activities and the cri-
terion of beauty are the life concerns conceptually
most appropriate for such an extension of the model to
creative activities in the aesthetic mode. Hand-work
activities done as a regular pastime are a subset of
spare time activities. Beauty is the general value
category under which the aesthetic aspects of hand-work
activities would be subsumed. Hand-work activities
involving aesthetic decisions are a subsection of the
cell where the life concerns of beauty and spare time
activities intersect, and as such, they are components

of the global measure of well-being.

Statement of the Problem

 

The focus of this exploratory study was the
amateur engaged in a creative art-making process. The
art—making process was defined as the imparting of form
and integration to a material or combination of materials
which results in a tangible object. Amateur status was
based on the absence of training or education, and of
intent of earning income by the practice of a specific
kind of art-making process. Common hand-work activities
served as examples of the art—making process and the
characteristics of their practice were described on the
basis of components abstracted from a generalized art-
making process. The belief that special benefits acrue

to people involved in the creative art-making process

27

was examined by comparing respondents who qualified as
amateur artist-craftsmen to those who did not so quality
on assessments of life quality. By those two strategies
preliminary data were obtained about the practice of
creative art-making activities and the related benefits
in an attempt to understand the creator role in the arts

for all adults and its relation to other life experiences.

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This chapter is organized into two sections. The
first pertains to the characteristics and activities of
amateur artist-craftsmen as stated in Research Question 1.
The second section pertains to Research Questions 2 and 3

concerning assessments of life quality.

Section I

 

A search of the literature inclusive of the dis-
ciplinary areas of art in cultural anthropology and
sociology, the social-psychological study of leisure,
art education, folklore, and home economics over a 20-
year period disclosed less than 24 titles in any way
related to the topics of amateur artists, craftsmen,
and the art-making process. Based on the search it
was concluded that very little research of any kind had.
been done on any aspect of creative behavior in the
aesthetic mode or on persons engaged in such activities.

Given this situation the literature reviewed in

chapter II represents articles and reports most closely

28

29

related to the major topics of the study. If in several
cases the relationship is tenuous, it is indicative of
the state of the literature. In this section the art-
making process and descriptions of artists and craftsmen

are reviewed.

The Art-Making Process

 

Truzzi (1974) recognized the need for an evalua—
tively neutral set of theoretical and taxonomic categories
to examine the art experience. His model focused on the
roles of producer, product, and audience, each of which
was bridged by a mediator role. Examples of mediators
were art teachers, museum curators, and art dealers.

Gardner (1973) suggested a circular model of the
artistic process with four components of artist, per-
former, critic, and audience. The artist and performer
components were considered one component in the visual
arts. All components intersected in the center of the
model where the work of art was positioned. Neither
of the above models focused on the art-making process
but encompassed the total art subsystem including the
making, appreciating, and criticizing processes.

Description of Artists and
Craftsmen

 

 

Anthropological studies of particular kinds of
artist-craftsmen in specific societies, while not focused

on the art-making process, provide rich descriptive

30

information about the artists, their materials, tech-
niques, and standards. Studies of potters (Bunzel, 1929;
Marriott, 1948) and basket weavers (O'Neale, 1932) repre-
sent parallel kinds of activities to those of the amateur
artist-craftsmen. They are outside the traditional fine
art studies, but are also different from amateur artist—
craftsmen because they are income earning situations.

A case study of Southern Appalachian chairmakers (Jones,
1970) is a similar parallel within the American society
to amateur artist-craftsmen. All of the above studies
are based on two concepts of folk art.1 In order to '
include the activities and products of amateur artist-
craftsmen in the category of folk arts a fourth variation
in the concept of folk art would be necessary.

The Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station I
was the sponsor of a 1959 survey of rural artists who
participated in the Farm and Home Week Rural Art Show
(Taylor, 1959). Respondents were female (73%), house-
wives (60%), with higher than average incomes, and an

average age of 50. Almost 20% were age 65 or older.

 

1The anthropological use of the term "folk" is
based on Redfield's folk-urban continuum. Cultures as
diverse as those of Mexico and central Africa can be con—
sidered as folk. The study by Jones is based on folk-
lorist studies in departments of literature. The two
approaches, anthropological and literary, share some
common base from the European studies of folk life.
Art historians use the term synonymously with "primitive."
Artists without training or education in the arts are
folk artists.

31

Almost half had some college experience. Thirty-four
percent indicated their interest in art to be a hobby

or leisure time activity. The definition of artist

for the study seemed to be confined to painting, sculpt-
ing, and graphics.

The World of the Makers (Lucie—Smith, 1975) is a

 

series of informal, grouped, case studies of English
master craftsmen and craftswomen. Lucie-Smith addressed
his admitted "fan letter" to the growing adult audience
of appreciators of professional crafts in an attempt to
establish some foundation account of the craftsmen's
experience. He described the work environments, the
socio-cultural setting, the philosophies, and the art-
making processes of potters, weavers, jewelers, and
others. He observed that despite their unique occu-
pations, they were middle class in other aspects of
life style.

In summary, scholarly literature on amateur
artist-craftsmen, given a broad interpretation of the
phrase, is nonexistent. Even the literature in the
related areas of the fine arts and the semi-professional‘
artist-craftsmen is scarce. Models of the art-making
process at the macro and micro levels are just beginning
to be presented. Anthropological studies of particular
artist-craftsmen in non—Western societies are currently

the richest sources of information.

32

Section II

 

Quality of life assessment is a prominent topic
at this time in the social sciences. In contrast to
section I, the problem herein was to select from a large
number of articles those materials relevant to the topic
so that the chapter reflected the focus and emphasis of
the study. A brief overview of the quality of life move-
ment is given to put the topic in perspective, then the
research pertaining to the measures used in this study

are reviewed.

Quality of Life Indicators

 

Since the mid 19605 an international group of
social scientists have been developing measures generally
referred to as social indicators. The impetus for social
indicators development came from government agencies,
social planners, and scientists who recognized a need
for some measure of social well-being to parallel the
group of commonly used economic indicators. More spe-
cifically social indicators are expected to be useful
(1) to measure social change, (2) to evaluate the effec-
tiveness of public programs, (3) to assist in establish-
ing policies, and (4) to establish basic information
about individual and group well-being and thereby improve
social reporting and prediction (Land & Spilerman, 1975).

The movement is divided into two schools: those

committed to objective indicators and those committed to'

u-_

33

subjective indicators. Objective indicators are rela-
tively easily quantifiable data from which conclusions
about individual and group well-being can be drawn. The
number and characteristics of community health facilities‘

is an objective indicator. The List g£_Social Concerns

 

(OECD, 1973) is a publication associated with objective
indicators.

Subjective indicators are also known as perceptual
indicators and are concerned with attitudes and feelings
of individual well-being.

Well-being is broadly conceived to mean the
"level" of life quality--i.e. the extent to which
pleasure and satisfaction characterize human existence
and the extent to which people can avoid the various
miseries which are potentially the lot of each of us.

Relatively little is scientifically known about
such broadly conceived well:being--either in the
makeup of its constituent parts, or in the con-
ditions and influence which tend to bring it about.
(Andrews, F., 1974, p. 2)

 

Some scientists believe the best approach would
be to include both objective and subjective indicators
which complement each other's inadequacies and would
together provide more complete indications of national
and social well-being.

A major task within the subjective or perceptual
indicators movement is to develop a single global
measure of well-being which would parallel the gross :
national product. The requirements for such a measure

are that it be inclusive of all important aspects of

34

life yet sensitive to changes in the assessment of those
aspects, and that it be concise and simple to administer.

Two separate projects at the Institute for Social
Research, University of Michigan, have undertaken the I
development of a global perceptual measure of individual
well-being. The strategy of both groups was to collect
data about a large number of specific measures to compare
with the proposed single global measure. The first group
(Campbell, Converse, & Rodgers, 1975) worked with alterna-
tive formats measuring satisfactions, frustrations, and:
aspirations on 12 basic content areas of life. The
second group (Andrews, F., 1974; Andrews & Withey, 1974a,
1974b, 1976a, 1976b) began with about 800 items of life
concern based on past surveys, edited that list to 123
items which were measured in a basic format and compared
to a single global measure.

Both groups found that people were able to make
global assessments about their lives, that the assessments
were relatively stable over time where lives were identi-
fied by alternative measures as unchanged, and were
reflective of change in situations where lives had
changed. Furthermore those aspects of life most closely'
related to the self were most influential of the global

measures .

35

The Life Concerns of Spare
Time and Beauty

 

 

One of the 12 aspects of life investigated in the
Campbell, et a1. study was "nonworking“ activities.
Questions in this area included the kinds of clubs and
organizations to which people belonged, an open-ended
question about pleasurable nonworking activities, and a
measure of degree of satisfaction with "the ways you
spend your spare time" (p. 542). The latter was found
to be highly correlated with the global measure.

The Andrews and Withey project divided the life
concerns into domains which were similar to needs, and
criteria which were similar to values. These included
the domain of "use of spare time, your non—working
activities" and the criteria of "beauty and attractive-
ness of your world." In the statistical mapping of the I
domains a correlation of .53 was found between "time
spent and things done with friends“ and "use of spare
time, your non-working activities" (1974b, exhibit 3).

Some social psychologists interested in leisure]
and use of discretionary time have conducted surveys of
leisure activities, using categories roughly equivalent
to arts and crafts, and handicraft activities (McKechnie,
1974). Many studies of leisure activity are specifically
concerned with resources and public policy for outdoor

activities such as camping and sports. Kelly (1974)

36

investigated the social context and meaning of a wide‘
range of leisure activities among adults in a Western
community. Leisure activities were related to periods
in the family life cycle. About half of the respondents
had begun their activities as children.

The criterion of "beauty" ranked low on both
importance and satisfaction measures across all samples
in the Andrews and Withey project. Furthermore it was
not associated with any conceptual clustering in the
results of the statistical mapping.

Surveys of values across major population groups,
in the United States consistently indicate that beauty
is not ranked very high. In fact it is usually near
the bottom of the list of values (Rokeach, 1974; Yanke-
lovich, 1972). In the most recent survey by Rokeach
there was a significant increase in the ranking of beauty
between 1968 and 1971. The increase was attributed to
an increase in environmental awareness and concern rather
than related to the arts. The conceptualization of the
value "beauty" in many value measures places it in
association with the natural environment, the fine arts,
or both (Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck, 1961).

Artists, and therefore, amateur artists, are not
found among the studies providing value profiles of spe- \

cific groups. Apparently it is such a solid assumption

37

that professional artists place a high value on aesthetics

that to ask the question would be to ask the obvious.

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter includes information about the

setting of the study, the sample, instrumentation, data

collection, and analysis procedures.

The Setting

 

The setting of the study was Ontonagon County,
bordering Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
It is a geographically isolated area. According to the
1970 census the county has no urban centers. The largest
settlement, the county seat, has a population of 2,432.
The land is marginally agricultural and includes state
and national forests, a few lakes, and the Porcupine
Mountains.

Since its settlement in the early 1800s the
economic base has been agriculture, lumber, and copper.
The last two have contributed to the series of economic
boom and bust cycles which characterize the region. The
first mining activity since post World War I began in

the early 1950s and drastically reduced operation in

38

39

the mid 19705 (after the completion of the field work ,gufmf‘
for this study). Agriculture, primarily family dairy III”
farms, declined rapidly in the 19605 until fewer than
100 commercial farms exist in the county. Mining, woods-
work, pulp-production, and public and retail services
were the major employers at the time of the study.
The area has been characterized by large out-
migrations as people have moved to industrial jobs.
The 1970 census showed a small net out-migration, with
the total population of the county 10,548 (0.8. Bureau
of Census, 1970). A high proportion of the residents
are descendants of Finnish settlers. Tourism has drawn
a few new pe0ple to the area, others have come seeking
a completely rural life-style.
The people are deeply attached to the land and
the region which they call "God's country." They
idealize the rural, outdoor life and the family farm.
About 25 to 30% of the older residents have never been

outside the upper Michigan and Wisconsin area.

The Sample

 

For a 1956 study of nonmigrants a random sample
of one-quarter of the households was drawn from McMillan
and Greenland townships of Ontonagon County in the
Michigan Upper Peninsula (Eicher, 1956). In 1975, 65
of the original 168 household units including 54 of

the original respondents (heads of households or spouses)

 

40

were still present in the two townships. They were
reinterviewed as a subsample for a longitudinal study
of the quality of life and community satisfaction.

Three respondents were dropped from the group of usable
second interviews because they did not meet the require-
ments for this study. Those requirements were:

(1) amateur status in relation to the practice of hand-
work activities, (2) responses about only one kind of
hand—work activity, and (3) the exclusion of the activi-
ties of gardening, cooking, and sewing. Sixty-two

respondents constitute the sample for this study.

Sample Description

 

The sample was dichotomized on the basis of those
respondents who claimed to regularly engage in hand-
work activities as a pastime (referred to as amateur
artist-craftsmen) and those who did not (referred to as
other respondents). The amateur artist-craftsmen were
compared to other members of the two communities on
basic demographic characteristics summarized in Tables 1
through 6.

