books

Book tour update

| Betsy

So, I’m on a book tour! And writing this from a hotel in Toronto, where we just had an event at the Textile Museum of Canada! Whoa!

Wi-fi is super spotty in this hotel and I’m super tired so am typing this on my phone, but I wanted to share something I posted on Facebook the other day about our West Coast tour leg.

Awesomely, Facebook is not letting me copy and paste text to post here, but if you’d like to read it, you can find it here.

In short, it’s a little love letter to the whole tour experience. I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d be an author on a book tour when I was little reading galleys that my Aunt Becky would bring me when she visited from New York or in any years subsequent. And given the trials of the past few years, am humbled beyond belief that I get to have this whole experience. It’s been worth public disclosure of my disorder (which has had many rewards actually, except maybe when my dates Google me) and all the fighting I’ve done to get better.

It’s a treasure, an adventure, a true pinch yourself experience. Thanks for your support, for reading this post, as without you, none of this would be possible. xx

P.S. The amazing Amelia’s Magazine interviewed me recently, you can see the interview here!

Move, tour, and the PTSD Quilt.

| Betsy

MOVE: Yes! We moved! Therefore, if you’d like to receive future blog posts, please adjust your feedreaders so that the blog address for here is now: http://craftivism.com/blog. And I’m sorry for any inconvenience this move may have caused for not stating this sooner.

TOUR: We’re taking the book on the road to 10 different cities on the east and west coasts of the US and Canada next month! Want more information? Go check out the details here. I’ll be touring with Kim Werker (whose Make it Mighty Ugly just came out) and Leanne Prain (whose Strange Material will be coming out next month), who both have essays in Craftivism: The Art of Craft and Activism. If you’d like to read a few excerpts of the book, you can check out parts of Sayraphim Lothian’s, Tarlen Handayani’s, and Jamie Chalmers’ essays over on the Swedish craft blog, Kravallslojd.

PTSD Quilt: Have PTSD or know someone who does? I have a new project that I’m working on, making and collecting embroidered blocks for the Voices of PTSD Quilt to spread awareness of what really goes on when you have the disorder.

And what happened to 48 Acts of Historical Craftivism?! It’s on hold. Let’s just say that working full time while also dealing with PTSD and other craft projects for payment, has meant that this project has gone on a semi-permanent hiatus. Do I feel like a failure about it? Of sorts. However, I’ve learned that sometimes self-care needs to come first, so this summer, it has.

A Little Review for A Little Book of Craftivism

| Betsy

Wondering what to get your loved ones for Christmas? Or to get yourself to spurn on your “I’m going to be a better crafter this year” New Year’s Resolution? Check out Sarah Corbett’s A Little Book of Craftivism (published by the brilliant Cicada Books) here (complete with a sneak-peak slideshow of some of the interior)!

A Little Book of Craftivism cover

The book covers different Craftivist Collective projects and ideas along with their interpretation of craftivism. (As each group/crafter has their own interpretation of craftivism, which I think is brilliant!) Every time I see the word “craftivism” in print, I get a little squeal, and this is no exception.

While I don’t think that there are necessarily Do’s and Don’ts of craftivism, I do think that these projects will help you on your journey to (or with) craftivism, helping you see how your two hands can foment change in your world.

ABOC

Want it quick like? Check with your local independent bookstore in the UK or you can buy it on Etsy (wrapped!) or Amazon (UK) and (US).

Curious as to what others have to say? Read more about the book over on: Amelia’s Magazine, Craft Blog UK, Did You Make That?, The Owl and The Accordion, Tom of Holland, and UK Handmade!

Craftivism, camp, and talks, oh my!

| Betsy

Happy to report that Craftivism: The Art of Craft and Activism is almost at the printer! Hooray! You can find out more about it over at Arsenal Pulp and pre-order it over on Amazon.

This month has been a busy one with a trip to Joshua Tree, California for Camp CARPA with the Craft Research Agency, where I met loads of other amazing artists and generally enjoyed hanging out in the desert for a week. Incredible conversations were had, crafty drone replicas were made, and a lot of stitching was done.

Next up:

I have two pieces up at the Spoken Threads craftivism show at ArtRage Gallery in Syracuse, so if you’re in the area, go have a look!

postcard-6inx8in-h-front

A talk at the V&A in London next month at the The Subversive Stitch Revisited: The Politics of Cloth conference with some fine folks on the roster with me as you can see below. I’ll be talking about craftivism in the non-English speaking world. Have an example you’d like for me to talk about? Let me know in the comments or through
email.

SSR_BOOKING INFO_ 2_

I’ll also begin working my PTSD quilt/embroidery project, too! As an extension of the post I wrote here on PTSD and relationships, it’s been retooled and rewritten for Elephant Journal, and you can go read it here.

I’ll be talking more about that particular project later, but it includes collecting statements (the exact format of which I’m still working on) from people with diagnosed PTSD and stitching them together in a quilt. The point of the project is to take statements from people who have a disorder that often leaves them alienated and feeling unworthy and put them together, showing them that they are not, in fact, alone.