Boot Art

As a boot-maker, i don't consider myself an artist in the traditional sense. I mean, i'm not tormented by the creative demons and i like to shower.

People look at boot tops decorated with butterflies, birds, logos, cowboys, and Indians and it's labeled art along with the craft of making the boot. I like being called artistic; really, i should just leave this thing alone.

But,it's Sunday, i've done all my chores; i'm just waiting for 60 Minutes to come on, so, let me just say this about that: to me, talking about art is a bit like talking about religion. I think that because it seems to me that one could replace the word "God" with the word ''art" in a lot conversations about religion. It seems like people have made as many decisions about what is art as they have about what is God. I've visited people's homes who have shown me what they believe is art, and no matter how much i would, in my mind, be perplexed and disagree, i would say: congratulations, i am happy that you have found art for your home (at a reasonable price, i hope). Who am i to say it's not?

So, is the decoration that we boot-makers put on boots art or just decoupage? I think some of it is definitely art, some of it is decoupage.
Probably, what makes a good boot-maker is a high degree of skill rather than artistic ability. The skilled craftsman with artisic ability would make the best boot-maker. Artistic ability in any proffesion is a plus.

But, what is art? Why do some people see a work of art, and others see an object pretending to be art. If you ask me, the most genuine works of art in the world are like the cave drawings in France; those pure forms of expression.

Who decides what is art and what it's worth? Why should i believe the art dealer who tells me that what i'm looking at is an important work of art, and should pay a lot of money for it? I'm sure someone has a clever answer to that which will satisfy most people; unless one thinks about it too long, then it might stops making sense.

I think, now, people have put a qualifier on the "art" put on cowboy boots: it's called wearable art. Like tatoos--classic wearable art-- and like boot art, tats, with age, become wrinkled, cracked, and faded. Boots are easier to get off, though.

And just like most discussions about religion i've ever had, i've created more questions about the subject than i've had resolved.