The number of respondents was relatively equally
divided between the two subsamples. The number of
respondents of each sex, however, was divided dispro—
portionately between the subsamples. Thirty-seven per-

cent of the 62 respondents were male in the total sample

41

Table 1

Sex of Respondents

 

 

 

 

 

Amateur Other Totals
Sex Artist-Craftsmen Respondents Fre (%)
Freq. (%) Freq. (%) q.
Males 7(21) 16(55) 23(37)
Females 26(79) 13(45) 39(63)
Totals 33(100) 29(100) 62(100)
Table 2
Age Distribution
Amateur Other Totals
Age Categories Artist-Craftsmen Respondents Fre (%)
Freq. (%) Freq. (%) q.
Under 54 years 10(30) 6(21) 16(26)
55 to 64 years 15(45) 13(45) 28(45)
65 to 75 years 6(18) 8(28) 14(23)
76 years and
over 2( 6) 2( 7) 4( 6)
Totals 33(99) 29(101) 62(100)

 

42

Tafle3

Years of Schooling

 

Years of

Amateur

Other

 

 

 

 

Schooling Artist-Craftsmen Respondents Fggtals%)
Completed Freq. (%) Freq. (%) q.
Under seven
years 5(15) 5(17) 10(16)
Eight years 12(36) 9(31) 21(34)
Nine to ten
years 4(12) 10(34) 14(23)
Twelve years 11(33) 4(14) 15(24)
Over twelve
years 1( 3) 1( 3) 2( 3)
Totals 33(99) 29(99) 62(100)
Table 4
Employment Status
Amateur Other
Emgigyfignt Artist-Craftsmen Respondents Pigtals%)
Freq. (%) Freq. (%) q.
Employed full
or part time 20(61) 14(48) 34(55)
Retired or
disabled 13(39) 15(52) 28(45)
Totals 33(100) 29(100) 62(100)

 

43

Table 5

a
Income Levels

 

Amateur

Other

 

 

 

 

Income Artist-Craftsmen Respondents FrEOta%:)
Freq. (%) Freq. (%) q.
Under $3999 10(32) 7(27) 17(30)
$4000 to $7999 8(26) 10(38) 18(32)
$8000 to
$11999 8(26) 7(27) 15(26)
$12000 and
over 5(16) 2( 8) 7(12)
Totals 31(100) 26(100) 57(100)
aMissing data for five respondents
Table 6
Marital Status
. Amateur Other
gzztfizl Artist-Craftsmen Respondents Fiztals%)
Freq. (%) Freq. (%) q.
Married 28(85) 23(79) 51(82)
Widowed,
divorced,
or single 5(15) 6(21) 11(18)
Totals 33(100) 29(100) 62(100)

 

44

but only seven or 21% of the amateur artist-craftsmen
were males. The group of other respondents was more
equally divided on the basis of sex.

The age range for the total sample was 39 to
85 years. About one-quarter of the sample was 65 or
older and about one-half the sample was between 55 and
64 years of age. All of the respondents were white.

The amateur artist-craftsmen contained two sub-
groups with regard to education. One-third completed
high school and almost another third stOpped after the
eighth grade. The other respondents were more evenly
distributed on the characteristic of years of schooling.

A slightly higher proportion of amateur artist—
craftsmen than other respondents were employed. This
was reflected in their higher income levels summarized
in Table 5. However, the amateur artist-craftsmen again
showed diversity with more respondents also at the lowest
income level than the subsample composed of other
respondents in the two townships.

The median income for the sample was $8,000,
with a range up to $18,000, however, over one-quarter
of the sample had incomes below $4,000.

A slightly higher proportion of the amateur
artist-craftsmen were married than other respondents

in the two townships.

45

The Instruments

 

The interview schedule consisted of 133 questions,'
primarily of an open-ended form with three scales inter-
spersed among them. Each of the three scales will be
discussed and that will be followed by a discussion of
the questions pertaining to hand-work activities (see
Appendix A for a copy of the interview schedule).

Perceived Overall Quality
afiLife (POQL)

 

This scale, which consists of one question to
be asked twice with at least an eight-minute interval,
was developed by Andrews and Withey (1974a) to assess a
person's affective response to his life as a whole.

When tested on several large national samples the
question (referred to as Life #3) had "at least moderate
reliability" and other global measures tended to cor-
relate as well as or better with Life #3 than they did
with any other such measure (p. 12).

The question and choice of answers were printed I
on a card which was presented to the respondent and the
interviewer entered the response on a duplicate form
in the interview schedule. The two questions were
separated by approximately 45 minutes to an hour in

the interview schedule.

46

Self-Anchoring Ladder of
Importance (SALI)

 

 

This scale, which was developed by Bubolz based
on the work of Cantril, obtained rankings of the impor-
tance placed on a list of 21 life concerns. The life
concerns represented both value and need concepts. The
respondent was asked to think of what was most important
and least important to him and then was shown a card
depicting a five-step ladder. The top rung was labeled
"very high importance" and numbered five; the bottom
rung was labeled "no importance at all" and numbered one.

Next the respondent was asked to name what he would putx

._.._*\‘_

at the top of the ladder and the response was recorded
by the interviewer on the schedule. He was then given
another card on which the 21 life concerns were listed.)
The respondent was asked to place the life concerns on
the ladder at the level of importance he wanted to
assign to them. Because any one of the life concerns
could be placed on any rung of the ladder, this was

not a forced choice ranking (Bubolz, 1975).

Self-Anchoring Ladder of
Satisfaction (SALS)

 

 

This scale consisted of brief statements about
the same 21 life concerns on the SALI scale and were
listed in the same order. The respondent was presented
with a card depicting a seven-step ladder, on which the

top rung represented the best possible life he could

47

think of, and the bottom rung a life in which he was
very dissatisfied. The words used to describe each

step were the same as those in the POQL measure. Next
he was asked to indicate his degree of satisfaction with
each of the items on the list of concerns. Responses
were recorded in the schedule by the interviewer.

The life concerns were stated in the SALS scale
in the same way as they were in the Andrews and Withey
instrument. In the SALI scale the phrasing was abbre-
viated to be more appropriate for the assessment of
importance (Bubolz, 1975).

Hand-Work Done as a Regular
Pastime

 

This series of open-ended questions was developed
by the investigator to identify the amateur artist-crafts-
men from the other respondents and to elicit information
about their hand-work activities based on the components
of the art-making process (see chapter I). Because of
the potential wide diversity of the activities, ranging
from rug weaving and painting to fish-lure tying and
wood carving, the questions had to be broadly worded.

The sample was dichotomized on the information
obtained through questions one to three. This approach
was used because the respondents were unlikely to clas-

sify themselves as amateur artist—craftsmen.

48

The checklist of activities was designed to
suggest to the respondents the broad category of activi-
ties pertinent to the study rather than to obtain infor-
mation about specific activities. The checklist was
divided into activities commonly associated with each
sex plus a third list of a neutral character. These
were used in paired sections according to the sex of
the respondent. This was believed to be necessary
because an elderly man might react negatively to being
asked if he did needlework, as might an elderly woman
respond to an inquiry about welding.

If the respondent admitted to no hand-work
activities of any kind, the interviewer was directed
to questions 31 through 35 for information on possible
past activities and related attitudes.

Questions 4 through 30 elicited information
about the essential objective variables of the art-making;
process including time, tools and equipment, materials,
experience, technical problems, work situation, resource
people and materials, completed objects and audience.
Questions 26 and 27 focused on the innovative or con-
ventional character of each respondent's art-making

process.

49

Data Collection, Processing,
and Analysis

 

 

Data Collection

 

The data were collected by personal interviews
conducted in the respondents' homes by a team of five
interviewers. The interviews were scheduled over a two-
and one-half week period in the spring of 1975 and the
individual interviews ranged in length from one to four
hours. Eleven people were interviewed by the researcher.

Four respondents identified by members of the
interview team as particularly involved in their hand-
work activities and who were representative of diverse
activities were interviewed again in greater detail by
this researcher. That information represents a series

of four mini-case studies.

Data Processing

 

Codes for the open-ended questions were developed
for the range as well as the content of the responses.
After the data were transferred to computer cards compu-
tations were made using the 6.0 version of the Statisti-
cal Package for Social Sciences (Nie et al., 1975) on

the Control Data Corporation 6500 model computer.

Analytic Procedures

 

In an exploratory study such as this, data
analysis is primarily for descriptive purposes and for

insights for future studies rather than for prediction.

50

Therefore, a conservative approach to the selection of
statistical tests is not necessary and was not taken.
Analysis of variance was used where its application
could be demonstrated to be appropriate.

The variables related to the art-making process
were all nominal therefore one-way frequency distributions
and cross tabulations were calculated for descriptive
information.

One-way analysis of variance was used for the
dependent variable of POQL with the independent variables
of sex and amateur artist-craftsmen status. The assump-
tions for the analysis of variance test are: (l) inde-
pendence of observations, (2) continuous measures,

(3) normality, and (4) homogeneity of variance. The
fulfillment of the third and fourth assumptions is
discussed below.

Though the POQL scale is an ordinal measure,
Andrews and Withey treated it as an interval measure on
the basis of preliminary analysis of their data. A com-
parison of a subset of relationships indicated "the order
of gammas correlated .95 with the order of the Pearson
r's" (Andrews & Withey, 1974b, p. 8). In addition an
examination of the intervals between the composite means
on the four formats of the POQL under consideration, ’
Circles, Faces, Ladder, and Delight-Terrible scales,

indicated the intervals between the five least positive

51

categories were all approximately equal and the interval
between "mostly satisfied" and "pleased" plus the interval
between "pleased" and "delighted" were somewhat short.
The latter, between "pleased" and "delighted," was only
about half the size of the others. Andrews and Withey
concluded that the respondents tended to use the three I
most promising formats (including the two formats used
in this study) in approximately the same way regardless‘
of what was being evaluated, and that most of the cate-f
gories of the Delighted-Terrible scale seemed to be

. separated by roughly one—step intervals on the other
comparison scales. The exceptions to this were the most
positive categories where the separation was somewhat
.1ess (1976b, pp. 8-9). With these qualifications in
mind the scales of POQL plus SALI and SALS were treated I
as interval data.

Though the statistic is considered robust for the
assumption of normality, an examination of the mean,
median and skewness gives some indication of the degree
to which the measure meets that assumption. On the POQL
the mean is 2.917, the median is 2.908, and the curve is
skewed a -.ll7.

Regarding the fourth assumption, homogeneity of
variance, Levine's Test of the Equality of Dispersion
(Andrews, M., 1975) was made. The null hypothesis of

no difference between the groups must not be rejected

52

in order for the assumption of homogeneity of variance
between groups to be fulfilled. The results in Table 7

indicated the assumption was acceptable for the indepen-

dent variables of amateur artist~craftsmen status and sex.

Table 7

Levine's Test of Equality of Dispersion
Dependent Variable--POQL
Independent Variables--Amateur Artist—
Craftsman Status and Sex

 

Level of

 

Factor F-Statistic Probability Dec151on
Amateur Artist-
Craftsman
Status .0290 .8653 Do not reject
Sex .0590 .8089 Do not reject

 

Two life concerns most pertinent to the hand-work
activities of amateur artist-craftsmen were beauty and
use of spare time. Differences between the two sub-
samples on the mean SALI and SALS rankings, treated as
scores, for the life concerns of beauty and use of spare
time were examined by one-way analysis of variance. The
comparison of the four formats for the POQL (Andrews &
Withey, 1976b) provided the rationale for the items from
the SALI and SALS measures, which are ladder formats, to

be treated as scores rather than rankings.

53

The mean, median, and skewness of each of the

two life concerns on each of the two measures for the

total sample are summarized in Table 8.

Table 8

Mean, Median, and Skewness for Beauty and Use of Spare
Time as Measured on SALI and SALS for Total Sample

 

 

Life Concern Mean Median Skewness
SALI: Beauty 3.672 3.738 -.663
SALI: Use of Spare Time 3.386 3.421 -.301
SALS: Beauty 5.298 5.275 .146
SALS: Use of Spare Time 5.298 5.381 -.698

 

To examine the remainder of the SALI and SALS

items by the status of amateur artist-craftsman for a

pattern among the needs and values or both as suggestions

of a life style would require the use of complex statis-

tical procedures. The character of the measures in

relation to the sophistication of the model does not

merit such an investigation at this time.

As an alterna-

tive the means and standard deviations of the SALI and

SALS items will be presented for descriptive purposes

in chapter V.

CHAPTER IV

DESCRIPTION OF THE HAND-WORK

ACTIVITIES

The data pertaining to the first research

question are reported in this chapter.

General Research Question 1:

 

What are the characteristics of materials, tech-
niques, knowledge and skill resources, products,
and audience related to the hand-work activities
of the amateur artist-craftsmen?

The first and largest section describes each of
the ten activities of the amateur artist-craftsmen.
These are summarized across the subsample in the second
section. The third section describes the past hand-work
activities of other respondents in the sample. In the

fourth section four amateur artist-craftsmen are

described in greater detail.

54

 

55

Part 1

Description of the Practice of Each
Hand-Work Activity

 

 

Table 9 summarizes the hand-work activities and
the number of amateur artist-craftsmen practicing each
activity. They are listed in the sequence in which

they are described.

Table 9

Frequency of Amateur Artist-Craftsmen
By the Kind of Hand-Work Practiced

 

 

Kind of Hand-Work Activity Frggggncy
Knitting 8
Crocheting 6
Wood-working 5
Painting 3
Rag Rug Weaving 3
Furniture Refurbishing 2
Quilting 2
Embroidering 1
Fish Lure and Fly Making 2
Taxidermy l

 

The Knitters

 

The eight female knitters were the largest group
involved in a single activity and were the most homo-
geneous group on other characteristics. Two had been
taught to knit as children by their mothers. The others

had knitted from 15 to 30 years. No one had learned

56

recently. Two ladies were self-taught with the aid of
books, one had learned in 4-H, the rest had been taught
by friends and relatives.

The knitters had the broadest range of experience
with other kinds of hand-work activities. Three respon-
dents only knitted, but four respondents had experience
with from six to eight other kinds of hand-work activities,
most of which were related to textiles.

Because some did not like to handle yarn in warm
weather and were involved in outdoor activities during
the summer, knitting was restricted to the winter season.
Their time investment varied from a few hours each evening
(four respondents) to a few hours per week. Of all the
respondents, the knitters most regularly engaged in their
chosen activity.

Four knitters estimated their investment in tools
to be from $6 to $15. Their use and preference for kinds

of yarn are summarized below.

Table 10

Yarn Use and Preference of Knitters

 

 

 

Frequenciesa
Kind of Yarn
of Use of Preference
Wool 3 4
W001 and Orlon Blend 1 0
Orlon Acrylic 5 0
Other Synthetics 3 1

 

aUnequal Ns because of missing data and multiple
responses.

57

Those who favored wool were aware of its body,
its greater warmth, and felt it "worked up" better.
Furthermore they were not put off by the special care
requirements of wool. Those who used synthetics men-
tioned the ease of maintenance, especially for children's
garments, but they did not say they preferred synthetics.

