craft + activism = craftivism. » your city is yours.

Hi, Hey, Hello, 2011.

Betsy — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 04:25:06 +0000

Here’s to the new year and all the dreams and adventures and love it may bring. As for 2010 parting, few things could be more fitting that this piece above.

Why this piece, you ask?

Because it depicts the juxtaposition of rough, activated and rugged (bull) vs warm, welcoming and beautiful (crochet) and how well they can go together. As those are the two poles we circumnavigate continuously in our daily lives, in between the good stuff and the bad stuff, I really like that it appeared on Wall St right at the tail end of a rough year. While this particular installation only lasted a scant two hours, this image remains as a testament to an artist’s vision, as she expertly combines aesthetics and concept. Of her work, Olek (born Agata Olek) writes,

It was truly a year of guerrilla actions that opened a new path in my crocheted investigations. I started it with a bike and ended up with the Charging Bull as a Christmas gift to NYC and a tribute to the sculptor of the bull, Arturo di Modica,* who in another guerrilla act, placed the bull on Wall Street in Christmas of 1987 as a symbol of the “strength and power of the American people” following the 1987 Stock Market crash.

This crocheted cover represents my best wishes to all of us. It will be a great, prosperous year with many wonderful surprises!!!

For more on Olek, check out her website, artist statement and be sure to check out her work, especially the Sculptures section for more amazing crocheted and fiber work.

So here’s to 2011, and here’s to new work, new ideas, new collaborations and new joy in this new year! And like di Modica and Olak, keep in mind that creativity and its creations are a gift, for both the maker and the viewer.

As makers we’re meant to let our ideas and whims break through into actual visual manifestations, we’re meant to put forth the work we envision in the shower, in a conversation, in dreams, everywhere we look. Maybe some projects falter and crack, but if you look carefully enough, they always light the path to an even bolder and more thought out project, the original thought was just the starting block.

As viewers, we’re meant to not only appreciate the time and effort that has gone into the making, we’re also meant to see these creations as manifestations of our own goals, in whatever shape they might evolve. Like the maker (creator, artist, crafter, whatevs), as viewers we are also here to create and make something beautiful, just perhaps not visually. Creativity, while at times, goofy, melancholy, engaging, is at its root, transformative, freeing and bold sparking revolutions both inside and outside of ourselves.

*For more on Arturo di Modica, check out his website. For more information on his statue, Charging Bull, go check out the Charging Bull Wikipedia page. Most interesting perhaps, is the original NYT story written the day after the bull’s installation on Wall Street in 1989.

[For more about the second photo, it's by Flickr user Fotologic. About this photo she writes, "A still from a stop frame animation I made with my 8 year old son today. The full quotation from Henri Bergson reads: "To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating."]

And for extra credit and two gold stars, go learn more about Henri Bergson, k?

Riot Dog!

Betsy — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 20:09:04 +0000

Apologies now to anyone who really dislikes parentheses.

This is one of those “in case you missed it” posts, because this story broke earlier this year. Because it’s Saturday and because I find this completely fascinating, here’s a video of the Riot Dog in Greece.

While the destructive element of the Black Bloc angers me to no end, there are members who have saved a lot of protesters from harm’s way, which is never a bad thing. So I’m not posting this in solidarity of them, who feature in many images in the video, but for the fascinating repeated attendance of this dog.

But… This post is about the dog, not the Black Bloc. The fluffy, furry 4-legged pal who has shown up at riots in Greece over the past few years. Riot Dog was in the news a lot earlier this year and even has his own Facebook page. Apparently there are several Riot Dogs depending on the source, the most famous being Kanellos, who died in 2008 according to some people. Others seem to think Kanellos is still with us.

Interestingly, I found a blog post reporting Kanellos died in 2008, and was eventually given his own wheelchair and, eventually, a proper grave. It seems like the dog in the video is Louk, who is rumored to be one of Kanellos’ pups. There is (a lot) more about the life of Kanellos over here. You can also decide for yourself whether his name is spelled Kanelos or Kanellos, it seems to vary.

What I like is the idea of these pups being “of the people.” Psychology Today even wrote a nice article about why these dogs get involved. A lot of the stories on (the) Riot Dog(s) have featured the same photos over and over, but for variety, here’s one with the dog and teargas one of the dog drinking milk (which is unrelated and therefore, weird) and (also somewhat weird) a photo of Kanelos’ reception -with cake!- on winning Dog of the Year over on his own personal Facebook page, where there many more photos of the supposed “original” Greek Riot Dog. And when you’re done with the photos, there are quite a few “Riot Dog” videos over on YouTube.

