Art Vs. Fashion Jewelry

Art Vs. Fashion? What makes a piece "ART" and what makes it "Fashion"? I have struggled with this topic most of my adult career and before. It started in High School when I created my first line of jewelry for a school art show. I did it for art class credits but the topic of using found materials and use of the latest trends in my pieces led to questions of is jewelry "Art". This continued especially through out college were the Jewelers were not considered  fine artists as the painters and sculptors were. Though both the mediums of sculpting and color study are used in jewelry making. We as jewelers are essentially creating small wearable sculpture using stones, beads and enamel for the coloration of the work. It can be a little frustrating to get past this Craft dilemma when it comes to being taken seriously in the gallery/art scene. But I have to tell you that in my opinion jewelry has made Art accessible to the masses and that's not such a bad thing. I can create art that is made for the owner to enjoy and they inturn proudly wear the art piece out to the public instead of the few people that make it to the conventional art openings. I still question these two categorization's with my Art Jewelry and my Fashion Line of Jewelry so I do have a few of my own criteria to what makes my jewelry Art or Fashion. One, Art needs to be original, handmade and resonate with me as well the wearer. Fashion on the other hand should touch on the latest trends and styles. It should also be part of what creates someones individual style. Art and Fashion both are individual and personal so anything goes.We have discussed this in our Artists Success Circle and man did it get heated! The potters, jewelers and fiber artists all had a different view but the underlying message was that feeling of being considered and honored as an artist is what we all wanted. Really who is to say what is Art and what is not? What do you think? Please join in and be heard! For more info.on the Artists Success circle group: ScalaArtCenter.com