Most purchased yarn from retailers in the village
and in adjacent communities. Knitters who preferred
wool were more likely to purchase yarn by mail-orders
and from shops in distant communities. One woman recog-
nized that the local supply was limited to synthetics.

Three respondents took their knitting along on
visits, the rest knitted alone. Half the respondents
consulted other knitters when encountering technical
problems, the rest solved their problems alone. Magazines
were the most common source of ideas, but one lady "just
made things up." The innovations ranged from changing
the scale of a garment by using bigger needles and
bulkier yarn to adding decorative details. Five claimed
never to innovate.

The number of items produced in a year (including
paired items) ranged from less than six to 100. Most
knitted between one and two dozen items. The kinds of
items knitted included the conventional garments and

throws.

58

Two respondents had sold knitted articles. One
had provided demonstration items to the local variety
store. Both knitted items upon request by family and
friends who frequently selected the yarn themselves.

All gave knitted articles as gifts. Knitters more than
any other group used their skill to provide relatives,

particularly children and grandchildren, with hand-made
items. All knitters except one had been asked to teach
someone else. The knitter who had not been asked had a
reportoire of two basic patterns for mittens and booties

which she varied in size and color.

The Crocheters

 

Six women crocheted. Two had begun in the past
three years; one had crocheted for 25 years; and the
rest had crocheted since childhood. Two mothers had
been instructors but several sisters had assumed that
role also. One respondent taught herself with the aid
of a book. Three crocheters had experience with three
other kinds of hand-work activities and the rest had
experience with from seven to ten other kinds of hand-
work activities. Crocheting was a winter activity.
Three respondents crocheted three and four hours per
day; two others crocheted an hour or less.

They had invested $5 or less in tools, except
for one respondent who had a complete set of knitting

and crocheting tools. Their responses to questions about

59

yarns suggests that they were not sensitive to different
kinds of synthetics. Their use and preferences among

yarns were as follows:

Table 11

Yarn Use and Preference of Crocheters

 

 

 

Frequenciesa
Kind of Yarn
of Use of Preference
Wool 2 0
Orlon 2 3
Other Synthetics 2 2
Cotton 1 0

 

aUnequal Ns because of missing data and multiple
responses.

Several times preferences were expressed in terms
of dissatisfaction with the alternative, for example,
some liked synthetics because wool was difficult to care
for. The three who acknowledged difficulty in obtaining
yarn, however, purchased from local retailers along with
the others.

Four crocheters belonged to sewing clubs which
met monthly or bimonthly; they also crocheted at home
alone. About half admitted to encountering technical
problems and would go to friends and relatives for
assistance. Several solved their problems alone. As

one put it, "I just keep ripping and trying."

 

60

Friends and magazines were the sources for their
ideas of things to make. One respondent who had been
taught to make granny squares (a basic structural unit
in crocheting) by a friend, worked many variations on
this module in different kinds of items and variations
on the same item. All crocheters reported innovations.
One experimented with old yarn on her basic scuff
(slipper) pattern. Another "just got ideas" and had
discovered that the more ideas one attempted to work
out, the more ideas one got.

Most respondents crocheted several kinds of items.
The range was from four to six. One respondent, however,
specialized in scuffs. Another specialized each year in
a particular item; this year it was tams, last year it
was plastic rugs. The number of items produced per year
(including paired items) varied from three to 12. The
respondents who specialized in one kind of item per year
made about 50 such items which suggests the adoption of
a mass-production mode of working. Two respondents
regularly sold crocheted items to friends, another sold
one item through the gift shop when she was hospitalized.
All used crocheting as a means to make gifts, and all

had been asked to teach others.

The Wood-Workers

 

The wood-workers group was composed of one woman

and four men. One respondent had engaged in wood-working

61

since childhood, two began about 20 years ago and the
remaining two had taken it up within the past two years.
Three were self-taught; two, including the woman, had
been taught by their fathers.

The amount of time they spent in this activity
was related to specific projects. Two identified only
remodeling projects, and the rest did remodeling plus I
made a variety of small objects such as picnic benches,
bird houses, picture frames, and other items. The wood-
workers' experience with other kinds of hand-work activi-
ties was limited. Another activity was identified only
twice and it always involved wood.

As a group, they had the most money invested in
tools. Three had invested $100 to $400, the rest had
invested $1,000 or more. Since this was a lumbering
region, they had no trouble getting materials. Lumber
was purchased, and some was salvaged from mill sites.
Several wood-workers had their own timber cut and
dressed. They used pine, oak, and cedar. Their
preferences were two each for pine and oak, and one
for cedar.

When technical problems were encountered one
sought the assistance of friends; one used a book; and
the other two preferred to work things out alone. All
of the men worked alone, the woman worked with her

husband. Their sources for ideas included magazines,

62

catalogs, friends, and their own imaginations. One
respondent owned and used a carpenter's encyclopedia as
his major resource. Everyone except the woman claimed
to innovate. They identified "short-cuts" as their
innovations which may refer to economy of materials or
easier technical procedures.

The number of items made per year varied from six
to 20. Several respondents could not generalize, but then
several had remodeling projects in mind. The kinds of
items made were conventional except for the respondent I
who made sauna buckets. Two had sold items. None used
even the smallest items they made as gifts, though it
was apparent that the items became part of household
possessions. One respondent with several sons had
obviously shared his knowledge with them but none of
the wood-workers admitted to instructing someone or

even having been asked to do so.

The Painters

 

This category combined a woman with four years
experience in oil painting and two others with a year
or less experience "painting fabric" (this is a process
using tube applicators to color in pictures printed on
fabric). Taxonomically they represent the same category,
experientially they do not. The oil painter had taken
community classes in painting, the other two had learned

at demonstration parties. One had, herself, become a

63

demonstrator. In the winter the fabric painters spent
from two to eight hours a day at this activity. The
oil painter also painted more in the winter than summer
but would not generalize about hours.

The oil painter had invested about $100 in
brushes and paints; the fabric painter-demonstrator
estimated her investment to be $1,000. The oil painter
preferred to use oil paints but knew about other media.
The fabric painters purchased fabric and paints in pre-
packaged kits and individually. They had no material
preferences and selected supplies from mail-order cata-
logs. The oil painter purchased her supplies from a
stationery store in a regional city.

The oil painter worked alone but belonged to a
self-help group. That group and her own books were
resources to solve technical problems. She painted
landscapes and some still lifes. Her ideas came from
magazines and personal photographs. Her technique of
applying paint had evolved with experience and she
regarded it as innovative.

The fabric painters did not encounter technical
difficulties. Their ideas came from friends and the
catalog. The painter-demonstrator worked in front of
and with audiences, but given the amount of time she
claimed to spend in this activity (eight hours per day)

she probably also worked alone. The other fabric

64

painter sometimes worked alone and sometimes with her
family. The painter-demonstrator regarded the mixing of
new color combinations as innovative behavior.

The oil painter completed about six paintings
per year. She had given some away and people had offered
to buy others. She served as a resource person to others
in the self-help group.

The fabric painters used their items as gifts too,
but had not sold any. Outputs varied from several hundred
for the painter-demonstrator, to a dozen items for the
other respondent. The kinds of items painted were con-
ventional household linens and wall hangings. Garments
were not mentioned. The painter-demonstrator had intro-
duced many women in the community to fabric painting.

Four other respondents specifically mentioned this
activity as something they had recently tried. The
other fabric painter had shown her husband and children
how to do it. One had experience with 11 other kinds of

activities and the other had experienced three kinds.

The Rag Rug Weavers

 

Three women made up this group. Two had woven
between 35 and 45 years, the other for less than five
years. The experienced weavers claimed they were self~
taught. The other weaver had been taught by her mother-
in-law. The experienced weavers made rugs in the summer

but prepared weft rags all year around and sometimes

65

were assisted in this task by their husbands. They each
wove from two to three hours per day.

One respondent had purchased her loom, the others
were given theirs. Their response to a query about tool
costs were statements about the recent increase in the
price of warp yarn which they obtained by mail orders.
Friends and relatives provided old garments and discards
apprOpriate for use in rugs. These included cottons,
wools, synthetics, blends, nylon stockings, bread
wrappers, and plastic trash bags. Responses to a
question about preferred materials focused on the
finished products, i.e. "cotton chenille and wool both
make pretty rugs," and the process of weaving, i.e.
"wool is too dusty and hot to work with in the summer."
The experienced weavers claimed they did not mix fiber
contents within a rug, though this was probably compro-
mised regarding summer cotton blends.

Two had never encountered technical problems they
could not solve, the other did not respond. Only one
mentioned magazines as a source of ideas. One weaver
claimed no innovations, one developed new patterns, and
the last claimed both design and technical innovations.
All three worked alone.

The actual amount produced in a year varied.

One wove as little as three rugs a year, the other wove

950 yards in a season. Both experienced weavers had

 

66

maximum outputs of which they were proud. Last year
they wove 12 to 40 rugs. The least experienced weaver
would not generalize about output.

All three weavers had sold their rugs, used them
in their homes, and given them to friends and family.
Sales were informally initiated when they had more rugs
than they needed and other community members would offer
to buy. Tourists occasionally heard about them and
stopped to buy. The respondent who sold the most rugs
had been asked to teach others. Two had experiences
with six and seven other kinds of hand-work activities;

one had tried nothing besides rug weaving.

The Furniture Refurbishers

 

One woman recovered upholstered furniture in her
home. She had been doing it for three years but had
known how to do it since 1951 when she had observed
fellow workers in a Grand Rapids factory. Another woman
refinished wood furniture and had done so for 13 years.
Both worked too irregularly to generalize about hours,
though the wood refinisher worked primarily in the
winter. Both required no special materials and would
not estimate the cost of tools. One to six projects
were completed each year.

The respondent who recovered upholstered furni-
ture worked on other people's furniture. Often they

would supply the fabric. She worked at her own pace

 

67

and that was part of the bargain. She was paid for her
work but did not comment on rate of pay. She did not
innovate but organized each project on the basis of the
pattern and sequence of the old fabric application. She
had been asked to teach a community class but felt her
instructional skills were not adequate for the task.

She had not tried any other kind of hand-work.

The furniture refinisher was self-taught. She
refinished her own furniture and furniture of family
members. People gave her old pieces and others she
reclaimed from discards. She had used antique kits
but discontinued using them because the finish chipped.
Her ideas came from friends and magazines. She worked
alone and claimed no innovations. She had experience

with six other kinds of hand-work activities.

The Quilters

 

Two women made patchwork quilts. One had done
it most of her life, having been taught by her mother.
The other had taken it up about five years ago through
fund-raising activities at church. One respondent
quilted primarily in the summer, the other, a farmer's
wife, alternated quilting with summer farm chores.
Neither generalized about the amount of time spent
quilting. Both had tried one or two other kinds of

hand-work activities.

68

Both used sewing machines and hand-stitching
and did not mention quilting frames. Both preferred
cotton fabrics but the most experienced respondent also
liked wool. She said the threads and knots held better
on wool. In the past she had used feedsacks and cur-
rently found 100% cotton difficult to buy. The responses
of the other quilter indicate she was unfamiliar with
the specific differences between cotton and synthetic
fabrics. She also felt dependent on friends and family
for fabric scraps for piece work beCause her children
were boys. She was using fabric from her mother's
clothing to piece a baby quilt for her granddaughter.

Both worked alone, but one also worked with her
church group. The experienced quilter rarely encountered
problems she could not solve, when that did happen she
"phoned around." The other was dependent upon the church
group and a neighbor who had also been identified by
various respondents as an exceptional quilter. The
quilters' ideas came from family members and magazines.
Though both described technical features in response to
the question on innovations the experienced quilter

denied ever doing things in a new way.

The Embroiderer

 

One woman had irregularly engaged in embroider-
ing as a pastime since a neighbor introduced her to

the activity as a teenager. Less than 12 hours a month

69

were spent embroidering. She completed about seven items
a year. These were usually luncheon cloths and pillow—
cases which were purchased from the variety store in the
county seat. She preferred linen but it was difficult to
find. Technical problems were never encountered. Though
she claimed never to innovate, she also said she embroid-
ered pre-stamped and blank items. She made up her own
ideas or modified designs from pictures. She usually
worked alone but had taught her daughter to embroider.
The completed items were used as gifts or donated to the
church bazaar. The other hand-work activities she had

tried included knitting, crewel work, and number painting.

Fish Lure and Fly Makers

 

Two male respondents made their own fish lures
and flies. Both men had been doing this for 20 to 25
years. They worked seasonally about one hour or less
per month. They copied manufactured items from catalogs
and magazines. Both considered themselves to be self-
taught, though occasionally one consulted friends for
advice. Neither encountered technical problems which
he could not solve. The fly maker had no preferences
among materials or involvement with specialized tools.
The maker of fish lures scavenged scrap materials to
construct his lures and used car enamel for color. One

made about 24 items a year, the other would not generalize.

70

In response to questions about innovations one
identified the selection and combination of materials and
colors as innovative opportunities. The maker of fish
lures expressed a functional approach when he described
testing a lure's action in the water and modifying its
structure to enhance particular kinds of action. Both
worked alone. Though one had a teenage son neither men-
tioned sharing his activities with anyone. The maker
of fish lures had experience with three other crafts

involving metals, the other only tied flies.

The Taxidermist

 

This respondent had pursued an interest in taxi-
dermy since childhood. He had taken a correspondence
course on the subject and continued to rely on lesson
books and catalogs from the major supplier for ideas and
technical assistance. His estimated investment in tools
and equipment was $50. That included forms, artificial
eyes, and acids. He had no preferences among materials,
and never encountered unsolvable technical problems.

This activity was pursued year around though he
spent less than a day a month on it. Two to three items
were completed each year and included the heads of
mammals and complete bodies of birds. The heads were
sometimes given as gifts. He had never sold an item.
His innovations were improvements in commercial forms

and a special technique for skinning carcasses. He

71

had experience with one other kind of hand-work activity.

The taxidermist was teaching his son the craft.

Part 2

Summary of the Practice of
Hand-Work Activities

 

 

This summary of the hand-work activities is
organized around the t0pics of sex of respondent, exper-
ience and hours invested, tools and materials, charac-
teristics of the process, and other hand-work experience.’
Tables 12 to 14 summarize the data by frequencies and

percentages.

