Digital Crafting and Crafting the Digital

ABSTRACT This paper presents part of a recently completed doctoral research project investigating the impact of digital imaging technology on printed textile practice. It describes how digital technology is able to support the creative process at the generative stage of idea development through to the production and embellishment of the printed artefact. It focuses on the ways in which digital tools are being used to support creative craft practice and proposes areas for future research. Previous studies investigating the use of digital technology indicate that digital inkjet printing frees textile practitioners from the technical constraints of the printing process and facilitates new strategies in design production and craft making. Recent studies in the field of HCI (Human Computer Interaction) have demonstrated the importance of understanding the creative process in order to develop more effective digital tools. Research described in this paper investigates the ways in which digital technology is able to support creative thinking within printed textile practice. It illuminates the role of hand making in the digital crafting process and reveals the importance of human memory and physical experience in the development of creative cognition. A strand of the project focusing on a textile craft practitioner is described. The selection of qualitative research methods, including case study and practical investigations, is explained, as is the concept of ‘disciplined noticing’ as a research methodology. Digitally printed artworks, created as a result of the practical investigations, are presented and their purpose within the research explained. Findings from the research as a whole indicate that digital tools are able to support creative practice through the stimulation, communication and manipulation of visual concepts; digital communications technology also facilitates creative collaboration between practitioners. The findings reveal that making by hand informs creative thought and enables emotional content to be perceived in the resulting artwork. This is evidenced in hybrid practice in which digital techniques are combined with textile craft skills. Further research is required to elucidate the role that making by hand plays in creative cognition and the ways in which digital tools might be enhanced in the future to support this.

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