craftivism.

Because craft + activism = craftivism.

Craftivism is starting a conversation

| Betsy

The quote below was written by Sarah Corbett regarding the work of the always inspiring Craftivist Collective, which she posted on her Facebook page yesterday.

Just heard that one of the Craftivist Collective prints was bought for a banker and the banker emailed the giver to say thanks providing a good discussion starter with his wife. Hopefully, those discussions will turn into action and challenging the bank system from within.

This is the heart of craftivism.

Changing the thoughts of those against you, moving outside of preaching to the choir.

In keeping with a metaphor: When you’re preaching to the choir, no one new gets to heaven. I.e., you may be working, but not working hard enough.

As Craftivists, crafters, artists, one of our roles is to make people think. All kinds of people, especially those that disagree with us. As the CC quote mentions above, our pieces can work as “conversation starters,” meaning it allows both sides to enter a conversation, not a shouting match.

Craftivism For All, 100%. (Silence Is Our Weapon.)

| Betsy

[A quick to this, a day later. My two points in this are: 1. If people (those you’re protesting against) expect A, give them B. When confronted with loud noise, people emotionally shutdown. Give them what they (those you are against, the media, the talking heads) what they’re not expecting. 2. And do 1 in a way which engages with others. Tie your work to a pole, put it on a t-shirt, put it online. Just start a dialogue. Use your work, your protest, as a “conversation starter.”]

Over the past few months, except for a few tweets, I’ve been publicly quiet about the Occupy, 99% protests. But, if you’ve spoken to me about it in person (or saw those tweets), you would very much be aware of that fact that I don’t support them. Which, maybe to a lot of people sounds strange or sancrosanct or totally uncool, but it’s true.

To me, the whole point of craftivism is to take an issue/cause you believe in and use your craft to speak out about it. Coming up to the table with no actual issue at hand or an amalgam was never part of it. An issue: war, famine, injustice, prison rights, homelessness, university cuts, torture, inequity, environmental damage, social rights, human rights, mental health, freedom, etc. I/you/we could go on, as there is no shortage of issues to rally against!

Craftivism is about making something that gets people on the other side to ask questions about an issue, confront their own engrained opinions on a subject, and if they are willing, start a dialogue. The craft is the activism because it stirs up thoughts about an issue in the minds of the audience on their own terms, they see the work, they wonder what it’s about, they ask questions. They bring the questions to the table and open the dialogue, instead of you rushing in first. The craft opens the door to the activism, truly making the process craft + activism = craftivism!*

I also think that in countries where we have the right to speak out and yell, using your craft/creative endeavors/silence (as in silent protests/sit ins) is loads more effective than making a giant fuss. Because 9 times out of 10, the side you’re fighting against? They’re not going to listen. They’re going to dig their heels in. They’re going to join forces with their peers which they already agree with. It’s when we have the freedom to speak out, that we should re-invent ways of changing things.

By making a quilt/pillow/tapestry/cross stitch, etc., you’re given a way to enter the circle that becomes closed once you raise your voice (or sometimes even just open it!). You let them into the conversation by not yelling, you catch them off guard, daring to subvert the paradigm and let the silence guide the fight, not the cacophony.

In a world where we’re constantly tweeting, texting, watching tv, seeing ads, busy, busy, busy, silence can become our biggest weapon. People close off when we yell, but are forced to think when we’re silent or present work that asks questions or act in a performance piece. Silence gives us the time to question what’s going on, we’re disarmed by it because we’re all kept so freaking busy by our gadgets and technology. Silence strengthens us directly because we have the right to speak up.

In contrast, what made the Arab Spring so powerful? That people who didn’t have the freedom to speak out spoke up, tweeted, joined en masse in public, and in many cases risked (or even gave) their lives to do so. They did what wasn’t done, and changed the future of their countries.

