An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by

hand A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on each "h ...

. These objects may be

functional Functional may refer to: * Movements in architecture: ** Functionalism (architecture) ** Form follows function * Functional group, combination of atoms within molecules * Medical conditions without currently visible organic basis: ** Functional sy ...

or strictly decorative, for example

furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...

decorative art ] The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose object is the design and manufacture of objects that are both beautiful and functional. It includes most of the arts making objects for the interiors of buildings, and interior design, but not usual ...

, sculpture, clothing, food items, household items and

tools A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...

and mechanisms such as the handmade clockwork

movement Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

of a watchmaker. Artisans practice a craft and may through experience and aptitude reach the expressive levels of an

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

History

The adjective "artisanal" is often used in describing hand-processing in contrast to an industrial process, such as in the phrase '' artisanal mining''. Thus, "artisanal" is sometimes used in marketing and advertising as a buzz word to describe or imply some relation with the crafting of handmade food products, such as

bread Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...

, beverages or

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

. Many of these have traditionally been handmade, rural or

pastoral A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...

goods but are also now commonly made on a larger scale with automated mechanization in factories and other industrial areas. Artisans were the dominant producers of

commodities In economics, a commodity is an economic good, usually a resource, that has full or substantial fungibility: that is, the market treats instances of the good as equivalent or nearly so with no regard to who produced them. The price of a comm ...

before the Industrial Revolution. In ancient Greece, artisans were drawn to

agora The agora (; grc, ἀγορά, romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Greek city-states. It is the best representation of a city-state's response to accommodate the social and political order of t ...

s and often built workshops nearby.

Medieval artisans

During the Middle Ages, the term "artisan" was applied to those who made things or provided services. It did not apply to unskilled manual labourers. Artisans were divided into two distinct groups: those who operated their own businesses and those who did not. The former were called masters, while the latter were the journeymen and apprentices. One misunderstanding many people have about this social group is that they picture them as "workers" in the modern sense: employed by someone. The most influential group among the artisans were the masters, the business owners. The owners enjoyed a higher social status in their communities,History of Western Civilization, Boise State University and often organised into guilds.

Shokunin

Shokunin is a Japanese word for "artisan" or "craftsman", which also implies a pride in one's own work. In the words of shokunin Tashio Odate:

Shokunin means not only having technical skill, but also implies an attitude and social consciousness... a social obligation to work his best for the general welfare of the people, nobligation both material and spiritual.

Traditionally, shokunin honoured their tools of trade at New Year's – the sharpened and taken-care of tools would be placed in a tokonoma (a container or box still found in Japanese houses and shops), and two rice cakes and a tangerine (on top of rice paper) were placed on top of each toolbox, to honour the tools and express gratitude for performing their task.

Gallery

File:Mendel I 010 r.jpg, Armorer, 1425 File:Mendel II 072 r.jpg, Blacksmith, 1606 File:Mendel II 017 r.jpg,

Bladesmith Bladesmithing is the art of making knives, swords, daggers and other blades using a forge, hammer, anvil, and other smithing tools. Bladesmiths employ a variety of metalworking techniques similar to those used by blacksmiths, as well as woodworkin ...

, 1564 File:Mendel II 086 r.jpg,

Cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * Cooper (video game character), in ...

, 1608 File:Mendel I 053 v.jpg,

Dye A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution an ...

r, 1433 File:Mendel I 164 r.jpg, Furrier, 1543 File:Glass furnace with workers Agricola 1580.jpg, Glassblowing, 1500s File:Landauer I 082 r.jpg,

Gunsmith A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds guns. The occupation differs from an armorer, who usually replaces only worn parts in standard firearms. Gunsmiths do modifications and changes to a firearm that may require a very h ...

, 1613 File:Landauer I 022 r.jpg,

Hatter Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of g ...

, 1533 File:Mendel I 021 r.jpg, Joiner, 1425 File:Mendel II 065 v.jpg, Locksmith, 1600 File:Mendel I 144 v.jpg, Nailsmith, 1529 File:Mendel II 071 r.jpg,

Potter A potter is someone who makes pottery. Potter may also refer to: Places United States *Potter, originally a section on the Alaska Railroad, currently a neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska, US * Potter, Arkansas *Potter, Nebraska * Potters, New Je ...

, 1605 File:Landauer I 088 v.jpg, Ropemaker, 1616 File:Mendel I 089 r.jpg, Saddler, 1470 File:Mendel I 154 r.jpg, Shoemaker, 1535 File:Landauer I 038 v.jpg,

Stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, mo ...

, 1550 File:Mendel I 018 r.jpg, Tailor, 1425 File:Mendel I 092 r.jpg,

Tanner Tanner may refer to: * Tanner (occupation), the tanning of leather and hides People * Tanner (given name), * Tanner (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *The Tanner Sisters, also referred to as "The Harbingers of Weir ...

, 1473 File:Landauer I 014 v.jpg,

Weaver Weaver or Weavers may refer to: Activities * A person who engages in weaving fabric Animals * Various birds of the family Ploceidae * Crevice weaver spider family * Orb-weaver spider family * Weever (or weever-fish) Arts and entertainment ...

, 1524 File:Landauer I 034 r.jpg, Wheelwright, 1545

References

External links