Arts and Crafts Movement

The arts and crafts movement was renowned for its simplicity of form and plain linear shapes; there are two phases of this movement. There is Morris’s phase where the art made is inspired by plants and nature and then there is Mackmurdo’s phase where the art is more geometric and abstract, still the work done by both phases are always handcrafted. The arts and crafts movement also brought back the cottage industry, which is an industry where there is the creation of home- based products which are then sold to people.  There were at a slight disadvantage mainly because the products which were being done where hand-made meaning that they had to take longer than the factory-based companies which also meant that they were more expensive and being sold to the very wealthy. All this was being done because of the rejection of industrialization but was an important influence for the Modernists.  Also guilds for different crafts where being formed like Medieval times, these attempted to guarantee the standards among crafts. The first guild formed was under the influence of William Morris by Mackmurdo this guild was founded in 1882 in which they used the craft of printing .

Jane Morris

The Kelmscott Press

The guild influenced Morris to form the Kelmscott press which was named after a village. The Kelmscott Press produced hand printed books with handmade illustrations made by the Pre-Raphaelite artist named Edward Burne-Jones. The books done where high quality books which were also printed on handmade paper. Morris designed and made the typefaces, borders and title pages which where all handmade and based on medieval style. The kelmscott Press had financial problems as the hand crafted books where to expensive and only the rich could buy them.

          Kelmscott Press Logo

               

 The Nature of Gothic', Kelmscott Press 1892

(Title Page from 'The Stones of Venice' by John Ruskin)

This is a page from a book called The Nature of Gothic written by John Ruskin, Morris was greatly inspired by Ruskin and made the preface of the book.

Bibliography 

The Arts & Crafts Movement - Victoria and Albert Museum. 2013. The Arts & Crafts Movement - Victoria and Albert Museum. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/the-arts-and-crafts-movement/. [Accessed 19 May 2013].

Arts and Crafts movement - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2013. Arts and Crafts movement - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arts_and_Crafts_movement. [Accessed 19 May 2013].

The Arts and Crafts Movement. 2013. The Arts and Crafts Movement. [ONLINE] Available at: http://char.txa.cornell.edu/art/decart/artcraft/artcraft.htm. [Accessed 19 May 2013].