Sex of Respondents

 

The kind of activity practiced was related to
the sex of the respondent. Women were concentrated in
the textile-related activities and men in the wood-
working and sports-related activities. The exception

to this was one woman who did wood-work.

Experience and Hours Invested

 

Twenty percent had practiced this activity since
childhood. Twenty-three percent had taken up the
activity in the last 25 years and 21% had begun in the
last five years. The remainder of the subsample had
begun in years intermediate to the three groups.

Twenty-two engaged in their hand-work activities

seasonally. When the hours reported for participation

72

 

 

 

Table 12
Affirmative Responses to Questions About the Art-Making
Process
a Yes Responses
Questions
Frequencies %
N=33 (100)
1. Do you always work alone? 26 (79)
2. Is this a seasonal activity? 23 (70)
3. Are special tools or equipment
needed to do this? 23 (70)
4. Are the materials difficult to
get? 9 (27)
5. Do you prefer to work with
certain materials? 24 (73)
6. Do you ever encounter technical
problems you cannot solve? 15 (45)
7. Do you ever make things in a new
way? 21 (64)
8. Have any of the items ever been
591d? 11 (33)
9. Do you give away the items you
have made as gifts? 29 (88)
10. Has anyone ever asked you to
teach them? 23 (70)
11. Do you belong to a club for
doing this activity? 6 (18)

 

aFor complete statement of questions see the
instrument in Appendix A.

73

Table 13

Characteristics of the Art-Making Process

 

 

. . Frequencies %
Characterist1cs N=33 (100)
Way in Which Hand-Work Activity was
Learned
Self-taught 5 (15)
Assisted by written instructions 5 (15)
Informally taught by friend or
relative 17 (52)
Semi-formal instruction 6 (18)
Kinds of Sources for Materials
Local retailers or nearby towns 19 (58)
Friends, relatives, neighbors 3 ( 9)
From nature, their own land 5 (15)
Salvaged or scavenged materials 2 ( 6)
Other 3 ( 9)
Sources of Help for Technical Problems
Friends, relatives or neighbors 10 (30)
Written instructions 4 (12)
Club 2 ( 6)
Solved problems alone 5 (15)
Sources of Ideas for Things to Make
Friends, relatives or neighbors 6 (18)
Magazines, catalogs, and books 15 (45)
Respondent's imagination 7 (21)
Other 4 (12)

 

 

74

Table 14

Characteristics Related to the Art-Making Process

 

 

. . Frequencies %
Characteristics N=33 (100)
Amount of Money Invested in Tools
Nothing ' l ( 3)
Less than $100 15 (45)
$100 to $1500 5 (15)
Numbergpquours Per Month Doing
Hand-Work Activities
12 or less 12 (36)
About 25 (3-4/day) 10 (30)
50 to several 100 4 (12)
Too uneven to generalize 2 ( 6)
Number of Items Made in a Year
6 or less 14 (42)
7 to 12 7 (21)
13 to 24 5 (15)
Over 3 dozen 5 (15)
Could not generalize 2 ( 6)
Number of Different Kinds of Items
Made by the Same Activity
1 a (24)
2 8 (24)
3 3 ( 9)
4 4 (12)
5 or more 9 (27)
Number of Different Kinds of Hand-
Work Activities Experienced
l 9 (27)
2 to 4 11 (33)
5 or more 13 (39)
Number of Years Experience Doing
This Activity
Young adulthood or before 11 (33)
Between 15 and 40 years 12 (36)

Within the last 5 years 10 (30)

 

 

75

in these activities were averaged over the total 12
months, 41% of the amateur artist-craftsmen engaged in
their activity 12 hours or less per month, and 38% spent
about 25 hours per month doing these activities. This
included a commonly volunteered answer of "three to four
hours a day."

Twenty-one percent had been instructed in their
activity by a parent or grandparent. Fifteen percent
had taught themselves, and 15% had done so with the aid
of written instructions. Only 11% had experienced any
1

training of a semi-formal nature such as correspondence

courses, adult classes, and job-related learning.

Tools and Materials

 

Thirty percent claimed they needed no special
tools for their pastime, though two-thirds of the activ-
ities listed have special tools associated with them.

The amount of money invested in tools was estimated by
the respondents to range from nothing to $1,500. Seven
people had less than $5 invested in tools, three had
from $100 to $1,500. Men invested more money than women.

Twenty-five out of 35 respondents expressed a
preference for specific kinds of materials. Twenty-
three people indicated no difficulty in getting materials
in general. It is not known how many encountered diffi-

culty in obtaining the kind of materials they preferred.

76

Characteristics of the Process

 

Twenty-six respondents usually worked alone, six I
belonged to informal groups who gathered to socialize
and carry on their hand-work. All such groups were
among women.

The amateur artist-craftsmen were questioned
about technical problems encountered and solved. Almost
half admitted encountering technical problems. If they
needed assistance in such matters, they usually went to
friends, however, many preferred to work the problems
out unassisted.

When asked if they ever explored the limits of
their kind of hand-work activity by doing things in a
new way, 64% said they did. Most of their ideas about
the kinds of objects to make came from magazines, cata-
logs, or books. The next most common source of ideas
was their own imaginations, and then relatives and

friends.

Items Produced

 

The number of objects produced in a year varied
considerably when the activities were as diverse as
reupholstering furniture and tying fish lures. The
range was from two to several hundred, but it would be
incorrect to assume that the smaller the object the more
objects were produced. The number of items produced in

a year was related to the size of the items, the diversity

 

 

 

77

of the items made and the amount of time invested in the
activity. A furniture refinisher working on a small but
complex piece of furniture may have an output equal to
a knitter working on a large coverlet made up of many
standardized units. Table 15 summarizes the number of

items made by kinds of hand-work activities.

Table 15

Number of Items Made in a Year by Kind of Activity

 

 

 

 

Amateur Artist-Craftsmen Number of Items
Activities N=33 Mean Range

Knitters 8 24 5 75
Crocheters 6 l3 2 50
Wood-Workers 5 12 l 23
Other Textile Activities 6 13.4 1 45
Painters 3 9 6 12
Sports-Related Activities 3 7.5 3 12
Furniture Refurbishers 2 3.5 2 5

 

Twenty-one amateur artist-craftsmen made 12 or
less items per year; four made between 45 and 75 items.

The number of different kinds of items made
ranged from one to six. Sixteen respondents repeatedly
made the same article while ten respondents made more
than five different kinds of items.

Thirty-five percent of the respondents had sold
an object or objects they had made. Usually someone had

seen the item and offered to buy it. Some respondents

 

78

made items by special request for family and friends.
Such customers often selected and purchased the materials
to be used. A few sold to retail outlets.

Most respondents kept the items they made or gave
them as gifts to friends and relatives. Frequently pro-
duction was planned in relation to holidays and birthdays.
Several women mentioned church bazaars as a means of dis-
posing of items.

The hand-work activities discussed above are sum-
marized over the above characteristics by the factors of
sex, length of practice and kind of hand-work activity

in Tables B-l through B-6 in Appendix B.

Other Hand-Work Experiences

 

Though the hand-work activities summarized herein
were those the respondents themselves identified as theirf
major pastime, they volunteered accounts of experiences
with additional kinds of hand-work activities. Most
respondents had experience with at least three different
kinds of activities (see Table 16). The range was 27%
with one activity to 6% with 11 activities.

Thirty-six different kinds of activities were
identified by the respondents including that which they
currently practiced. ,Knitting and crocheting were the
most popular activities among amateur artist-craftsmen,

followed by quilting. Women identified 29 different

kinds of activities, men identified 12 kinds. Men's

 

 

79

Table 16

Number of Different Kinds of Hand-Work Activities
Experienced by Sex of Amateur Artist-Craftsmen

 

Number of Activities

Males

Females

 

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six to Nine

OOI—‘WNI—I

I-II—IUJUJOCD

 

Table 17

Common Hand-Work Activities Attempted or Practiced
by Amateur Artist-Craftsmen in the Past

 

 

ggépi: Activity Egople Activity
TEXTILE RELATED METAL RELATED
6 Crewel work 1 Car customizing
16 Crocheting 1 Electronic kits
3 Embroidery 1 Metal working
2 Hair pin lace 1 Welding
4 Hooked rugs PAPER RELATED
l9 Knitting 5 Decoupage
3 Stuffed toys 1 Elevation kits
1 Needle-point 1 Magazine dolls
12 Quilting 1 Paper maché
2 Tatting ANIMAL RELATED
9 Weaving 1 Leather tooling
WOOD RELATED 1 Taxidermy
2 Cabinetry 2 Fish lure and fly
5 Picture framing tying
11 Furniture refinish— MINERAL RELATED
ing 1 Rock hunting and
4 Wood-turning polishing
CERAMIC RELATED PLASTIC RELATED
Figurine painting 1 Construction of

1
1 Making pottery
1 Plaster casting

decorative center
pieces

 

80

activities were associated with the raw materials of

wood, metal, and stone, or were sports related. Women's
activities though concentrated in textiles (13 different
activities) were broader in scope including clay, plastics,

plaster, wood, leather, and various manufactured materials.

Part 3

The Past Hand-Work Experiences of Other
Respondents in the Two Townships

The remainder of the sample, though not currently
engaged in hand-work activities, were not a homogeneous
group in regard to those experiences. Of the 13 women
and 16 men who did not practice hand-work activities as
a regular pastime, three women and 12 men had never done '
50.

Among the 14 who had practiced hand-work activi- :
ties in the past, seven had experience with one activity,I
six with two, and one woman listed five different activi-
ties. Fewer men than women had experience with hand-work;
activities and the experience of the men who had done it
was very limited.

Table 18

Number of Different Kinds of Hand—Work Activities Exper-
ienced by Sex of the Other Respondents

 

 

Number of Activities Males Females
One 2 5
Two 2 4
Three 0 0
Four 0 0
Five 0 l

 

 

 

 

81

The activities of the men included: carving
handles (presumably for tools), making snowshoes and
gunstocks, carpentry, plus rock polishing and furniture
refinishing. Embroidering was the most common activity
among the women (seven respondents) followed by knitting
(four), crocheting (three), and one each of quilting,
stuffed toys, rug weaving, and rug hooking.

Reasons for discontinuing these activities
included poor health or disability, loss of interest,
and lack of time due to house work, farm chores, and
community work. One woman concluded that it was "silly
to embroider pillowcases and stuff, they just wear out."

Seven respondents (four females, three males)
wanted to resume some kind of hand-work in the future;
others no longer were interested in it. Several lookedI
forward to taking up hand-work activities upon retire-
ment, when their health improved, or to add variety to

their lives.

Part 4

Description of Four Amateur Artist-
Craftsmen Types

 

 

In this study respondents classified themselves
as "regular practitioners of hand-work activities."
From data previously reported it is evident that "reg-
ular" was widely interpreted. More objective evidence

of regularity of involvement was recorded on two

82

dimensions: (1) number of years experience, and (2) fre- I
quency of doing an activity within any given month. The
range for the first was from less than a year to a life-
time. The range for the second was from less than an hour
to over 100 hours a month. These two dimensions are one
way, however grossly, to document the degree of an ;
amateur's involvement in his chosen activity.

Another more subjective approach was taken to the
degree of amateur artist-craftsmen's involvement in their
activities. Interviewers were asked to identify to the
investigator respondents who were particularly noteworthy
for their total enthusiasm or commitment to their activity,I
or for any other aspect expressive of a high level of
involvement. Four respondents were identified by the
interviewers during the course of field work as people
who were pursuing their hand-work activities more I
intensely than others. I

The investigator revisited those individuals to
question them at length about the art-making process as
it pertained to their activity, their motivations, and
the technical and aesthetic standards to which they

adhered. The data from the second interviews of the

four amateur artist-craftsmen are summarized below.

The Rag Rug Weaver

 

The rug weaver was a farm wife in her 705 and

of Finnish descent. In the early 19205 she took up

 

 

83

residence on the 120-acre farm about five miles from

one of the villages. In 1949 her husband, a part-time
farmer and railroad worker, was disabled. At that time
their eight children ranged in age from eight to 27 years.
Farming was curtailed and the family lived on a disability
pension. Their household income was one of the lowest

in the sample.

Her mother also wove rugs but she was not allowed
to touch her mother's loom. She began weaving on a
neighbor's loom to furnish her home. Later, after her
house had been remodeled, she bought a loom made by a
local man. Thirty years ago her investment for the loom
and several auxiliary pieces of equipment was $75.

At the time of the interview the loom was housed
in a shed in back of the house and was inaccessible due
to the snow. Its existence was evident in the house
with many rugs in use on the floor (over wall-to-wall
carpeting and room-sized rugs), new rugs stacked on a
side table, and boxes of rag weft strips in the side
room.

Previously the loom had been in the house, but
it produced so much lint that it was moved to a summer
kitchen. There the windows could be opened for cross
ventilation. Recent problems with asthma and pneumonia
made the weaver cautious about her lungs and hesitant

to expose herself to the lint produced when weaving.

 

84

She wove in the summer two to three hours a day. She
pointed out that beating was hard work. Three rugs of

1 1/2 yards each were considered a day's work. Her peak
production was 300 yards in one summer.

She described the loom as having a single harness,
with space for additional harnesses, one peddle, and an
overhead beater. Metal heddles had been substituted for
the original string heddles which kept breaking. She
was proud of the metal reed which was a big improvement
compared to her mother's loom. Fabric 40 inches wide
could be woven on it. Over the years the warp and fabric
beams had cracked and were banded with metal strips by
a local repairman.

Her supplies included warp yarn and fabric for
weft strips. She purchased warp yarn by mail from a
company in Ohio where her mother had traded. She could
not recall any label information except the brand name.
People gave her old garments and bedspreads appropriate
for rugs. The only time she purchased weft materials
was when she needed a bright, heavy fabric to accent
the other weft stripes in a dark rug and when she used
brown plastic trash bags as a ground for the yellow
bread wrappers she had collected.

