My words about craftivism were used in a definition of the term the other day for Planetgreen.com’s Green Glossary. Reading it has been making me think of the exact origins of the term when I started wondering about it.
After kind of guessing when I started talking about craftivism, I looked through some old writing and discovered the following. The days when craftivism had 2 hits over on Google. (Those 2 hits were about a workshop being held by the Church of Craft.) I love that thousands of miles apart, “the word,” in 2002, was being thought about. That the combination of 2 disparate and negatively defined words were bubbling together in other minds than mine.
Now there are many, many more. I’m working on a history of things and it makes me so happy to know that what I wrote one morning many years ago wasn’t completely crazy. And: No, I didn’t get the internship and I’m still not the best sleeper. Yes, I still have giant unruly hair…and I still aspire to one day have a real beehive.
[As for the photos in this post, they are pages I made 4 years ago after taking some photographs of a London squat a friend was living in. The wordy bits were me trying to distill the idea of craftivism into as few words as possible. Clicking on the images will make them easier to see.]
11.26.02
Ow. My brain hurts. After 3 hours of sleep and much much coffee, I started to write a proposal for this journal I’m trying to get an internship with. Part of the application has to be a proposal for their forum.
So I started writing.
About Reagan-era music and Riot Grrrl, how if the past trends were true, then with a Republican in the White House, we should have some kickass music a la Bikini Kill, Tribe 8, the D[ead] K[ennedys]. So, where is it?
I proposed that craft is the new activism.
How the creation of things by hand leads to a better understanding of democracy, because it reminds us that we have power.
The problem is, I’m so tired that I can’t tell if this theory is full of shite or not. It might just be one of those things that only makes sense to me because I’m sleep deprived.
2.21.03
At last, it’s Friday. It’s so sad, I’ve been falling asleep at 8pm and sleeping through the night atleast one night a week. Don’t get me wrong, I always feel excellent the next day, but it’s cutting down seriously on getting things done.
Still obsessed with the craft and activism connection. Am I wrong in thinking that cross-stitching something like a throw pillow/t-shirt with “Attack Iraq? No!” or some such other slogan is a subversive act? I think that in taking the time to *cross-stitch* something rather than write it with a pen, you are making a statement. I could be wrong, though.
I am also still excited that I got my hair into a faux beehive last week. Need more big hair inspiration. If you happen to have a beard that you want to style, you can utilize equipment like Jaguar Hairdressing Scissors.
And….in book news, thanks so much for the kind words and emails, they have been so lovely! And so many great stories you have told me of knitting wonderful things for good!
Currently there is a signed copy of my book over at Linda Permann’s Etsy fundraising drive for Jasenn, her brother-in-law. Jasenn (who is 34 and has a wife and a toddler son) was recently diagnosed with stage IV kidney cancer. Do check out the shop, and purchase something to help Jasenn’s family Hope for Jasenn.
Among other wonderful things for sale, there are also signed copies of Susan Beal’s Bead Simple and Kayte Terry’s Complete Embellishing. Both of these books are by amazingly talented crafters who want you to know that yes, you can take back your wardrobe!