I have two videos to share with you today!
The first is an interview over at the always brilliant Craftypod with Tsia Carson and her daughter Cedar on their new book, Side by Side. From the interview:
Sister Diane: “In the craft book market for kids, what things did you see missing?”
Tsia: Well, a lot of things, because most craft books for kids are built on the idea of keeping your kid very busy while you go and do something more fun than hanging out with your kid. And there are very few books that are actually about hanging out with your kid and having that be a lot of fun.”
How great is it to have a craft book that is ALL ABOUT hanging with your (or someone else’s) kiddos and making fun stuff?! I love that the book involves stuff on both skill levels so both adults and kiddos can have fun making stuff that they both enjoy making! Yay!
And, speaking of making stuff… Here’s a lovely video called Stitched Stories: A Tale of Subversive Stitchers that weaves together the stories of Sarah Corbett’s work with the Craftivist Collective and the work of Fine Cell Work.
Sarah’s comment that, “I felt like a lot of people were looking at me like I didn’t fit into their activism group” was very poignant to me because we all feel like we need to belong somewhere… but what if that “somewhere” doesn’t exist? You have to create it yourself, no? And by using craftivism, she allowed people to find her, vs. the other way around. “…People have to come up to us, we’re stitching, so we’re not scary.”
Neil, a Fine Cell Work stitcher, speaks to how he found stitching:
When I arrived at prison, I saw a poster up saying “Tapestry,” and I was conscious that I wanted something to do, because there’s a lot of time locked up in the cell with nothing to do. So I thought, “Well, that’s something I’m sure I could have a go at. I often watched my wife doing cross stitch and thought, “Well, tapestry, it’s similar,” and that’s how I got started.
What I like about these two videos is that they are perfect examples of how if you keep your mind and your heart open and your curiosity keen, what you need will find you. You’ll discover what you need to do, where you need to be, what needs to be created in this world, instead of feeling helpless because you don’t know where you belong or should be.
And that’s perhaps what I’m most thankful for regarding craft and craftivism, for it finding me, when I wasn’t sure where I need to be.
What about you? Has anything made any particular resonance with you and found you along the way?
Loved the second video, I remember Sarah’s blog years ago and it’s been a joy watching her work and activism grow to what it is today.
Hasn’t it been great watching, Sarah?! She’s done such a great job with the Craftivist Collective!