The fabrics were grouped by the weaver according
to their fiber content. Knitted synthetics, so plentiful

in garments, were not evident in her rugs. There were

85

many flannels and broad cloths, and she claimed to use
sweaters occasionally. The functional reason for
separating the fiber contents were the care restrictions
for wool and cotton. Design reasons will be discussed
later.

The weaver cut fabrics into strips of varying
width according to weight. The standard weft strip when
beaten into place was 3/8 inch to 5/16 inch wide. To
join the strips of weft she overlapped the ends, folded
the side edges in twice, and ran a lateral curve of
machine stitching over the area. This was done in close
sequence through a series of joints to save machine
thread. The machine threads were later clipped between
splices and the entire length of completed weft was
rolled into balls for storage.

The weaver identified the characteristics of a
good rug as: even selvage edges, bound ends which lay
flat and did not curl, and a firmly woven body. By
those standards she wove rugs of good quality.

In order to achieve the flat ends, the first and
last few inches of weft tabby were not beaten as tightly
as the body of the rug. Also they were fanned out
slightly along the selvage edges. The end fabric was
folded over twice to enclose the raw warp ends, and was
held in place by zigzag machine stitches. Since the

zigzag was irregular, the direction changes appeared

86

to have been done by hand. Occasionally she finished
the warp edges with a series of single knots and a two-
inch fringe.

The completed rugs were 27 to 28 inches wide and
1 1/2 to 2 yards long. That width was convenient for
customers who use the rugs through doorways and also
for laundering in home washers and dryers.

Warp yarns appeared to be set to eight yarns per
inch and the threading was a plain weave. She grouped
the warp colors into 1 1/2 inch stripes. Colors of the
warp yarn both coordinated and contrasted with weft
strips.

Dark colors, often wools, were combined in a
rug; light colors and summer cottons were combined. The
prints created a pastel effect when beaten into place.
Most of her rugs were either a marbelized design or
striped. Her concept of a good-looking, striped rug
was six to eight inches of background followed by a
contrasting stripe 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide then alter—
nated with a few throws of background. She considered
broader stripes too bold and to be typical of a weaver
of Polish nationality. She used to weave solid colored
rugs but they were a greater risk in harmonizing with
customers' color schemes.

A rug of pale blues, greys, and greens was high-

lighted with a stripe of another cool hue of intermediate

 

 

87

brilliance. A similar harmony was worked out in warm
colors. For dark rugs brilliant red was used. In the
rugs the stripes became narrow accents sometimes running
the full width of the carpet, sometimes falling short

or extending 1 1/2 widths. These were spaced at 8 to 10
inches. She believed this brightened the effect of dark
rugs.

The technical innovation of which she was proud
was a means of making the tedious job of threading the
loom more efficient and less exhausting by a particular
positioning of the reed to the heddles.

Some of her innovations were in response to cus-
tomer requests. She recently used grey plastic bailing
twine combined with various bright warp stripes for a
customer who had a problem with sandy dirt tracking into
the house. A wealthy Detroit matron wanted carpeting
for a stairway with a series of wedge-shaped steps. The
order was woven in sections and pieced together. That
was 10 or 15 years ago and a Christmas card still testi-
fied to the matron's satisfaction.

This weaver was sensitive to customer needs and
had worked out additional generalizations about their
tastes. Pale rugs were more appropriate for bedrooms,
except boys' rooms which needed dark rugs. Color tended

to be seasonal, cool for summer and warm for winter.

88

She made no effort to sell the rugs. People,
including tourists, "just heard about them." She sold
as many as she cared to make. A 1 1/2 yard cotton rug
was marked $2.55. This was considered by her to be a
short rug. Given her earlier statements the rug repre-
sented about 1 1/2 hours of actual weaving time. Warp
yarn, loom maintenance, preparation of the loom, prepar—
ation of the rag weft strips, and finishing details were
probably not included in the calculation of the weaver's
prices.

In the past she arranged with a furniture store
in a regional city to sell rugs, primarily for the
Christmas season. This began when she attempted and
successfully arranged a trade for furniture.

Other hand-work activities included knitting
morning slippers, crocheting afghans, and recently paint-
ing on fabric. The morning slippers were gifts. She
modified the pattern for a friend with a special foot
problem. A zigzag patterned afghan kit of three colors
was enlarged by adding a fourth color which, in the
interviewer's judgment, also improved the total color
harmony of the afghan. On her current project, a cro-
‘cheted baby blanket, the fan stitch was structurally
weak so she modified it. "You have to use your head"
was her comment. This statement appeared to characterize

her attitude toward all of her activities.

 

 

89

This weaver was very thrifty. Wool fabric scraps
were sent to a commercial shredder and made into batting.
She sent along old blankets or sheets as a foundation
fabric. Later these were enclosed between pieces of new
fabric which she tied at intervals to make comforters.

She was willing to discuss her weaving with other
rug weavers in the community, but felt there was little
reciprocity. The regional Home Extension agent said the
road on which the weaver lived was known for its rug
weavers.

This weaver's history indicates that rug weaving
was a means of supplementing family income rather than
a pastime. When directly questioned she wouldn't agree
that it could be called her "work." Since she now weaves
as much or as little as she chooses, it may also be

regarded as a pastime.

The Knitter-Crocheter

 

This respondent enjoyed both knitting and cro-
cheting and pursued them equally but decided to focus
on knitting for the purpose of the interview. She was
a long-term resident of one village and was recently
widowed. She knitted two to three hours in the evening
during the winter. Summers were for gardening. She
pursued this activity for 20 years since teaching herself

with the aid of a book.

90

She had an almost complete set of needles and
hooks but could not estimate their total cost. She
knitted all kinds of fibers but preferred wool for its
warmth and appearance. Yarns, which she considered to
be easily accessible, were purchased locally and by mail.

In the three months prior to the interview she
has completed nine items of various sizes. She estimated
her annual output to be from 12 to 24 items ranging from
garments, to throws, and toys. She knitted anything for
which there were directions. She was adamant about
following directions and claimed never to innovate.

When technical problems were encountered, however, she
worked them out alone.

Many of the items were made as gifts for family
and friends, but her skill and industry were known in
the community and people requested her to make things.
Often they provided the yarn. She had selected yarns
for afghans to coordinate with customers' decor and taste
and they were always satisfied. When she was asked how
she charged for her services in these situations she
revealed her quandary. A clerk in Houghton told her
to charge three times the cost of the yarn, but the
respondent recognized that would be too expensive for
local people. She had not kept track of the actual time
involved in making something because knitting was really

sandwiched among the other activities of her day. She

91

acknowledged that she would probably be surprised to
know how much time she actually spent knitting. How-
ever, knitting made the time pass and that was what she
wanted.

The knitter-crocheter defined a well-made article
as firm bodied with even stitches. Good blocking was
also important. She blocked items both before and after
assembly but preferred the latter.

Her major interest seemed to be in the manipu—
lation of colors. Recent projects included several
afghans of granny squares to use up scrap yarn of various
fibers. She planned to care for the afghans as if they
were all wool fiber rather than an assortment of synthe-
tics, wool, and blends. Red, black, and white were used
as backgrounds and acted as unifying colors with the
granny squares. Given the variety of colors and area
sizes of the project her goal was a balanced effect
which she achieved in the judgment of the interviewer.

Because of her dependence on directions she
invested in many pattern books which she was willing to
trade among other knitters. Others were not so willing
to share, however. She had unsuccessfully attempted to
teach another woman how to knit. An elderly companion
who was also a prolific knitter and crocheter appeared

to be a role model for this respondent.

 

92

The Wood-Worker

 

The wood-worker was part of a small community
of second and third generation family farmers in an area
about five miles from one village. Except for armed
service in World War II and a few youthful years traveling
around the nation, his life has been contained by the 165-
acre dairy farm. Since retirement he fed a few cattle,
took care of the household, did odd jobs, and pursued his
interest in wood-working for an occasional supplement to
his income. The family income was below the median
income of all respondents.

Along one wall of a farm shed was a work bench
and his tools which included a table saw, router, sander,
band saw and sabre saw. All were electrically powered.
He estimated his investment to be about "$1,500 at today's
prices." When pressed to do so, be indicated that he
worked two to three hours a day except when he had some-I
thing else to do such as going to town. When he was
particularly intrigued with a wood-working problem he
worked longer periods of time.

The objects he made included: checkerboards
which doubled as cutting boards (or the reverse, he was
light-heartedly willing to consider them either or both),
trays for his wife's wheelchair, picture frames, a lamp
shade, signs, and his current interest--sauna buckets.

The lumber, primarily in plank form, had been salvaged

93

from his job at the lumber mill. During the interview
he identified birch, ash, pine, and redwood as woods he
had worked with,.but expressed preference for none.

This wood-worker seemed to be motivated by problems
and problem-solving. Acquaintances would tell him of
unusual wooden items they had seen and he would try to
figure out how to make such items. When he encountered
a problem he could not solve, he said he left it alone for
a while and the answer would come to him.

At the time of the interview he was trying to con-
struct an all wood sauna bucket (a 12-sided bucket). A
willow bow hoop had not held the pieces together so he
temporarily resorted to metal bands as hoops, but they
cut into the wet wood and he was seeking a better solution.
When he resolved these problems he expected to produce
buckets to sell as in the past he made and sold signs.

This wood-worker seemed to prefer working with
geometric qualities both in construction and in pattern.l
The checkerboards were made of contrasting kinds of wood
glued into solid blocks and cross-cut to reveal the con-
trasting wood grains and colors in the checkerboard
pattern. A beveled molding attached to the edges com—
pleted the boards.

In response to a question about finishes applied
to the wood he identified a brand name which sounded like

a synthetic oil product. He was not interested in

94

discussing finishes and could not remember the kind of
finish used on several of the items. Some had been left
with a bright glossy surface, others, he acknowledged,
had been rubbed to a satin surface. The finishes seemed
to have been applied without consideration for the intended .
use of the objects. This wood-worker believed that the
different kinds of wood could be tactilely distinguished
even when the wood was sealed in a hard finish.

During the interview, he brought out a small book
or pamphlet published by Delta Company in 1937, titled,
"Getting the Most Out of Your Circular Saw and Joiner."
It contained directions for projects of different levels
of complexity. He turned to the last page and said that
he really would have achieved a lot when he could do the
project described therein. It was a problem in cutting
and fitting together unusual geometric parts into a
three-dimensional form.

When he worked at the lumber mill his job was
that of trimmer and grader. In that position a person
is responsible for deciding the pattern of cut for each
log to maximize the lumber produced. His particular
pursuits in wood-working reflected an elaboration of

that work.

The Painter

 

Last year the oil painter retired after 31 years

teaching elementary school. She traced her interest in

 

95

art to her own third grade experience with miniature
reproductions of masterpieces. In her bachelor's program
she had two craft-oriented art classes in painting. She
had painted for pleasure for four years and said she
considered herself to have little talent.

She worked in oil media on canvas board and other
commercially prepared surfaces. She had tried water—
colors and was going to try acrylics, but felt one had
to work too fast in those media. The paintings displayed
in her house ranged in size from 8 by 11 inches to 12 by
14 inches. The completed paintings were not shellacked
or given any other surface protection.

She painted primarily landscapes plus a few still
lifes. Magazines and personal photographs provided ideas
and compositional arrangements on which to base her
paintings. Once the painting was underway, the compo-
sition was not modified.

Her work procedure was to sketch in the scene
and then begin to apply paint. She found sketching
frustrating because she could not produce the effects
she wanted. At times she worked directly with the
palette knife and considered her use of paint to be
heavy. She described herself as a methodical person
which suggests that she probably was a deliberate and

reflective painter who reworked the surface.

 

96

Several other members of the community painted
and they gathered to discuss and critique their work.

A teacher, described by the respondent as an accomplished
painter, seemed to be the focus of the group. The oil
painter relied on the group for ideas and technical
assistance. She also owned books on the subject of
painting.

The painter's income, before retirement, was one
of the highest in the sample. She liked to travel, and
being of Finnish descent, had been to Finland and other
European countries where she visited galleries and museums.
She would like to travel more. She stated that it was
important in life to keep the mind occupied and the hands/
busy. Toward that end she also did needlework, crochet-
ing, figurine painting, and in the summer, gardening.

Summary of_the Four Amateur
Artist-Craftsmen

 

 

The four amateur artist-craftsmen described in
detail above illustrate four different modes of working
regardless of the particular type of activity practiced.

The wood-worker enjoyed puzzles: both their
resolution and presentation, i.e. "making checkerboard
cutting boards." Wood happened to be the material with
which he was familiar. If his work was compared with
the work of other wood-workers, in the judgment of the

interviewer, it would not be notable for emphasizing the

 

97

visual and tactile qualities inherent in wood. His
large investment in power tools, particularly in con-
trast to his modest income and property, suggests that
the possession and use of the tools was itself a source I
of pleasure and satisfaction. Many more men in the I
sample owned power tools than those in the amateur
artist-craftsmen subsample. Electrically powered wood-
working tools seem to be prestige possessions in the
region.

The knitter—crocheter needed to make the day pass.2
She was not willing to take risks in knitting and probably
not in crocheting either. Directions were necessary
before she undertook any project. People could depend
on her not to change things for them. Her opportunities
for exploration were limited to the manipulation of color
wherein she was competent, in the judgment of the inter-
viewer. Even when using up scraps of various colors and
kinds of yarn, she did not venture into any structural
experiments, but chose a series of modules to direct her
procedure.

The painter represents the clearest example of
an avocation which was deliberately chosen rather than
one taken up by happenstance. She was more self-conscious
of her actions in regard to the social setting than the
other respondents. She also had the most education.

She painted only for her own satisfaction. This was a

 

98

situation where the activity was pursued for self-
development. By focusing on landscape and still life
painting, and by using oils on small canvases, by using
color and perspective realistically the painter set
boundaries for herself in regard to the infinite potential
of painting.

The rug weaver is the most complex example in
part because of her long experience with the activity
and the mixture of motives over those years. To review::
her mother refused to let her weave, she began to weave
to cover the bare floors of her home, she relied upon
weaving to supplement a disability pension, she found
that not only neighbors but furniture retailers and
tourists would buy her rugs, now she is relatively secure
with a large family to cushion her limited resources.
She is, however, exceptionally thrifty. Though weaving
is more constrained by materials and tools than other
activities, she had worked out technical and aesthetic
standards which characterized her rugs.

