Crafting New Traditions: Canadian Innovators and Influences.

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

This essay collection targets a narrow audience of educators and social historians interested in the foundations of today’s fine crafts. Eleven writers—usually art historians and/or curators—explore the recent history in five fields: ceramic, glass, wood, textile, and metal crafts. Their efforts are supported with 30 illustrations, the majority of which are colour photos of individual craft objects.

The essayists approach early Canadian craft development (approximately 1940–80) through a focus on notable practitioners. From that common point, the essays differ considerably. For some, the emphasis is on the craftworker’s lifestyle—a sociological perspective. For others, career has centre stage, with details on education, related employment activity such as teaching, and major commissions and awards. The history of various Canadian craft guilds and associations receives mention. There’s an attempt, in some essays, to put studio crafts in a socio-cultural context, with recognition that the craftworker’s life encompassed concerns for education, finance, exhibits, and other forms of recognition. International, Aboriginal, and technological influences are recognized.

With 11 contributors, it is not surprising that the style and tone varies from essay to essay, ranging from smoothly readable to aggressively academic. As appropriate in a work intended for the academic market, research sources are meticulously documented.

The work cries out for more illustrations of craftworks and for an index of the artisans.