So, in order for us to truly, honestly change things, we need to stop yelling, and speak out in other ways. Stitch a banner, weave a tapestry, knit a scarf, crochet a hat, embroider an old sweater with questions you want to ask, things you want to yell, problems that keep you up at night. In order to create change in people’s hearts, you need to first disarm them by catching them off guard.

They are prepared for your words scribbled on cardboard, chants, marches, fights. They have shields to hold up, tear gas to shoot, pepper spray to aim. They are used to so many ways of protest, because we have the freedom to be loud. We have the freedom to be loud, and have used it such great effect that people don’t pay attention. So when they expect noise, be silent. When they expect a hard fight, bring soft craft.

Dare to find another way to speak out so those who expect your visible rage will be disarmed by your passionate silence. Dare to look in the opposite direction in order to find the back door to dialogue.

Dare to use your craft as your activism, whether you are the 99% or the 1%. Dare to envision a world without people digging in their heels, and instead one where we step ahead towards conversation instead of backwards in argument. Dare to do what they don’t expect out of a true wish to effect change, not to just vent your anger.

By lowering our voices and offering news ways of fighting, we can raise our voices without shouting by using things such as craft as our mouthpiece. We just need to bring silence back as a force of power, instead of noise first.



*The slogan craft + activism = craftivism came about around 2003, because when I first started writing about craftivism, a term that was literally made up, no one knew what the heck I was talking about. It was the only way I could get people to a) figure out what I was saying and b) spell it! These days, it’s less of a problem, but I’m glad the slogan stuck around nonetheless! Hurrah!




Controversial Double-Headed Elephant Heads to Christie’s!

| Betsy

I was sent the following by my friend Carrie Reichardt last night, and really think it’s worth spreading the word about. For more pics (at a larger size, too!) and to contact Carrie, see Carrie’s website.

I love how Carrie and Nick’s work embraces the issues directly, but ultimately allows them both to back off from the creation itself as it (literally) stands in public view for passersby to make their own conclusions. It’s in that self-reflective space where someone views a craftivist work and is allowed to digest and think about a work without interruption where the (positive) revolution and change and real work begins.

Controversial double-headed elephant goes to auction this week at Christie’s in Milan

A leading spokesperson for the ever growing craftivist movement and renegade potter Carrie Reichardt, otherwise known as The Baroness, will this week see her controversial mosaic elephant sold by Christie’s in Milan to raise money for the global elephant parade charity.

The elephant was made in collaboration with Nick Reynolds, harmonic player in the cult activist band Alabama 3 and son of Bruce Reynolds, the master mind behind the great train robbery. It is part of a growing trend, started by the Cow Parade in Zurich in 1998 of getting artists to decorate resin animal sculptures that are exhibited in public places before being auctioned for charity.

Reichardt and Reynolds unique double headed elephant was originally called ‘Bunga Bunga’ – in reference to the then Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s alleged sex parties. The name was considered far to political for its organizers so Reichardt was forced to changed the name to Little Miss DMT, (the drug she credits with giving her the vision for the pieces highly intricate mosaic pattern .), It is one of 50 elephants that have been on displayed through out Milan for the last few months. Little Miss DMT has been taking pride of place in front of the Triennial Museum of Modern Art.

The devil they say is in the detail, and as with most of Reichardt work, it is in the detail where the controversy lies.

As Reichardt says; “The only reason, I and Nick take part in these large charity events is because they allow you to make public art that is totally uncensored. You find that when you work for free, rarely anyone actually checks what you are doing, so you end up with total creative freedom.”

This creative freedom, along with Reichardt and Reynolds sheer craftsmanship has allowed them to recently exhibit some extremely contentious work in the public realm. Banksy may boost of getting his ‘subversive’ work into the mainstream galleries , but it is doubtful that even he could pull of such an audacious sited piece as their ‘Trojan Horse’ at Cheltenham Races last week.