In summary the detailed description of four
amateur artist-craftsmen suggested the possibility of a
typology based on kinds of motivation and kinds of satis- :
factions within the experience. Other types could be :75
extracted from a cross-section of hand-work practitioners

if the data were more detailed. Two more types dis-

cernible from the data about the rest of the amateur

 

99

artist-craftsmen were: (1) a person who seeks novelty '
in hand-work activities and takes up one after another i
with no long-term interest in any, and (2) a person who'
will not admit to such activities, perhaps because of a}
work ethic, but who engages in them when a reason con-
sonant with the work ethic can be found.

The use of a case study approach rather than a
survey elicited information about technical and aesthetic
standards which might otherwise have been ignored (or
worse, have been regarded as nonexistent). If information
about technical and aesthetic standards across many
practitioners of several kinds of hand-work activities
was obtained within-group and across-groups comparisons ‘
could be made. By such strategies the informal aesthetic

standards of the general public would be accessible to

investigation.

 

 

CHAPTER V

QUALITY OF LIFE FINDINGS

The data reported in this chapter include the

five hypotheses under the second research question plus

the third research question. They are reported in the

same sequence in which they were presented.

General Research Question 2:

 

Do amateur artist-craftsmen differ from other
respondents in the two townships on the perceived
overall quality of life and on the importance of
and the satisfaction with the domain and criterion -
pertinent to hand-work activities? '

Hypothesis 1:

 

Amateur artist-craftsmen indicate greater satis-
faction with their perceived overall quality of
life than other respondents in the two townships.

The F-statistic indicated support for the hypothe-
sized difference between amateur artist-craftsmen and
other respondents on the POQL. The amateur artist-
craftsmen were more satisfied with their overall quality

of life than other respondents in the two townships

(Table 20).

100

 

101

Table 19

Summary of Results for One-Way ANOVAs for Differences in
POQL by the Factors of Amateur Artist—Craftsman
Status and Sexa

 

Factor Between Group Within Group F-Statistic
Mean Sguares Mean Squares (Probability)

 

Amateur Artist-

Craftsman
Status 1.9582 .4246 4.6122
(.0179)b
Sex .5998 .4480 1.3388
(.1260)

 

a1 and 58 df

bSignificant level: p < .05 (one-tailed)

Table 20

Mean and Standard Deviation of the POQL by Amateur
Artist-Craftsmen and Other Respondents

 

 

a Standard

Subsample Mean Deviation
Amateur Artist-Craftsmen 2.7419 .6692
Other Respondents 3.1034 .6692

 

aThe lower number is the higher rating.

 

102

A post hog comparison of differences in the POQL
rating by sex of respondent was made because of the large
proportion of female respondents in the amateur artist-
craftsmen group. No difference was found on the POQL
rating on the basis of sex of respondent.

The four hypothesized differences in the rankings,
treated as scores, of the SALI and SALS on the life con-
cerns of beauty and use of spare time are reported in

Table 21.

Hypothesis 2:

 

Amateur artist-craftsmen assign greater importance
to the beauty and attractiveness in their world than
other respondents in the two townships.

Hypothesis 3:

 

Amateur artist-craftsmen assign greater importance
to the way they spend their spare time, their non-
working activities, than other respondents in the
two townships.

Hypothesis 4:

 

Amateur artist-craftsmen indicate less satisfaction
with the beauty and attractiveness of their world
than other respondents in the two townships.

Hypothesis 5:

 

Amateur artist-craftsmen indicate greater satis-
faction with the way they spend their spare time,
their nonworking activities, than other respondents
in the two townships.

None of the hypotheses regarding the SALI and

SALS scores were supported. There were no differences

 

 

103

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musmmm spas sowuommmwumm
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msumum

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can HA¢m mo mmcflxsmm may GH mmoamanMHD How m¢>oz< mmzlmso How muadmmm mo wnmfifidm

Hm OHQMB

 

104

between the amateur artist-craftsmen and other respondents
on the importance of beauty and use of spare time and

on satisfaction with beauty and use of spare time. All

of the directional differences between the paired means

corresponded to the directional differences hypothesized.

General Research Question 3:

 

Will the assessed levels of importance and degrees
of satisfaction on all the remaining life concerns
differ for the amateur artist-craftsmen from the
other respondents in the two townships in such a
way as to suggest a pattern characteristic of that
special interest group?

The means and standard deviations for the life
concerns on the measures of importance (SALI) and satis-
faction (SALS) are reported in order from highest to
lowest mean for each of the subsamples in Tables 22 and
23. No pattern or configuration among the life concerns,
for each subsample was readily apparent. Andrews and
Withey pursued a similar idea in regard to demographic
variables and also found no distinctive patterns in
their samples (1976b, p. 37).

The several highest and lowest ranked life con-
cerns on both the SALI and SALS measures were more simi-
lar between the two subsamples than they were different.
Within the ten intermediately ranked life concerns,

numbers four through 15, there were neither similarities

nor differences to note on the SALI and SALS across the

 

105

 

 

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Nm magma

106

 

 

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mm magma

107

subsamples. The exception was the life concern of "use
of spare time" which was ranked 12th by both groups on
the SALS.

The range of the mean scores over the 21 life
concerns was greater for the amateur artist-craftsmen
than for the other respondents on both SALI and SALS
measures. This suggests that the assessments of importance
and the feelings of satisfaction encompassed more variation
among the amateur artist-craftsmen than among the other
respondents.

When the subsamples were compared across the 21
life concerns as to which had the greater standard devi-
ation for specific life concerns, the two groups were
similar on the SALS measure. On the SALI measure, how-
ever, the amateur artist-craftsman group had four times
as many greater standard deviations per life concern
than the other respondents.

While no obvious pattern of life concerns
occurred between the subsamples, the amateur artist-
craftsmen did show greater variation on rankings of
importance of life concerns and to a somewhat lesser
degree on the rankings of satisfaction with life concerns
than did the other respondents. From these comparisons
the amateur artist—craftsmen appeared to be the least'

homogeneous of the two groups.

 

108

In summary, the hypothesis of a difference
between the two subsamples on POQL was supported and
the hypotheses on the specific life concerns were not
supported but did show the direction of the relationships
hypothesized. An examination of the means and standard
deviations on the SALI and SALS measures between the two
subsamples indicated no obvious clusters or pattern
among the life concerns on which to characterize either
group. The amateur artist-craftsmen group showed more
variation in means and standard deviations than the other»
respondents on both measures and therefore was concluded

to be the least homogeneous of the two groups.

 

 

CHAPTER VI

DISCUSSION OF METHODOLOGY AND

FINDINGS

Because this was an exploratory study and all but
one of the measures were used for the first time, the?
methodology as well as the findings of the study are
discussed. The chapter is organized according to the
two objectives of describing hand-work activities and
comparing the quality of life assessments between the
amateur artist-craftsmen and other respondents. First

the methodology and then the findings are discussed

within each section.

Measures of Hand-Work Activities

 

Format and Structure of
the Questions

 

 

Questions 4 through 30 (page 138, Appendix A)
were written to elicit information covering the 17 com-
ponents of hand-work activities. Because of the wide
range of kinds of activities likely to be reported in
a general pOpulation, the questions were broadly worded.

The kinds of activities that were described and the

109

 

110

range of answers given on each component concerning the
art-making process demonstrated the appropriateness of
that approach.

The respondents were able to answer the questions
about their specific hand-work activities despite the
broad wording. Some confusion occurred regarding the
distinction between tools and equipment and raw materials.
Weavers referred to yarn as equipment rather than
materials.

Questions one through three (Section 0 of the
interview schedule), which listed common hand-work activi--
ties by sex-stereotyped and neutral categories, were
designed to identify the amateur artist-craftsmen in the
sample and elicit any unique hand-work activities being
practiced. The procedure worked for the identification
of the subsample, but the checklist of hand-work examples
was not completed in the same manner by all field workers.
The data on experience of hand-work activities other than
the one currently practiced must be regarded as incomplete
and volunteered information.

The last question in Section 0 was an attempt to
obtain some preliminary information about the concept of
hand skills in the minds of the general public. The
data were not usable. Many, among those who did
respond, simply reiterated the class of activities

which had just been discussed. The placement of the

lll

question at the end of the long interview schedule
probably contributed to its inadequacy. The problem
remains, however, that these kinds of activities are
difficult to label without including or excluding
activities not pertinent to the purpose of the study.
The absence of a clear and convenient label makes dis—
cussion and communication about the activities awkward.

Taxonomic Scheme for the Components
of the Art-Making Process

 

 

During the coding, summarizing, and analyzing of
the data about the hand-work activities two dimensions
became apparent on which the description could be more
cogently organized. Constraints of the research project
had precluded the possibility of observing the amateur}:
artist-craftsmen while engaged in their various activi-7
ties, so information was collected on the circumstances
which surrounded those events. These could be organized
by circumstances preceding the art-making event, those
which are outcomes, and those which give some information
about the on-going process. The three categories have
been formalized into input components, output components,
and process components.

The second dimension refers to the source and
kind of information which is obtainable about art-making.
activities. The first category along this dimension is

that which is easily observable and therefore can be

 

112

corroborated. This is objective information. Subjective 3
information is the experiential data from each person in r
the creator role. Accumulation of this kind of data will
eventually allow distinctions to be made between shared
versus idiosyncratic experiences in the creator role.
Normative information refers to the socio—cultural

overlay of the two preceding categories. These include

the attitudes, standards, and norms which are the context
of all components.

The taxonomic scheme does not exhaust all possible
components of the art-making process. Others could be
added and some of those present could be regrouped. The
scheme is a conceptual tool useful in the selection of~
components and the postulation of relationships among
components pertaining to particular topics and questions.
For example, a study of the use of resources would probably
focus on a different group of components than a study of
socialization for a category of behavior. Studies could
be confined to one subset of either of the two dimensions.
Whatever group or relationship of components is selected,
the taxonomic scheme will be useful in maintaining the‘
perspective of the whole to its parts.

Two variables which did not fit into the scheme
are: available technical resources, and relationship to}
peers. Their common element is an environmental factor I

within which the art-making activities occur.

 

 

113

The taxonomic scheme is presented below in outline
form. Components on which data were collected in this

study are marked with asterisks.

TAXONOMIC SCHEME OF THE COMPONENTS OF THE ART-MAKING
' PROCESS
I. Objective information
A. Input components
*Length of experience
*Training and education
Amount of money invested in:
*a. Tools and equipment
b. Raw materials
*Sources of ideas and inspiration
Technical knowledge level
*Tools and equipment
*Kinds of raw materials
Skill level
B. Process components
*Amount of time spent in the activity
Setting in which the activity occurs
*Audience to the process
Use of kinesthetic skills
Use of technical knowledge
Use of tools and equipment
C. Output components
*Kinds of objects produced
*Number of objects produced
*Disposal of objects produced
Buyers and appreciators of objects produced
New levels of kinesthetic skills

 

 

II.

III.

114

Subjective information
A. Input components
*Preferences for raw materials
Preferences for tools and equipment
Idiosyncratic concepts and expectations for:
a. The process
b. The objects produced
Character of inspirational ideas
B. Process components
Malleability of raw materials
*Tendency to innovate, explore, and experiment
C. Output components
New technical insights
Meaning and value assigned to objects produced

Revised idosyncratic concepts and expectations
of:

a. The process

b. The objects produced
Normative information
A. Input components

Attitudes and standards about the Specific
class of:

a. Processes
b. The objects produced
B. Process components
Reaction of audience to the process observed
C. Output components

Meaning and value assigned to class of objects
produced

Revised attitudes and standards about the
specific class of:

a. Processes
b. Objects produced

 

 

115

ATypology of Amateur Artist-
Craftsmen

 

 

A typology was suggested in the detailed descrip-
tion of the four amateur artist-craftsmen. Each repre-
sented a different type based on motivation and/or satis- '
faction which was unrelated to the activity which they
practiced. Two additional types were discernible among
the remainder of the amateur artist-craftsmen group. With
a larger sample and a more flexible opportunity to combine
a survey and a case study approach the typology could be
enlarged. Not only would that require more detailed data
on each respondent, but would also require a skilled in-

depth interviewer familiar with the literature on moti-

vation and on personality types.

Findings About Hand-Work Activities

 

The 17 components of the art-making process, each
of which had three to five categories, resulted in 153
units of information about the hand—work activities of
amateur artist-craftsmen. That information is summarized
in Tables 12 to 14 in chapter IV, and organized according
to the factors of sex of respondent, length of experience,
and kind of hand-work activity in Tables 1 to 6, Appen-
dix B. In this section the findings are discussed in
relationship to general aspects of the socio—cultural

setting.

   

116

The factor of sex of respondent could not be
statistically tested across the descriptive variables on
the hand-work activities because both the subsample and
the number of males in the amateur artist-craftsmen group
were too small. A review of the findings, however, clearly
indicates sex to be an important factor.

The kind of hand-work practiced was related to
sex. Men engaged in wood—working and sports-related
activities; women concentrated in textile-related activi-
ties. Women had a broader range of experience with other
hand-work activities than men.

The men invested more money in tools and equip-
ment, however, the wood-working activities in which they'
were engaged are likely to involve expensive power hand
tools. Men were more likely to claim to innovate or
change their work processes than women. Among the women,
crocheters were more likely to admit to innovations than
knitters. Given the characteristics of this sample, it
is unclear whether acknowledgment of innovative or exper-
imental behavior is related to sex of respondents or
kinds of hand-work activities practiced.

The hand-work activities of the women were
embedded in the social activities of daily life whereas
the men more often worked alone, did not teach others,
did not seek others for technical assistance, and did not?

give their products as gifts.

 

 

117

Examination of the data on the factors of kinds
of hand-work activities and length of experience yielded-
no distinctive patterns. The range of variation for each
factor, seven categories of activities and three cate-
gories representing a life span in experience, combined
with the small sample probably contributed to the incon-
clusive results. Nevertheless these two factors are
logical ones to pursue but some method needs to be used
to control the range of responses on both factors. Cri—
teria could be used for restricting the degree of vari-
ation during the sampling process. That would mean some
form of purposive sampling procedure. Despite the
restriction or elimination of statistical tests such
procedures require, the benefits likely to be derived
would surpass the costs at this stage of the research.

