Scraps the Cat

I was never much of a 3-D artist until I made Scraps. She (99.9% of calico cats are female) was the result of an unfortunate class change in high school, which led to me having to make three projects within a week. I had been dabbling in sewing during my time in the quarantine of 2020-2021, and had finally become proficient enough to understand patterns and work a sewing machine good enough to keep things together. 

Why a Calico cat? And why was she made of scraps? My oldest stuffed animal is a calico cat, and my love for it went so far that I sought out a calico cat to adopt too, so it only makes sense that I would want to create my own. As for why she is made of scraps, that's all I had on such short notice. Why not make her more polished? Because it was way more fun not to worry about it, and because a polished stuffed animal could never have the charm that Scraps possesses. Her unpolished nature is charming, sweet, and so adorable that I wanted to make ten of her. She was the beginning of my series of deeply elaborate, yet purposefully poorly crafted, hand-sewn soft sculptures, that were supposed to look like a kid made them. 

Scraps was also my first understanding of the intersection between "craft" and "fine art", and the different attitudes that will be directed towards your work if you decide to abandon the high brow in favor of kitsch. Another girl in my class was also making soft sculptures, and hers were incredible. They were detailed, intricate and very "polished". While we appreciated what the other was creating, my teacher had a different opinion. She considered the work I was making to be "unpolished". Perhaps she had a point, but perhaps her observation represents a deeper undercurrent. 

What is the real difference between "polished" and "unpolished"? Is it quality or intention? Is Scraps just the middle-ground between "real" soft sculpture and mass-produced stuffed animals? Or is she worthy enough to be recognized as a piece of art? My classmate thought so, but the higher institution that had the final decision did not believe the same. Is the sentimentality found in kitsch something to be disregarded, or does it connect our art to the masses instead of gatekeeping it behind an intellectual "polish"? That is the question that Scraps inspired within me, and the one she poses to the world.