I like the thought of (a) pup(s) of the people joining them during all of the chaos, y’know, (wo)man’s best friend and all. Riot Dog is most likely several different dogs, but, that still doesn’t take away its mythical status, or make it less like a folktale. I like the thought of people speaking up (although not a fan of these types of protests) for their city and country and the dog(s) doing the same alongside them. Whatever his (her?) name is, or however many Riot Dogs there are, these dogs are widely celebrated for the loyalty, courage and energy they disperse among the chaos. Three traits in which anyone who wants true change must adopt, no matter how many feet.

Venus Envy!

Betsy — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 04:43:17 +0000

Wow, do I get excited when people have new craftivist projects! And today, The Guardian gets excited, too, with an article about the Venus Envy Project.

Venus Envy from Venus Envy on Vimeo.

And what does the artist herself say about the project?

In an attempt to undermine classical notions of idealized feminine beauty, Venus Envy is a series of manipulated Venus de Milo statues, created by interdisciplinary designer Lionhe[art], intended to subvert the male-defined notion of the feminine, which traditionally within art and popular culture (as the Venus illustrates) is beautiful, passive and silent.

The statues have been installed in various locations across Edinburgh city centre. The name Venus Envy is derived from invasive advertising and consumer culture that invites us to constantly compare ourselves to others.

And to the artist who did this, a special shout-out. Thanks for kicking my arse recently with an email round of feminist theory and well done on this project, I can’t wait to see what you do next. Wish I had been there to take part in the unveiling of the Venus statues around Edinburgh, such a gorgeous city!

You can also follow the project on Twitter over here.

And a few interesting linky links of late:
*Roasted Brussels Sprouts recipe Just ’cause
*28 Days Later Urban Exploration Forum
*12 Instances of Inoffensive Guerrilla Art Knit graffiti
*Tarsian & Blinkney Socially responsible Afghan-made ethical clothing
*FrontlineSMS: Legal Helping people the world over to get access to the law
*Jane McGonigal and The Institute for the Future Can games save the world?

Who needs fiction?

Betsy — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 16:06:45 +0000

One of the coolest things about putting new content online is that people start to send you notices and info about new projects coming up! Yay! Yes, sometimes people even send me promo items. That being said, there are a few amount of promo items I get that I don’t like. And at times when I get a fair amount of them, not all of them I end up writing about. Which means that a) the ones I do write about I really like and b) I know that the web is a wild and woolly place and that the awesome projects I don’t get to write about will be championed elsewhere.

It gets even cooler when people learn that I live for opening the door on real life. While fiction has its place, it’s non-fiction that truly transports and guides towards noticing, questioning and reinterpreting the world around us.

That being said… here is a little bit about one documentary I was contacted about recently called The Lives of Mt. Druitt Youth. As I do love documentaries more than most things, I was chuffed to see that this particular documentary is about shedding light on a place that stereotypes tend to darken and view negatively instead of truthfully. While as we all know that stereotypes do tend to exist for a reason, we should also know that they rarely present the whole story. And when it comes to specific cities, neighborhoods or places, linguistics tend to sully things allowing fear to gain traction solely on a name… Something that gangs, criminals and other not-so-nice people tend to capitalize on.

From his email, Saad notes the sypnosis for this new 60 min long documentary:

Come with Saad as he explores the face of Mount Druitt never seen by outsiders. A look into the various lives of youth across this misconceived suburb that has built up a notorious reputation of crime and drug’s. Saad unravels life stories that go against all the stereotypical branding of the suburb, as the young youths tell of their experiences in regards to Money, Drugs, Crime & Social Conflicts whilst growing up in an area looked down upon by many. An intimate Journey that aims to change the perspective of any viewer.

You can check out the Facebook page for this doc over here. There’s also more information on the film plus links to interviews and press over at Wikipedia. Adam’s documentary is available for sale over on the documentary’s website, and there are several clips other than the above over on YouTube.

While I haven’t personally seen this doc in its entirety, I wanted to share a bit about it as I think that what Saad has done at 23, documenting his local community and fighting stereotypes is well worth applauding and supporting. Imagine what could be accomplished if more youth decided to open up the curtains behind what’s really going on in their communities beyond the negative press.

Need more documentaries? You can now watch PBS’ series Independent Lens online! Need more photos? Go check out the