The hand-work activities were begun by the
respondents throughout the life cycle. The manner in
which they were learned showed great variability. Twenty
percent began the activities during their childhood years
and 21% were instructed in their activities by parents or
grandparents. Many more were instructed at various times
during their lives by other close relatives. The 20%
who began their activities in childhood contrast with
the finding that about half the adults had done so in
the Western community studied by Kelly (1974). Only 11%

had received any instruction in adult education or

 

118

extension classes, correspondence courses, or job-related
training. Sixty-five percent had not sold any of their
products which means they gave away their extraneous items
to family and friends. When these findings are related it
is apparent that the practice of hand-work activities

plus the skills and technical knowledge associated with
their practice are transmitted through family and friend-
ship networks. These findings suggest a process of socialéx
ization for leisure activities within the family.

Data on the practice of hand-work activities
related to use, preferences, and sources of materials,
investment in tools, sources of ideas and inspiration,
tendency to innovate, and use of technical assistance did
not reveal any patterns except those already identified
by sex of respondent. Given the isolated rural setting
in which the study took place and the limited community
resources, it is not surprising that the respondents
were dependent, and thereby acquiescent, of the materials
available in local stores. Dependence on printed materials
for ideas and reliance upon their own resourcefulness to
solve technical problems also follows from the character-
istics of the setting. Similar research carried out in
an urban or suburban setting may yield contrasting results

on these variables.

 

 

119

Measures of Quality of Life

 

The second objective of the study was to compare
amateur artist-craftsmen to other adults on perceived
overall life quality, and the importance of and the
satisfaction with specific life concerns. One scale of
perceived overall quality of life and two scales of a
ladder format measuring the importance and satisfaction
of the life concerns of beauty and use of spare time were
used. There were no problems in the administration of
the three scales which could be directly attributed to
their design. Only a few of the older respondents had
difficulty with the complexity of the scales.

Previous studies have found close associations
between satisfaction with use of spare time and both
global and specific measures of life concerns. Campbell,
Converse, and Rogers (1975) found their measure of satis-
faction with use of spare time had a high correspondence
with the overall assessment of life quality even though
the former was preceded by several questions about leisure
time pleasures and frustrations. The questions seem to
have been construed by respondents as a residual category
of life exclusive of work or employment. Thereafter the
researchers employed an alternative measure of spare time
use in their analysis.

In mapping the life domains, Andrews and Withey

(1974b, exhibit 3) found a correlation of .53 between

   

120

"time spent and things done with friends" and "use of
spare time." This suggests a slightly different inter-
pretation on the part of the respondents which places
spare time use in proximity to friends and visiting.

The wording in the two studies and this study are
slightly different. Campbell, Converse, and Rogers
inquired into satisfaction with "the way you spend your
spare time" while this study used the wording of Andrews
and Withey, i.e. "the way you spend your spare time, your.
non-working activities." Whether the difference in the
wording prevented the question from becoming the residual
category referred to by Campbell, Converse and Rogers
cannot be ascertained within this study.

This sample, however, was dichotomized on the
basis of the practice of particular kinds of avocational
or spare time activities. What the other respondents in
the sample did in their spare time is unknown, except
that the region provided good opportunities for hunting
and fishing. Because the subsample of amateur artist—
craftsmen was under-represented in the category of men,
the POQL rating was examined by the factor of sex and no
difference was found.

A comparison of other demographic characteristics
of the two subsamples did not suggest any other factor
on which the two differed which might have accounted for
the POQL rating difference. The sample size was too small

for statistical tests of any additional differences.

 

 

121

Though the qualifications on the measures of
POQL and satisfaction with use of spare time and the
absence of information about the spare time activities
of other respondents in the sample restricted conclusions
which were drawn, the manner in which the sample was
dichotomized raises some interesting possibilities.
Campbell, Converse, and Rogers reasoned that the measure
of satisfaction with use of spare time resembled the more
global measure of overall life satisfaction. The other
possibility exists that the global measure reflects pri-
marily areas of life pertinent to self and over which the
individual has the greatest discretion.

The value of beauty has consistently ranked low
in most surveys. In a recent survey by Rokeach, however,
the ranking of beauty increased. This was attributed to
an increased concern for the natural environment (1974).
A comparison of the means of the life concerns for both
subsamples on the SALI (Table 19) showed beauty and the
natural environment had been similarly ranked and were
close to each other in the sequence for other community
members. By contrast for the amateur artist-craftsmen
the rankings of beauty and the natural environment were
separated by nine other life concerns and beauty was
ranked the lower of the two. This is the opposite of
what would be logically expected from peOple engaged in

activities which by definition are concerned with beauty.

 

122

A comparison of the means of the life concerns for both
subsamples on the SALS (Table 20) showed beauty and the
natural environment had been similarly ranked within
each subsample and the amateur artist-craftsmen indicated
a lower satisfaction with both life concerns. Herein
also lie problems of the interpretation of the questions.

The SALI measure of the life concern was "con--
dition of the natural environment" and for the SALS the
phrase was more specific: "the condition of the natural
environment, the air, land and water in this area." In
both instances there is little Opportunity for alternative
interpretations.

"The amount of beauty and attractiveness of your
world" could mean macro components such as the natural
and/or man-made environments. It could mean the micro
aspects of the immediate environment such as the resident
interiors or clothing. It could even mean one's associ-
ates. Furthermore, the phrase implies rather than spe-
cifically focuses on the visual and could be interpreted
in regard to other senses. Given the alternative inter-
pretations possible for the respondent, the measure was
possibly too abstract in relationship to the specific

factor of amateur arts and crafts activities.

Findings on Quality of Life
When the amateur artist-craftsmen group was com-

pared to other adults on assessed qualities of life,

123

inconsistent differences were found. The amateur artist—
craftsmen were more satisfied with their overall quality
of life than were other adults. In a post hog comparison
of the POQL rating no difference was found on the basis
of the sex of the respondents.

The four hypothesized differences in the rankings,
treated as scores, of the SALI and SALS on the life con-
cerns of beauty and use of spare time were not supported.
The direction of the differences evident from the data did
correspond to the directions stated in the four hypotheses.

An examination of the means and standard deviations
on the SALI and SALS measures between the two subsamples
indicated no obvious clusters of life concerns on which
either group could be characterized. The amateur artist-
craftsman group, however, showed more variation in the
means and standard deviations than the other respondents
and was concluded to be the less homogeneous of the two
groups.

Possible alternate interpretations of the measures
by the respondents, the contrast on the level of abstrac-
tion between the quality of life measures and the measures
of hand-work activities, plus the absence of information
about the spare time activities of the other respondents
in the sample restricted the conclusions which could be

drawn from the study.

 

CHAPTER VII

SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS

In this chapter the study is summarized and impli-

cations for future research are discussed.

Summary
The focus of this exploratory study was the

amateur engaged in a creative art-making process. The
general objective was to extend the empirically based
knowledge about the creator role in the aesthetic mode
beyond that of students and specialists to the general
population of adults. Two more specific objectives were
to describe the activities of amateur artist-craftsmen in
relation to the creative art-making process including
characteristics of raw materials, techniques, skills,
products, and audience, and to compare amateur artist-
craftsmen to other adults on perceived overall life
quality, and the importance of and the satisfaction with
specific life concerns.

The art-making process was defined as the impart-

ing of form and integration to a material or combination

124

 

 

125

of materials which results in a tangible object. Amateur
status was based on the absence of training or education,
and of intent to earn income by the practice of a spe-
cific kind of art-making process. Common hand-work
activities such as knitting, crocheting, wood-working,

and quilting served as examples of the art-making process.
It was assumed that hand-work activities have the capacity
to be creative experiences and therefore can be meaning-
fully examined from that perspective, and that products
of hand-work activities are expressions of the producer's
aesthetic standards or taste. Characteristics about the
practice of hand-work activities were described on the
basis of 17 components abstracted for a generalized art-
making process.

The belief that special benefits acrue to people
involved in the creative art-making process was examined
by comparing respondents who qualified as amateur artist-
craftsmen with those who did not so qualify on one global
quality of life assessment and four other quality of life
assessments specific to the practice of hand-work activi—
ties as a regular pastime.

Data were collected by a team of five field
workers who interviewed respondents in their homes.
Sixty-three heads of households or their spouses resid-
ing in two rural townships of Ontonagon County in the

Upper Peninsula of Michigan constituted the sample.

   

126

Thirty-seven percent were male. About half of the sample
were over 55 years of age, had eight or less years of
schooling, and were employed full or part time. The
median income was $8,000, but over 25% had incomes below
$4,000.

The interview schedule was composed of three
scales and a series of questions about the practice of
hand-work activities. The Perceived Overall Quality of
Life scale, which consisted of one question repeated
twice during the interview, was developed by Andrews and
Withey (1974a) to assess a person's affective response to
his life as a whole. The Self-Anchoring Ladder of Impor—
tance and the Self-Anchoring Ladder of Satisfaction,
which were developed by Bubolz (1975) based on the work
of Cantril and Andrews and Withey, obtained rankings of
the importance and the satisfaction for a list of 21 life
concerns. The life concerns consisted of 13 domains,
i.e. needs, and eight criteria, i.e. values. The 36
open-ended questions which completed the interview
schedule were designed by the investigator to accomplish
three tasks. The tasks were to identify the amateur
artist-craftsmen in the sample, to obtain information
about their hand-work activities, and to find out the non-
practitioners' past experiences and attitudes regarding

hand-work activities.

   

127

The interviews were conducted in the spring of
1975. The investigator completed 11 of the 63 usable
interviews. Four amateur artist-craftsmen identified by
the field workers as intensely involved in their hand-
work activities were reinterviewed by the investigator
for more extensive information about their experiences
plus their technical and aesthetic standards. Those
were reported as four mini-case studies.

Descriptive statistics were calculated for charac—
teristics of hand-work activities. The small sample size,
the diversity of activities practiced, and the wide range
of answers for each characteristic prohibited tests of
relationships among the descriptive data. The analysis
of variance test was used to compare the amateur artist-
craftsman group with the other respondents on the five
assessments of life quality.

.Two conceptual tools evolved during the research
process which will be helpful in future studies. A
typology of artist-craftsmen unrelated to the kind of
activity practiced and based on motivation and satis-
faction emerged from the four mini-case studies.

A taxonomic scheme was developed by arranging
the components abstracted from a generalized art-making
process on two dimensions. Subsections of the process
representing input components, process components, and

output components were placed along one dimension. The

 

 

rH

128

other dimension classified the kinds of information
obtained into objective, subjective, and normative.

The scheme is a tool useful in the selection of compo-
nents and in the formulation of relationships among compo-
nents pertaining to particular topics and research
questions.

The data about the practice of hand-work activi-
ties were summarized by the factors of kind of activity
practiced, sex of respondents, and length of experience
with the activity. Two other factors which emerged
central to the practice of hand-work activities were
the social context of the activities, and the community
or regional resources.

The kind of hand—work practiced was related to
the sex of the respondent. Men engaged in wood—working
and sports-related activities; women concentrated in
textile-related activities. Women had a broader range
of experience with other hand-work activities than men.

The handdwork activities of the women were
embedded in the social activities of daily life whereas
the men more often worked alone, did not teach others,
did not seek others for technical assistance, and did not
give their products away as gifts. The disproportionate
number of men in the amateur artist-craftsman group con-
tributed to their apparent lack of variety in the prac-

tice of hand-work activities.

   

129

Examination of the data on the factors of kind of
activity and length of experience yielded no distinctive
patterns. The range of variation for each factor combined
with the small sample probably contributed to the incon-
clusive results. Nevertheless those two factors are the
logical ones to pursue in future research.

Findings related to the learning, the continuity
of practice, technical resource peOple, and the disposal
of objects produced indicated that the practice of hand-
work activities was involved in family and friendship
networks. These findings suggest a process of sociali-
zation for leisure activities within the family.

Data about the use of raw materials, tools and
equipment, and sources of ideas did not reveal any
patterns except those already identified as related to
sex. Similar research carried out in an urban or subur-
ban setting where more resources and alternatives are
available may yield contrasting results on these variables.

Five directional hypotheses identified differences
between the two subsamples on the perceived overall
quality of life, the importance of beauty and use of
spare time, and the satisfaction with beauty and use of
spare time. An analysis of variance test of the differ-
ences between the two subsamples indicated that amateur
artist-craftsmen assessed their perceived overall quality

of life higher than the other respondents in the two

130

townships. The two groups did not differ on assessed
importance of beauty, assessed importance of use of spare
time, assessed satisfaction with beauty, and assessed
satisfaction with use of spare time.

Possible alternate interpretations of the measures
by the respondents, the contrast in the levels of abstrac-
tion between the quality of life measures and the measures
of hand-work activities, plus the absence of information
about the spare time activities of the other respondents
restricted the conclusions which could be drawn for those
measures.

An examination of the means and standard devia-
tions on the SALI and SALS measures over the list of 21
life concerns between the two subsamples indicated no
obvious cluster of life concerns on which either group
could be characterized. The amateur artist-craftsmen
showed more variation in the means and standard deviations
than the other respondents and were concluded to be the
less homogeneous of the two groups.

Implications for the Study of Amateur
Art and Craft Activities

 

 

The introduction to this study began by calling
attention to perceptual biases about who can and should
be creative in an active and aesthetically oriented
manner, and then went on to discuss the need for aesthe—

tic education for the good of individuals and society.

 

 

131

These are the same points on which the study must con-
clude. The conceptual distance between aesthetic edu-
cation for creative activity and appreciation in the

arts and the common hand-work activities of a group of
older people residing in an isolated rural county is

large with very little empirical information and primarily
intuitive understanding to bridge the gap.

If individual and community aesthetic choices are
to be meaningful, and their ramifications understood by
more than a minority of the population who have been
exposed to aesthetic education in their adult years, it
will be necessary to go beyond traditional ideas. That
means the concept of creativity must be extended beyond
that of the objectively creative, and beyond the creativitya‘
of experts and professionals to encompass creatively
meaningful events in the lives of all adults. The broad-
ening of the concept and standards of aesthetics will be
even more difficult but it is just as necessary.

