This interview is with Marcia Galvin, who is on Instagram as @craftivistshetland! I love the signs she’s been making and her perspective, I’m sure you will as well!
1. What does craftivism mean to you?
Craft + Activism = craftivism, I am using craftivism as a gentle tool for protest, for expression and interaction with the environment.
2. How did it get you thinking about making craftivist signs? Why did you decide to do it?
I was lucky enough to meet Sarah Corbett (of the Craftivist Collective) a few years ago when she came to my college as a guest lecturer (I’m a BA (Hons) Contemporary Textile student) and I instantly felt a passion and connection to craftivism, but as usual life got in the way, but it’s always been in the back of my mind, then Trump happened, and I felt so helpless, but just days before the Women’s March in Washington, somebody arranged a sister march in Lerwick, Shetland, and I went along to show solidarity.
The local press did an article about it and it was published online on their Facebook page and I just couldn’t believe the backlash we got from the local community. The majority of the comments mocked us, said we were wasting our time, we were fools, we should do something more important etc, and there were hundreds of comments. I was genuinely shocked that an act of solidarity received such a negative reaction and I admit that I, along with other marchers felt like being quiet for a while.
At the same time as this was happening, I had started to research into the links between making/craft (sewing, knitting, crochet) etc and health and wellbeing, as I have been using hand knitting for personal therapy for a number of years. I turn to sewing, knitting, crochet as a way of reflection/time out/self-soothe and to calm my mind, and somehow things collided! I was thinking about all the wonderful protest signs I had seen on the news, and I was sitting at night stitching and processing my thoughts.
I’d mentioned craftivism to somebody and decided to ‘stitch a message’ so I could visually show them what I meant, and before I knew it I had stitched about 3 messages! It felt right, I was still feeling wounded by the hurtful online comments and this for me, was a way of speaking but remaining anonymous.
3. How did making the signs make you feel? Why and how did you pick the quotes?
I love making the signs, I have a huge box of scraps and finally they had a purpose, and felt I had a voice again, and I felt strong, when stitching words I am saying them in my mind, and thinking about their meaning. I decided not to put political messages, I didn’t want to offend people, I wanted to engage them, and I wanted the messages to be simple so that everyone, including children could understand the meanings.
After I’ve made a sign, I get my daughters (aged 14 and 16) to give me feedback, I ask them what their interpretation of the quote/message is, this has been really helpful. The quotes come from everywhere, the internet, the radio, books, and I have lots of quotes from music that I hope to use too, I’m a big fan of Bob Dylan!
4. How did you decide where to put them? What was it like placing the first one?
This is probably the toughest challenge I’ve had, the first few times I put them in places where people tend to walk their dogs or on scenic paths, but it’s something I am still constantly thinking about, I placed one sign close the library as I thought about the connection to words, reading and enjoyment. Placing the first one was so exciting, it was such a glorious sunny day, and I took my daughter with me to act as my ‘lookout’, it was lovely to share that moment with someone else.
5. What has the reaction been? Internally and/or externally!
I decided to keep quiet about this, but I did set up and Instagram account @craftivistshetland so I could share photos. After a few weeks I started noticing photos on Social Media, Shetland is a small island community, I’ve seen my own friends on Facebook share photos of my signs and ask who is behind this? And how many more are out there? The comments have all been extremely positive and this has been so encouraging, I know I can’t stay anonymous forever (that’s island life!) but it has allowed me to build up a bit of confidence. My hope for the future is that it becomes more a community collaboration, I would love to get together with other likeminded people to craft together, and chat about what is important to us as individuals and as islanders in our community. I love that this is a work in progress and happy to go with what feels right.
I met the lovely Kirsten Moore in late 2014 when I was in Portland on a book tour with Leanne Prain and Kim Werker. She posted a link to this post, which was originally on her blog, and after I read it, it stuck with me. Therefore, I asked Kirsten if I could share this here as an example of craftivism and she agreed.
Thanks, Kirsten!
“Scene from Camp†traditional Japanese embroidery by Hatsune Kawashima made during WWII
In light of everything that is happening here in the United States, I felt compelled to track down the artwork of my Bachan (my maternal great-grandmother) Hatsune Kawashima. She made some pieces while imprisoned by the United States government at the Heart Mountain Relocation Center during WWII. The piece I had in mind, isn’t the one pictured above, but a simple embroidery of a barbed wire fence on a stark white background. I spent many hours of my childhood looking at it; first at her house, then at my great-aunt’s house, and I have thought about it a lot over the years. It seems even more pertinent right now that I find it. This is the person who, with my mom taught me how to sew when I was 3 (their photo is on my about page). She died at age 100 about 14 years ago. I cannot understate the influence she had on me; even though we didn’t speak the same language. Aside from making art, playing games such as 온ë¼ì¸ 카지노 can also be a great hobby.
