The United States observance of Mother’s Day is May 10th. Remember history of Mother’s Day (I had no idea it started as an anti-war day!), that is absolutely beautiful. This Mother’s Day they are having a peace vigil in DC May 9-10, 1pm-1pm. Read more about it over here.
You can read the entire Mother’s Day Proclamation by Julia Ward Howe over here.
On my recent trip out to Portland, Oregon, I found myself in awe of the view below me for a good bit of the flight. The sun vs the clouds, the clouds vs earth, water vs land. I uploaded the photos the other day and was awed again at the wide variations in color and texture. The quote below is from Finding Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. It’s a little smudgy now, but it’s been written in blue on the tiny chalkboard on the wall in my room near the door for months now.
“Within an evolutionary framework we can focus consciousness on the tasks of everyday life in the knowledge that when we act in the fullness of the flow experience we are also building a bridge to the future of our universe.”
If you’re up for it, take this as a tiny PSA to look around your environment today and keep your eyes out for tapestries that may be hiding in the form of banality. Oh, and happy Saturday.
Many moons ago, I volunteered for The Prince’s Trust in Watford, Hertfordshire. As for the town of Watford, let’s just say my English friends mocked me as much as I would get here in the US if I moved to New Jersey. Some places just get a bad rap. Although living in a YMCA on a hall of girls training to be cruise liner beauticians was not the best experience, I did learn how bright those spotlighty things on helicopters are when one arrived late one night near the YMCA. It was there to help break up a riot in town. Good times, indeed. Moving on…
So, memory lane and all, I was especially touched to learn today that a bunch of elderly Watford knitters (and a few from Elstree) got together and broke the Guinness Book of Records for largest knitted tea cosy. The squares for the cosy were knitted by local knitters along with submissions from knitters around the world. Way to go Watford (and Elstree) knitters! I was even more touched when I read that they were knitting the cosy “to help raise awareness of loneliness concerning elderly people!” This effort was part of BUPA’s delightfully named ‘communi-tea week.’ How delightfully English sounding, no?
What I like the most about this tea cosy is that it shows how with a little creativity, you can use your crafts for good in all sorts of ways. While the tea cosy wasn’t protesting for a ban on pesticides or to stop child labor, it was a project formed to raise an awareness about a different sort of problem. Sometimes problems such as elderly individuals and loneliness get ignored in light of giant disasters, so it’s nice to see a week arranged to raise awareness for them. Hmm…maybe it’s about time to invite some friends ’round for a cuppa and conversation. Just as long as someone brings the HobNobs, I’ve got enough tea to caffeinate, well… New Jersey, perhaps.
In thinking about why I found this so incredibly brave and awesome, I think it has something to do with the fact that they protested in a society that doesn’t let them do so. And that despite having rocks thrown at them, and the crowd of anti-protesters being several times larger than their number of 300 and being pelted with stones, they kept going. And speaking up and moving forward in the name of having a safe place to sleep in a country that allows few freedoms (although it’s getting better…slowly) to its women is true, raw bravery. (Photo from article)
Protesting and chanting in our long-defined democracies seems somewhat antiquated in comparison, which is why I think that visual creations in protest help us connect with what’s going on. We are so used to hearing shouting that we slap on headphones, so used to angry faces that we ignore them, so deadened by the familiarity of our rights that we take them for granted. We no longer see the signs or hear the shouts, but we are enlivened and challenged by something handmade for the occasion as it was specially crafted for the event. In other words, it allows us to project a non-jaded eye on old familiars when it comes to protest.
Over in Afghanistan today, 300 women spoke up where protesting is the domain of men and made people listen. In a country where speaking out is not a right, then vocal protest is the most radical of them all. If your voice can be freely heard and exclaimed in your society, that’s when I think other measures need to be adopted to be heard effectively.
My favorite part of the report on this protest? Female police officers (themselves an incredibly brave and new sign of moving forward, a job opportunity barely 4 years old) held hands in a protective barrier around the protesters. Despite all the anger and hate and chaos going on around them, these women moved forward in a ring of women and proved to the world that they, too, are ready to stand up. And they stood together, despite the anger surrounding them, vocalizing their discontent and holding hands, they walk forward.
“Knitting is a symbol of many things, knitting together things that have been broken, and our society has been broken… knitting is a symbol of hoping that we can bring some kind of unity.” (from the Northern Ireland video from Shannon Airport below)
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot what craftivism is, as I’m collecting photographs over at Documenting Craftivism, a project that right now is a loose collection to help define the term. I’ve also been watching some lovely videos that also speak to the heart of craftivism. I’ve been looking into the work of some larger organizations, (Aid to Artisans, Peace x Peace, Women for Women International to name but a few) but there are also some smaller groups speaking to craft + activism as well.
Some of these videos made me cry in their honesty and sincerity wishes for peace and hope, may you enjoy them as much as I did. I don’t always agree with all of the words and banners, but I always agree with the sentiments. Creativity. Peace. Hope. Love.
The Mother Bear Project.
Showing how easy it is to post knitted donations, an adorable short first time attempt at stop motion!
Help Child Soldiers.
Lovely clip from a women’s knitting circle working on knitted donations.
Knitting for peace at Shannon airport in Northern Ireland January 6, 2009 on Nollaig na mban (Women’s Christmas). There is some really interesting Irish and knitting history in here!
And one from a different side of craftivism: helping the world heal itself. The work of Rwanda Knits. Part of the proceeds from Knitting for Good! went to this charity, as I really love the work they are doing with refugee women.
