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On Value and Quality and Joy
Oct. 19th, 2007 07:02 amI have a coworker who has some lovely hand-knit sweaters (including one that makes me geek out ridiculously because it uses this big intricate stitch that I've only seen in one book). I asked her if she knits - no, or if she had a friend or family member who knits - no. She just apparently shops at a place that sell hand-knit sweaters.
I wonder if the people who made those sweaters got as much joy out of their creation as I do when making something for someone I care about. Certainly they don't have the option of fitting the creation to the person who will be receiving it, deciding whether it should be playful or elegant or soft or bold. One of the first pieces of beaded jewelry I made was a bracelet for my mother based on something she'd said about elephants and luck. It, uh, actually turned out she was looking for something to give as a gift to someone else, but she still loved the bracelet. The stones and the design I chose matched her and her wardrobe. If I might crow a teensy bit, she didn't realize for months that I'd actually made the bracelet, but after she found that out she loved it more, not less. Even if the quality had been lesser I know she would have appreciated that I'd made something for her.
I have no desire to create jewelry or knitting (or photography or any of the zillion other creative hobbies I have) to sell, and most of the people I know who engage in similar activities feel the same way. This is what some people do: they create for the love of it, and they share their creations out of love. Why a person chooses to create and how they choose to share that creation are not reasonable metrics for determining the quality of those creations, and just because a person could sell their work doesn't mean they'd want to.
People in fandom create too. They create icons and fic and pictures and vids and song mixes. They create those things out of the joy they feel for their fandom, and they share them in the spirit of that joy. These creations are often put out there in such a way that anyone who wants to can enjoy them; this is the changing nature of community in our world today. That doesn't mean that everyone who might have access to them is expected to enjoy them or even experience them. It also doesn't mean that those creators deserve to be automatically denigrated because they aren't doing it for money. Joy and wonder are fragile things that deserve a little protection.
I love what you do, fandom. I love that you do it out of joy. I might not like each and every individual creation but I love that you create.
I wonder if the people who made those sweaters got as much joy out of their creation as I do when making something for someone I care about. Certainly they don't have the option of fitting the creation to the person who will be receiving it, deciding whether it should be playful or elegant or soft or bold. One of the first pieces of beaded jewelry I made was a bracelet for my mother based on something she'd said about elephants and luck. It, uh, actually turned out she was looking for something to give as a gift to someone else, but she still loved the bracelet. The stones and the design I chose matched her and her wardrobe. If I might crow a teensy bit, she didn't realize for months that I'd actually made the bracelet, but after she found that out she loved it more, not less. Even if the quality had been lesser I know she would have appreciated that I'd made something for her.
I have no desire to create jewelry or knitting (or photography or any of the zillion other creative hobbies I have) to sell, and most of the people I know who engage in similar activities feel the same way. This is what some people do: they create for the love of it, and they share their creations out of love. Why a person chooses to create and how they choose to share that creation are not reasonable metrics for determining the quality of those creations, and just because a person could sell their work doesn't mean they'd want to.
People in fandom create too. They create icons and fic and pictures and vids and song mixes. They create those things out of the joy they feel for their fandom, and they share them in the spirit of that joy. These creations are often put out there in such a way that anyone who wants to can enjoy them; this is the changing nature of community in our world today. That doesn't mean that everyone who might have access to them is expected to enjoy them or even experience them. It also doesn't mean that those creators deserve to be automatically denigrated because they aren't doing it for money. Joy and wonder are fragile things that deserve a little protection.
I love what you do, fandom. I love that you do it out of joy. I might not like each and every individual creation but I love that you create.