From my mother: “Some memories of our conversations…there was never anger in her voice, but acceptance, humility. Those who actually served, like Grandpa, served as a patriotic obedience, they were proud.â€
You can go read about the “internment†of the Japanese. Go read George Takei or Yoshiko Uchida or the veritable plethora of first person accounts. I wasn’t there. This happened to my grandparents generation. They rarely talked about it, but the art hanging on their walls told another story. I am haunted by this bit of American history. I’m reminded when people ask me where I’m from, and I say “here.†And then they say, “before that.†Or simply told to “go home.†I am home. Home in a country that constantly reminds me that I am an other. I am not. I am an American. Both of my parents and all my grandparents were born here. I can trace my ancestry on my dad’s side to our founding fathers.
So when I see the internment of the Japanese to be used as “precedent†to marginalize another group of people, I want you to remember this: Race is a cultural construct. There is no biological basis for the separation of people by colour or nationality. And yet here it creeps in again. This isn’t a disagreement about policy or politics. My personhood is threatened, along with anyone who simply doesn’t agree. This leaves no room for discourse. Dehumanizing others always leads to violence; it is happening here. Right in front of you. Fascism. This is not who we are. This is no time to “wait and see†or “give him a chance.†Please call your congresspeople, make your voice be heard, volunteer in your community, donate to organizations who protect our rights, be nice to your neighbours and fight to keep the rights that the law and the constitution guarantees us. All of us.
Virginia Johnson’s project “You Belong Here” at her Cambridge, MA, shop, Gather Here is not just important, but given the current state of things here in the United States, it is imperative.
You can see more entries to the project on Instagram and read more about the project (with a quote from me too!) here.
1. What is your definition of craftivism?
Craft + activism = craftivism. Seriously. We are huge advocates for handcraft, working with your hands to create something tangible is a form of resistance in a world that so often focuses on consumption. And many people pickup crafting because they discover they are craving a means of expression that also will allow them to slow down and focus on the moment. They begin to create for others and in those acts make the greater a community a better place.
2. How did you come to collect stitched pieces that say You Belong Here? What moved you from idea to action?
Post-election Cambridge, Massachusetts was a pretty gloomy zip code. This is a place that really believes that women’s rights are human rights. That there is always room for refugees. That love is love. I was talking with a 9 year old girl a few weeks later and she was wearing a tshirt that said, “You Belong Here.”
Her mother had made it for their family post-election so that they could reassure the people in their neighborhood that they were important to the community. I got choked up listening to this young girl explain that just because leaders say hateful words doesn’t mean we need to accept them. That night I sketched out a large embroidery and patchwork banner that said “YOU BELONG HERE”.
When I woke up I knew I needed to ask the community to join me in this effort because it would be our combined voices that would drown out the hate. When I told the young girl about the project she hugged me and committed to making her own cross stitch version.
3. What has been the most surprising thing about the project?
I honestly thought it would be only interesting to our surrounding community. Like people who physically come in and visit the shop. I was surprised when I started seeing people who live all over the country posting photos of their works in progress on Instagram. And suddenly the signs began to come in the mail!
4. Is there anything you wish you would have done differently?
I wish I had thought to do an actual physical community event where people could work on their pieces together. I heard from many stitchers that they took on the project because they needed to create something positive. I think people really need to have places they can go to feel included and accepted. And working on such an inclusive message would have been great to do together.
5. What project(s) are you going to do next?
I’m currently collaborating with a letterpress artist to produce some inclusive message posters that we can share with other small businesses. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh gave an incredibly impassioned speech advocating for sanctuary cities. I was inspired and am committed to spreading the message of inclusiveness far and wide.
Next week I’ll be sharing Gather’s“You Belong Here” project, which is needed now more than ever. They’re accepting signs until next week, so get to it!
You can also read more about what Catherine has to say about the project over on Medium.
1. What is your definition of craftivism?
Craftivism is the call for social change through what are considered typical women’s mediums. Craftivism helps craftivists by providing a purposeful outlet for creative energies, which can be directed to increase awareness and encourage social and/or political change.
