I'm looking for a term to describe a person who is skilled in handicraft. Specifically, I have a friend who leaves me amazed with every drawing, painting, fimo figure, friendship bracelet, sculpture, model of the Millennium Falcon in a bottle or anything else conjured by her own fingers, and I'm looking for a term to describe this aspect of her.
I don't really like "craftswoman". The closest I got is "artisan", but I'm looking for more options to see if there's something that fits better.
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9Oh no, here we go again. A gender-neutral term for craftsperson! :)– Mari-Lou ACommented Dec 4, 2014 at 18:30
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1'Handicraft' is biased against those who use their feet!– OldcatCommented Dec 4, 2014 at 21:49
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5It should be 'Limbsicraftperdaughter'– OldcatCommented Dec 4, 2014 at 21:50
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It's not quite a good enough fit for an answer to the whole question, but artist springs to mind -- though this may suggest a certain mindset as well.– Chris HCommented Dec 5, 2014 at 9:49
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1Those concerned with gender specific terms should first use hertory instead history and then get themselves checked :-)– TomasCommented Dec 5, 2014 at 14:27
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5 Answers
Handicraftsman (as specific as it gets)
A worker skilled in making objects by hand [OD]
Note: If one is too concerned with gender specific terms, there is handicraftswoman also. But handicraftsman is used for both genders.
There is also handicrafter if you do not want to mention man or woman.
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What, handicrafter exists? Really? So why is there no handicraftsperson then as well? ;) Commented Dec 5, 2014 at 0:35
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1@syntaxerror: Handicraftsman is used for both genders. Handicraftsperson is not a well-recognized word and it is very uncommon.– ermanenCommented Dec 5, 2014 at 15:13
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1@ShayHacohen: Artisan is used for someone who has a "worker" skill too. These words are associated with professions because these people craft things and usually sell them. Throughout the history, this sense was stronger but nowadays people do it for fun too. If you want to completely move away from "worker" skill then it is better to use phrases. For example: "He is good with his hands." or "She has skilled hands." etc.– ermanenCommented Dec 5, 2014 at 19:20
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1@ShayHacohen: You can have an idea about how common associated words are in Google Ngram: books.google.com/ngrams/…– ermanenCommented Dec 5, 2014 at 19:31
A crafter-n.- a creator of great skill in the manual arts
A traditionalist -n.-describes a person who believes old school ways are best. e.g.favors writing letters over sending emails.
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4crafter is a surprisingly controversial word. It often has the connotation of bored women with gluesticks.– dnagirlCommented Dec 4, 2014 at 18:30
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2I know lots of crafters, @dnagirl, and none of them are bored women with gluesticks. (Ok, maybe a couple might qualify, but better to use gluesticks than popsicle sticks, I say!) Still, I'd have no problems calling someone who creates fabric art like quilts, a crafter and don't think they'd object to the title. :-) Commented Dec 4, 2014 at 20:06
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@KristinaLopez: Some don't. Some do. As I said, it's a controversial term. The issue boils down to the difference between art and craft and it's the reason that many makers choose to call themselves artisans and will object strenuously to being called crafter.– dnagirlCommented Dec 5, 2014 at 13:55
Artisan (by definition skilled)
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The OP himself/herself used the word artisan and said he was looking for more options. Commented Dec 5, 2014 at 14:20
Handicraft is also known as artisanry. As such, your friend could either be an artisan or, more simply, a handicrafter (as used in Wikipedia).
handicrafter (Merriam Webster)
a person whose occupation requires skill with the hands
or
artisan (Merriam Webster)
a person who is skilled at making things by hand
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5The down-voter was not I, but perhaps it was because the OP himself/herself used the word artisan and said he was looking for more options. Additionally you used ermanen's handicrafter, and Mysti's crafter. Perhaps you will consider my comment in lieu of your downvoter's. Commented Dec 4, 2014 at 20:44
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I was the first with handicrafter, with definition and usage link. I didn't "use ermanen's handicrafter", rather he pulled from my answer (check the edit history). Also, I'm providing a canonical answer with all the options that I see valid. Still, thank you for explaining the anonymous downvote– RichardCommented Dec 5, 2014 at 14:43
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1I don't know if you know this, but we can see the times on all postings, including comments and edits. @Ermanen's edit was done at 18:44:24Z while your first answer was at 19:18:10Z - more than 30 minutes later. If you're going to make accusations, make sure you can back them up. Finally, no one would have called you out if you hadn't complained about the downvote. Commented Dec 5, 2014 at 15:20
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Yes, I do realize that. I didn't notice that his answer originally included handicrafter when I posted mine, though. My mistake for being human I guess. Feel free to down vote into oblivion. I stand by this as well the most accurate answer, though, as I don't believe in the word handicraftsman. But hey, we all have opinions and we can all rant, can't we?– RichardCommented Dec 7, 2014 at 12:57
How about just plain ole' TALENTED.
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You can be talented in many many different fields. A more accurate word might have been skilled, but that's already in the title. Your suggestion would have been appropriate as a comment, it does not really answer the OP's question, as a result this post risks deletion. You can edit and expand on your answer, if you disagree that your suggestion is too generic. Commented Dec 5, 2014 at 9:02