Too often in the past most of the people, particu-
larly those who did not participate in the cultural
explosion of 19503, have been told they were ignorant
in aesthetic matters and that their judgments lacked
taste. This has been a dysfunctional approach to aes-
thetic education which was dispiriting to the so-called
ignorant who might be interested and ego inflating to

those who believed they were among the few who understood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

132

Ideas have been changing. Gans (1974) has
written about cultural pluralism and introduced the
concepts of taste publics and taste cultures. The
research of Jones (1970) has documented one example of
a folk art within an example of a taste public, i.e.
Southern Appalachia. This study is another exploratory
investigation of the creative and aesthetic activities
of the untutored.

In the design of formal or informal programs of
aesthetic education a pedagogically sound strategy would
be to begin instruction at the point where understanding
ends. The problem has been that most educators do not
know where that point is for large segments of the popu-
lation. The messages have been poorly designed for the
receiving templates. Research of the kind reported in
this study can begin to provide the information needed
to redesign aesthetic education programs. In addition
information about the diversity of our society is obtained
which is itself desirable to enhance individual and social

understanding.

APPENDICES

 

 

 

 

 

APPENDIX A

INSTRUMENTS

   
 

APPENDIX A

INSTRUMENTS

 

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APPENDIX B

SUMMARY OF THE PRACTICE OF HAND-WORK ACTIVITIES
BY THE FACTORS OF SEX, LENGTH OF EXPERIENCE

AND KIND OF ACTIVITY

 

 

APPENDIX B
SUMMARY OF THE PRACTICE OF HAND-WORK ACTIVITIES
BY THE FACTORS OF SEX, LENGTH OF EXPERIENCE
AND KIND OF ACTIVITY
Table B-1

Affirmative Responses to Questions About the Art—Making
Process by Sex of Respondent

 

Yes Responses

 

 

Questionsa
Males Females Totals
N=7 N=26 N=33
1. Do you always work alone? 7 19 26
2. Is this a seasonal activity? 2 21 23

3. Are special tools or equipment
needed to do this? 6 17 23

4. Are the materials difficult to
get? 2 7 9

5. Do you prefer to work with
certain materials? 5 19 24

6. Do you ever encounter technical
problems you cannot solve? 2 13 15

7. Do you ever make things in a
new way? 7 14 21

8. Have any of the items ever
been sold? 2 9 11

9. Do you give away as gifts the
items you have made? 6 23 29

10. Has anyone ever asked you to
teach them? 2 21 23

11. Do you belong to a club for
doing this activity? 0 6 6

 

aFor complete statement of questions see the
instrument in Appendix A.

141

 

 

142

 

 

Table B-2
Characteristics of the Art-Making Process by Sex of
Respondent
. . Males Females Totals
Characteristics N=7 N=26 N=33
Way in Which Hand-Work Activity Was
Learned
Self-taught 3 2 5
Assisted by written instruc-
tions 2 3 5
Informally taught by friend
or relative l 16 17
Semi-formal instruction 1 5 6
Kinds of Sources for Materials
Local retailers or nearby
towns 0 19 19
Friends, relatives,
neighbors 0 3 3
From nature, their own land 5 0 5
Salvaged or scavenged
materials 1 l 2
Other 0 3 3
Sources of Help for Technical
Problems
Friends, relatives,
neighbors l 9 10
Written instructions 2 2 4
Club O 2 2
Solved problems alone 1 4 5
Sources of Ideas for Things to
Make
Friends, relatives,
neighbors 0 6 6
Magazines, catalogs, and
books 4 ll 15
Respondent's imagination I 6 7
Other 2 2 4

143

Table B-2 (Continued)

 

Males Females Totals

Characteristics N=7 N=26 N=33

 

Amount of Money Invested in Tools

Nothing 0 l 1
Less than $100 2 13 15
$100 to $1500 4 1 5

Number of Hours Per Month Doing
Hand-Work Activities

12 or less 5 7 12
About 25 (3-4/day) 0 10 10
50 to several 100 l 3 4
Too uneven to generalize l l 2
Number of Items Made in a Year
6 or less 2 12 14
7 to 12 l 6 7
13 to 24 3 2 5
Over 3 dozen 0 5 5
Could not generalize 1 1 2
Number of Different Kinds of Items
Made by the Same Activity
1 2 6 8
2 l 7 8
3 l 2 3
4 0 4 4
5 or more 3 6 9
Number of Different Kinds of Hand-
Work Activities Experienced
1 2 7 9
2 to 4 5 6 11
5 or more 0 l3 13
Number of Years Experience Doing
This Activity
Young adulthood or before 2 9 11
Between 15 and 40 years 4 8 12
Within the last 5 years 1 9 10

 

 

 

144

Table B-3

Affirmative Responses to Questions About the Art-Making
Process by Length of Experience

 

Yes R53ponses

 

 

0 c:m 0
o 034 5
0 0:6 0
.5 1,0 A
‘H >4
Questionsa '3 0 E: :N g a
030 0 0
4:0 c1H 0
H4 a)O ::N 5
ma) 0&4 -H H
::m 3 5:0 0
3 .005 4J>» 0
0:4 a>§ 005 o
><3 m 3th E4
N = 11 12 10 33
1. Do you always work alone? 8 10 8 26
2. Is this a seasonal activity? 7 10 6 23
3. Are special tools or equipment
needed to do this? 8 9 6 23
4. Are the materials difficult to
get? 4 2 3 9
5. Do you prefer to work with
certain materials? 9 10 5 24
6. Do you ever encounter technical
problems you cannot solve? 4 6 5 15
7. Do you ever make things in a new
way? 7 8 6 21
8. Have any of the items ever been
sold? 3 6 2 ll
9. Do you give away as gifts the
items you have made? 11 10 8 29
10. Has anyone ever asked you to
teach them? 9 7 7 23
11. Do you belong to a club for
doing this activity? 3 l 2 6

 

aFor complete statement of questions see the
instrument in Appendix A.

 

 

145

Table B-4

Characteristics of the Art-Making Process by
Length of Experience

 

 

'0 sun 0
o 034 5
0 0:0 0
..C: JJCD n—l
4J "14>!
.4 -H 0cn
:30 n4>2 I?“
030 0 0
Characteristics ‘3 .3 5 ’5 c: g m
22 “2 2.. 2
3 50 42> .2
0:4 0:: -Hv4 0
>40 00 3k: E!
N = 11 12 10 33
Way in Which Hand-Work Activity
Was Learned
Self-taught l 3 l 5
Assisted by written instructions 1 4 0 5
Informally taught by friend or
relative 7 5 5 17
Semi-formal instruction 2 0 4 6
Kinds of Sources for Materials
Local retailers or nearby towns 7 6 6 19
Friends, relatives, neighbors 1 l l 3
From nature, their own land 1 l l 3
Salvaged or scavenged materials 0 2 0 2
Other 1 0 2 3
Sources of Help for Technical
Problems
Friends, relatives, neighbors 3 4 3 10
Written instructions 2 l l 4
Club 1 l 0 2
Solved problems alone 1 3 l 5
Sources of Ideas for Things To Make
Friends, relatives, neighbors 3 2 l 6
Magazines, catalogs, books 5 5 5 15
Respondent's imagination 2 3 2 7
Other 1 2 1 4

146

Table B-4 (Continued)

 

Characteristics

g Adulthood

or Before

Nand Forty Years
Five Years

raWithin the Last

raBetween Fifteen
O

l-' Youn
H
cpTotals

 

Amount of Money Invested in
Tools

Nothing
Less than $100
$100 to $1500

Number of Hours Per Month Doing
Hand-Work Activities

12 or less

About 25 (3-4/day)

50 to several 100

Too uneven to generalize

Number of Items Made in a Year

6 or less

7 to 12

13 to 24

Over 3 dozen

Could not generalize

Number of Different Kinds of Items
Made by the Same Activity

1

2
3
4
5 or more

Number of Different Kinds of Hand-
Work Activities Experienced

l
2 to 4
5 or more

HmH

orauw:
prm
HHHw

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Famcnc>0
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h3mLN\Jb

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prkoNL»
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147

Table B-5

Affirmative Responses to Questions About the Art-Making
Process by Kind of Hand-Work Activity

 

Yes Responses

 

 

'0
0 0
0 0
a i”. 3 3 #3
Questions 5 0 0 m ~10
H 3 GL5 g<0 090
m 0 L: 5 L40 l-H abd
H 44 0 $4 504 044 I-U
0 0 3 0 +LQ r401 m~4 m
u .0 -l .0 010 wi> +J> H
0 o 0 s: E:3 .004 H44 0
'3 8 8 '0' 3‘3 333 8.3 3
M t) :3 a. ham 54¢ and a
N = 8 6 5 3 2 6 3 33
1. Do you always work alone? 6 3 4 2 2 6 3 26
2. Is this a seasonal
activity? 8 5 0 2 l 5 2 23

3. Are special tools or equip-
ment needed to do this? 6 5 4 2 0 4 2 23

4. Are the materials diffi-
cult to get? 1 3 0 l l l 2 9

5. Do you prefer to work with
certain materials? 7 6 4 l 2 3 l 24

6. Do you ever encounter tech-
nical problems you can-

not solve? 5 4 3 l l l 0 15
7. Do you ever make things in

a new way? 3 6 4 2 0 3 3 21
8. Have any of the items ever

been sold? 2 3 2 0 l 3 0 ll
9. Do you give away as gifts

the items you have made? 7 6 4 3 1 6 2 29

10. Has anyone ever asked you
to teach them? 7 6 0 3 l 4 2 23

11. Do you belong to a club
for doing this activity? 0 4 0 1 0 l 0 6

 

aFor complete statement of questions see the instrument in
Appendix A.

 

148

Table B-6

Characteristics of the Art-Making Process by Kind of
Hand-Work Activity

 

 

'0
0 0
0 0
5 5 0 0
0 H 54 0
5 0 0 a)5 F45
H .3 0;: 5‘0 a)0
-- 233223222222
Characteristics 0 0 3 0 +hp FLA :00: 5
0 .0 I 0 win 04> 41> .4
0 o '0 a &:3 pua L05 0
-a o o -H 44 x+J 04J +1
c H 0 ru :33 a)o CLO o
3: U 3: m 5 Est m‘C E4
N = 8 6 5 3 2 6 3 33
Way in Which Hand-Work Activity
Was Learned
Self-taught 0 0 1 O 0 2 2
Assisted by written
instructions 2 0 2 O l 0 0
Informally taught by friend
or relative 5 6 2 0 0 4 0
Semi-formal instruction 1 0 0 3 l 0 1
Kinds of Sources for Materials
Local retailers 0r nearby
towns 8 5 l l l 3 0
Friends, relatives, neigh-
bors 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
From nature, their own
land 0 0 4 0 0 0 l
Salvaged or scavenged
materials 0 0 0 0 l 0 l 2
Other 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 3
Sources of Help for Technical
Problems
Friends, relatives, neigh-
bors 4 l 2 0 l 2 0 0
Written instructions 1 0 l l 0 O l 4
Club 0 2 O 0 0 0 0 2
Solved problems alone 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 5

 

 

149

Table B-6 (Continued)

 

 

'0
0 0
0 0
5 co 0 0
n H .4 0
5 0 0 0’5» 515
5 8 ii 5 32“,. ”5.3 339.3
Characteristics H .0 o 0 304 a)» g':
(D 0 3 0 +Ln r454 544 5
0 : I +1 04H 04> +fi> H
0 c) '0 c 3:: 4JW§ 044 0
'2 8 8 '3 9‘3: $8 8.3 ‘8
M U 3 a. tram EH4: (an: E4
N = 8 6 5 3 2 6 3 33
Sources of Ideas for Things
to Make
Friends, relatives, neigh-
bors 0 3 0 1 1 l 0 6
Magazines, catalogs, and
books 6 l 3 2 0 1 2 15
Respondent's imagination l 1 l 0 0 4 0 7
Other 1 1 l 0 0 0 l 4
Amount of Money Invested in
Tools
Nothing 0 0 0 0 0 l 0 1
Less than $100 4 5 l 1 0 2 2 15
$100 to $1500 0 0 4 1 0 0 0 5
Number of Hours Per Month
Doing Hand-Work Activities
12 or less 3 2 2 0 0 2 3 12
About 25 (3-4/day) 3 3 0 l l 2 0 10
50 to several 100 2 0 l l O l 0 4
Too uneven to generalize O 0 l O 1 0 0 2
Number of Items Made in a Year
6 or less 2 4 2 l 2 2 1 l4
7 to 12 2 1 l l 0 2 0 7
13 to 24 2 O 2 0 O 0 l 5
Over 3 dozen 2 l 0 1 0 1 0 5
Could not generalize 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2

 

 

150

Table B-6 (Continued)

 

 

'0
0 'O
0 0
5 (D 0 u
0 H PI 0
5 0 0 0:5 5+5
0 .2 (DI: m 0 aI0
- - 2 II 2 2 2.2 2'2 2'2
Characteristics 0 0 3 0 “'0 HH 5H 5
4J : I 4J 04H 04> +I> H
IJ L) '0 a 0:3 +ha LDH 0
'“88'3‘3‘333‘638’8
Q L) 3 5 5:5 5:0 5:0 8
N = 8 6 5 3 2 6 3 33
Number of Different Kinds of
Items Made by the Same
Activity
1 0 l 1 0 0 4 2 8
2 2 0 l 2 l 2 0 8
3 l l 1 0 0 0 0 3
4 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 4
5 or more 3 2 2 0 1 0 l 9
Number of Different Kinds of
Hand-Work Activities
Experienced
1 3 l 2 1 1 l
2 to 4 O 2 3 0 3 2
5 or more 5 3 0 1 2 0
Number of Years Experience
Doing This Activity
Young adulthood or before 3 3 l 0 0 1
Between 15 and 40 years 5 1 2 O l 2
Within the last 5 years 0 2 2 3 1 0

 

 

 

 
 

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