My Art Practice is primarily engaged in Hand Embroidery, and I saw a call last year asking for embroidered squares which were to be sewn together and held in front of the US Supreme Court in conjunction with the Court’s Ruling regarding the closing of Planned Parenthood Clinics in Texas. The project was spearheaded by Nguyen Chi (IG @whatchidid, whatchidid.com/) who was organizing in collaboration with TAC Brooklyn). As a Texan, I was embarrassed and angry about my State’s Policy, so I felt like I had to participate.  So, I made a square (the embroidered hash marks represent Texas women who would lose health services)
What a thrill it was to see my contribution held up in front of the Court!
While working on my square, I did what I always do when starting a new project: I asked YouTube and Netflix to tell me everything that they knew about the subject. I looked at many wonderful clips of videos and documentaries, and learned about the craftivist movement – I learned about Sarah Corbett (of the Craftivist Collective), and followed her internet rabbit trail, which led me to think about issues of social justice.
Because I had done a lot of research on the planned parenthood rulings, I looked up other issues affecting Texas women. I was already particularly concerned about the open carry law, which had just been enacted in Texas. I looked up some gun statistics in the state, and to my shock, I learned that (on average) just under one woman is killed by a domestic partner every day in the Lone Star State. Not all of those deaths are by gunshot, but many women are killed simply because there is easy access to a gun in the house.  The enacting of the Open Carry Legislation was likely to exacerbate this situation. (No Stats yet.)
I conceived and began embroidering the BLOWN AWAY project, hoping that I could get a solo show that would viscerally demonstrate what 277 (2013 statistics) dead women looked like. The project was to be made up of a series of interconnected panels (in the manner of the Bayeux Tapestry) that viewers could walk past and think about the mothers, sisters, daughters and grandmothers lost in a single year.
(The photos above are of an individual dress [representing one victim] and a series of panels [representing one month of women murdered  in Texas.)
 The project was not accepted anywhere.
 So I have dabbled a bit in craftivism; I guess I engage when I get mad enough about something and I don’t feel like any one is listening (a common complaint with our utterly deaf Texas politicians). Even if I haven’t concretely accomplished anything in participating in any craftivist act, I feel better, because at least I am doing something!
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2. What is Hide a Hat and Fight Back?
I was very excited about the Women’s March on Washington, and thrilled when I learned that there would be a march in nearby Austin, as well. Scrolling through social media to find more information, I happened upon a call for the Pussyhat Project, asking for hats to be made for Washington marchers.Â
Yarn was immediately purchased. The furious clacking on knitting needles every evening (as my husband and I both ate through miles of pink yarn) got us through the next few weeks, and we found that the knitting relaxed us and gave us a tangible sense of purpose.Â
I got the idea for the Hide a Hat and Fight Back project when we got home on that Saturday night and there was nothing craftivist left to knit. My hands were itching for something useful to do, and I figured that there were other knitters staring at empty needles just like me. In times of trouble my Auntie Ro always said “The cure for anxiety is action!,†so I created an excuse for craftivists to keep knitting as a way of relieving political anxiety.
The tiny hat project in a nutshell:
(couldn’t help myself!)
Craftivists are asked to knit, crochet, sew, glue, etc. tiny (fingertip sized ) pink pussy hats. Once completed, the hats will be attached to a printed or hand written card, and the craftivists will document them on social media, then “hide†the cards wherever they want – in a dressing or ladies room, on a public bulletin board, in a taxi or on a bus seat, etc. Of course, they can also be given directly, or mailed to a legislator, or whatever method of distribution the maker favors. Â
The cards will invite finders to post their finds on social media, and will encourage continued political engagement. Finders will be encouraged to join the movement when they post.
3. Why hide them?
Living in a rural community in Texas, everyone almost always assumes I am a conservative. I’m a Lutheran. I sing in my church choir. My kids got good grades, so people make assumptions, thinking that I believe what they believe. Of course I have liberal friends, but we lone star liberal ladies have learned that it is not a good idea to get in a shouting match in an open carry state. We keep a low profile. I know the liberals in my own circle, but I don’t know who the hidden liberals are.Â
The march sort of changed that. I was with 50,000 proudly progressive women, men and children, and we were in the middle of Texas!  I finally found my tribe, and it was thrilling! I had never been in a room with more than 50 Democrats, and, while marching with so many,  I have never had such an overwhelming experience of community.Â
As I was conceiving what the project would be, I knew that it should reach out to my fellow progressives, particularly those living in deep red states. I wanted to remind them (after the news of the march dies down and the hard work begins) that they are NOT alone, and we stand and resist together.  I wanted to give them the thrill of community I felt in Austin. But unless I personally know them,  I don’t have any way to do that in an open way where I live. I took a huge risk just putting up my Hillary yard sign, and I learned to quickly take off or hide my Hillary pin when going into certain restaurants or when running into one of my husband’s clients. The project was my way to keep reminding progressives that, even though we are a shy people, there are a lot of us!
I am acutely aware that Trumpians will likely be offended to find the hats and may be unpleasant in their responses. Inviting that negative energy into my life gave me pause to almost abandon the project, but then I thought it through: If you go through life extremely confident that everyone around you thinks in exactly the same way that you do, it would certainly get your attention if you suddenly and unexpectedly encountered physical evidence that they do not. A few encounters might be easy to dismiss, but what if you saw a dozen or dozens or even one hundred of these things? Your unshakeable belief that you are in an unbeatable majority might start to waver. Many Democrats in my state don’t bother voting because they feel it is hopeless – what if this project flipped that script?
Also, finding something cool is fun!
4. Why tiny hats and not bigger ones?
Because tiny hats are adorable. They can be pinned to your blouse, or hung from your rear view mirror. They can be thrown in a jewelry box or stuffed into your makeup drawer as a daily reminder that the fight isn’t over. They fit on the end of your pencil, or can be slipped on a finger and waved. The kids will want to use them to punctuate when they flip the bird. They don’t have to fit a real head, so fitting issues are not issues. Tiny hats can be made very quickly, so a lot of them can be distributed in a short amount of time.  They can fit in a craftivist’s purse or pocket, in case of travel into  an unfriendly area. They can be made while waiting in a school pick up line, or while sitting at the doctor’s office, or while on public transit. Big balls of yarn and needles are not required, as travel equipment is purse sized. Tiny hats are a symbol of the larger hats, and, in turn, a symbol, a reminder, a requerdo of the larger movement. And did I mention that they are adorable? That said, if people want to make bigger hats, then make bigger hats. If they want to make tinier hats, then God Bless them, and I wish I could see as well as they do. The project is my gift to the community; what they do with that gift is up to them.
5. What is your goal for this project?
Right now, I just want to get the word out and get people mobilized, activated and engaged with the curative power of having something to do. I want them to fill out the urgently needed political postcards, make the calls, and engage in the post march call to action, but I want them to also be able to do something where their focus shifts to the non thinking headspace of:  “needle behind, loop forward, correct tension, transfer the stitch, repeat.â€Â I want them to be able to turn their mind off and on through a radical act of crafting. Selfishly, I want to see what they make. Already I have been sent sketches, suggestions and sighs of relief. That was my biggest thrill today.Â
The secondary goal is:
What’s the reaction? I have no idea if I have opened (as we say in Texas) a big can of whoop ass on myself. If I have, then at least I have taken a stand. Texas women used to do that, and I know a lot of us still carry that gene. I want people to post about how they found their tiny hats and how it made them feel. Did the hat meet them on a bad day? Did the hat bring them hope? Will Fox News be quoted? Will Steve Bannon curse?
Like with my two boys just a few years ago, my job is to send the project out into the world. What happens next is my concern, but it is not anything I really have control over. That’s the risky part of Art Making.
 What is my dream result?
World Peace. A Single Payer Health Care System. Reversal of Climate Change. A well supported public education system that continues through a Bachelor’s degree. A legislature that is consistently 50 percent female.  The abolition of gerrymandering and Citizen’s United. A complete rethink of the electoral college. Passage of the ERA.  Justice for All regardless of skin color or ethnicity.  A modern energy system that is not dependent on oil. Equal Pay. An end to income inequality. An engaged and factually informed electorate. The Right to Marry and the Right to Choose. Well funded arts programs. A basic income for all. Yada Yada Yada. I would settle, though, for a progressive legislature and a President Warren.
A Hide a Hat and Fight Back call to arms.
Sewing together a tiny hat using a wooden spoon as a form.
Two tiny hats ready to go on cards.
A suggestion for writing Hide a Hat and Fight Back cards.
With my husband (in the hat he knitted) at the ATX march. And yes, I gave my heavy wool hat away for someone else to wear. It was 80 degrees, the sun was beating down on my menopausal head, so, a radical among radicals, I wore my back up summer headband and ears on my freshly blued hair.
For me craftivism is a form of expression and an art movement. But it’s also a means to an end. Craftivism is not only beautiful things made with love and usually by hand. It has a purpose. It’s an invitation to talk about certain things in the most beautiful way. We craftivists expose and talk about sometimes very difficult subjects and things people don’t particularly want to talk about. I feel most of us are trying to change the world. Even if that is an impossibility. We try. We make. We fight. We talk with no words.
I’ve been working under the craftivism ideas and terms, even before I knew what it was. After reading your book (Craftivism: The Art of Craft and Activism) I can finally put a name to what I do.
My usual subjects revolve around sustainability issues in the textile industry. I graduated in 2011 as a Textile Designer from University of Buenos Aires. During my studies I learned not only about the technical and creative part of my career, but also about all the parts that nobody knows like workers’ exploitation, water contamination and wasteful use of natural and manmade resources (just to name a few), that make this industry the second-most pollutant industry in the world.
I specialize in recycled and repurposed textiles. They are my language. That’s not the only material I use, but it’s the main one.
I combine them with embroidery and other technical means that are part of the contemporary (and not so contemporary) textile arts, with the idea of giving them a second chance of being things, when somebody said they didn’t have value anymore.
Just by using those textiles and not other ones (like new ones) I try to make the conversation gravitate to  issues of hyperproduction, consumerism, and upcycling of discarded human products and materials through an artistic view.
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#Thewishproject: recycled textiles cranes
2. Tell me about the Wish Project. What is it and how did it get started?
The Wish Project is my first craftivist project. At least my first defined as craftivism. It started forming in my head after I read your book, actually. I was so inspired!
The Wish Project is born from a deep personal need of doing something for others. I got tired of walking by people on the street and seeing and feeling that they weren’t having a good day. And it made me really sad. I live in Buenos Aires, a big city in Argentina. And everybody is always running somewhere, preoccupied by something. We are a third-world country, hoping and trying to grow every day. Economically, culturally and in terms of social justice.
So I thought, what can I do? To change those long faces. To give them something to smile for. To, at least for a moment, make their problems go away. Because I couldn’t tackle all of our issues by myself. So I wanted to do something small. But meaningful.
On the other hand, while talking with a friend I realized I always loved origami paper cranes. I find them gorgeous objects. Made with a purpose. Made for a wish. With love and care. You can’t do origami without your heart in it. It just doesn’t turn out right.Â
So I combined those two things: my love for cranes and my wishes of happiness for others.Â
But I made them in recycled textiles. After a process of finding the way to harden the fabric, so it would not crumble. I had to make my special means of expression do something it’s not meant to do. That is to technically work as paper.
So I made the 1,000 cranes, as the legend says to do. And started setting them loose on the street. And as I made them and set them free I wished for a beautiful day for whoever finds one on their way. Hoping for smiles and an energy shift on their day.Â
It seems like a silly project. But those little objects made with love and care, set in a place where they don’t necessarily belong and crossing paths with unexpected people, really have a beautiful effect on people.
With #thewishproject I’m not particularly trying to change the world. I’m trying to change the immediate world of one person. Or better said, one thousand persons. But I’m happy with just one. And that’s the powerful effect of handmade objects on people. Handmade objects are made with, from and for love. Whoever finds one of my cranes knows that somebody out there is wishing them well. Even if they don’t know me. Even if they never will.
3. Upcycling is often a part of your work, which features a criticism of fast fashion. Are the pieces from fast fashion themselves and is there a conflict there?
Yes. Some of them are from the fast fashion industry. Some of them aren’t. Some are vintage pieces.
I tend to use textiles without thinking where they come from. With this I mean that for me every textile has value. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Even though I sometimes use them to criticize the industry that makes them.And even when you think its quality is the worst, they can always be used for something else. I hate seeing things being discarded just because somebody doesn’t want them anymore. Just think about all the people needed to make a pair of jeans. Think about all the resources needed to make them. All the energy used. It can’t just end up in the garbage can because its fit is not fashionable anymore.
But I do not think it is conflicting. If I use fast fashion textiles, they are never bought. I specifically use scraps, leftovers and donations. I never ever buy fast fashion textiles, not only because I don’t like to encourage bad quality textiles and the garments and products that they usually represent (with all of the other issues they also represent), but also, and most importantly, because I don’t need to. I mean, there’s so much material that is discarded and thrown away that it’s not difficult to attain it. And that gives more purpose to what I do. Somebody has to do something with all of those resources (good or bad) that still work, technically speaking.
Why not use their own materials, to let them know the things they do wrong, or the things they could do better? I think it’s its own irony.
With vintage materials there is a whole other conversation. They represent time and quality. I’ve had the pleasure of receiving textiles from the 60s and 70s. And only the fact that I could get my hands on them is incredible. That they could still be used. And somebody took the time (and space) to keep them safe. All of those things make me appreciate them even more. They survived time. They had emotional value for somebody. Vintage textiles make me think about our relationship with our objects, their connection with our history and people. Those textiles are extremely powerful in themselves. No matter what I do with them, they have history, which doesn’t usually happen with fast fashion garments.
Despilfarro (in English: “Squandering): recycled textiles, recycled wire, recycled wood base, thread. Currently on exhibition at the Quinquela Martin Museum in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
4. It looks like you’ve had your work in several shows this year. In a world where everything can be shared across the world in an instant on Instagram, what were the benefits of these in-person shows?
I feel like both means of communication has its values.Â
Internet and virtual communication allows me to talk with people around the world. People with the same interests than me. It allows my art to touch more people. To make the conversation global. To experience different reactions that are based on local experiences and ways of living.
Also on Instagram I usually share a section of a work in progress. A small detail of a bigger work. I find it’s a good tool to zoom in on the craft part. I like sharing pictures where you can appreciate each stitch. Zooming in on a stitch is also my way of making the technique the center of attention, and not the whole piece. It’s like showing a stroke of an Impressionist painting.
On the other hand, art shows allow the viewers to interact with an art piece with time. They see, they watch, they feel in an environment that is made for that experience. And they see the whole piece. They can linger on a stitch if they want to.
Personally, on the opening day, I can experience their reactions live. Not by text or emoticons. I can see their faces, their expressions. It’s completely different.Â
Being an artist and an activist, reactions from the public are a big part of my work. If my art doesn’t leave you thinking about some of the issues I try to talk about… I don’t want to say I did something wrong, but almost ha ha. I mean, if that doesn’t happen, my work is not done.
There is a message in my art. A message that should make you think and rethink. It should inspire you. But it is also true that sometimes the intertext is lost. Some of my work are seen as just textile works, when in fact they are textile works specifically made with recycled fabrics as a decision. That sometimes isn’t easy to see. But my artist heart tells me, that’s okay too. I couldn’t stop making, even if nobody gets it ha ha.
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13206 CentÃmetros de Basura Textil (in English: “13206 Centimeters of Textile Trash”): upcycled textiles, recycled wood frame
5. Along with embroidering, you also weave, how did you come to connect your craft with activism?Â
Knowing makes all the difference for me. I’m one of those people that once IÂ know something I can’t unknow it. I can’t look the other way. I need to act on that knowledge.
Once I learned about the bad parts of the industry I was supposed to work for, I just couldn’t do it. Not with those rules. For me wasting resources is not a rule. Dyeing fabrics and polluting in the process do not go hand in hand. Making clothes and exploiting workers are not a rule, no matter the circumstances.Â
So I decided to transmit what I learned to others, with the best tools I had, textiles and textile practices. I decided to help and encourage people doing things in this industry with new and better rules. I decided to try to make this subject a part of the conversations of people that do not necessarily talk about them.
I weave, embroider, knit, and sew trying each time to achieve several things: encourage the making with our hands as a mean of expression. Highlight issues about the fashion industry and its destructive practices. Allow my personal needs of making things to have a deeper and more valuable meaning than just my selfishness of making. Yes, and I do strive to change the world. Even if I can’t.
Weaving in particular is a practice so old and so precious. It can be a symbolic way of saying so much. How we connect with others, how we relate. Â It’s a way of relating with ourselves, in the making. With others in the interconnections. And with our world as to what objects we leave behind. I weave fabric, I do not weave thread. I weave that fabric that doesn’t belong to anyone, that nobody wants. I weave from the idea that there is nothing there, because that fabric doesn’t exist because it’s trash. I give life back to what nobody wants. But it’s so transformed that it has value now. It IS again.
I think a lot about the things I make. Why do I make them? What is its purpose? What will happen to it? When I graduated from University I decided I would rather make art that inspires good changes, than products that enlist and encourage practices that are completely wrong for our world.Â