As Greg Wood of the Guardian pointed out:
“’Trojan Horse’, by Carrie Reichardt, had a skull for a face and, in Reinhardt’s words, “some pretty hard-hitting facts and pictures about the abuse that the horse has had to endure at the hands of man” presented as mosaics on its body. These included a much-used statistic from the extremist animal rights group Animal Aid on fatal injuries to racehorses, a fact which suggested to some observers that the course should have paid more attention to Classical literature. A Trojan horse, after all, is generally best left outside the walls.”

So it was through craft and altruism that they managed to get their fiercely anti racing and anti blood sport piece on display along with 9 other similar works at Cheltenham National Hunt Festival last week. This life size resin horse was re-sculptured by Reynolds, and then mosaic in ceramic tiles printed by Reichardt. This included gruesome imagery, including a fox being torn apart by hounds and horses hanging in abattoirs with figures explaining that up to 10,000 in the UK will end up as horsemeat. If attacking the racing and hunting fraternity wasn’t enough, both the front two panels of the horse depict mounted police baton charging students from the recent protests, explaining the cruelty involved to the horse in such a situation.

It was not surprising then that this ‘Trojan Horse’ failed to get a single bid, when Cheltenham art museum attempted to auction it from the races last week to raise money for the RLNI.

As Reynolds wryly said, “Its not easy trying to sell a piece of art to people who approve of a sport that abuses horses, when the piece itself is a testimony to all the cruelty the horse has endured by the hands of man.”

Both now hope that some wealthy animal rights supporter will purchase the piece and donate it to a public museum so that the piece can remain in the public domain.

Hopefully in Milan, Christies will have more luck selling their elephant. But following Berlusconi resignation, and scenes of students rioting on the streets, this might prove difficult as they will be attempting to sell an elephant that has ‘La Rivoluzione e’ora (the Revolution is Now) mosaic on to all four ears.

Reichardt remains upbeat though…

“Just my bloody luck, Capitalism collapses, just as my art hits the art market…..– anyway, as a Craftivist I am much more interested in using craft as a way of spreading ideas and social justice that worrying about how much a piece can sell for.”

With their life–size ceramic sculpture of Liverpudlian Mary Bamber, which depicts the radical history of the suffragette movement, recently being purchased by the newly open Museum of Liverpool, there is always hope that both their horse and their elephant will end up where it was created to be – in the public realm.

As Reichardt is keen to point out….for her the ‘Revolution is going to be ceramicised.”


Whats and Whys, and craftivism meets Parliament

| Betsy

And not the band Parliament, either.

This video is from the folks over at the Craftivist Collective and features one of their recent campaigns.

What I like about this video the most is that it shows the softer side of activism. No smashing or yelling or hatred or breaking things, just some honest voices (from both sides) and some stitches and some explaining of just what this bunting is about.

For me, the personal is political, so while the what people feel passionate about and create craftivist projects for varies, the why does not. The what can be whatever you wish, as long as the why is centered on positive change that helps you, the maker, and them, the viewer. Because ideally, there is no us and them, so the positive force that is behind craftivism should run throughout, creating positive change for us all.

And might this positive change be? It could be picking up a needle right there and doing some stitching or listening to what people have to say or questioning the methods and having an open dialogue or taking the experience with you and just letting it in. Sometimes you need to act NOW and sometimes you need to listen and digest what’s going on to really take in someone else’s passionate thoughts before acting on your own. Kind of great, huh?

The caveat? Once those thoughts have been digested, they still might not agree with you or your methods. They may think it’s all a big waste of time or silly or wondering why you stitched some little thing instead of playing football or having a drink or reading the paper or taking a nap. But, that’s not the important part here. The important part is that you made them think about your actions via positive means. Whether for a minute or a year or a second or a week, the message of positive activism was there and present, it’s up to them to do the work.

Emerge, Plus, Have Not Run Off With Monkeys!

| Betsy

You may have noticed that I haven’t updated here in awhile. That’s been due to two things…


1a. Working on some projects not directly related to craftivism, one of them, some communications work with the amazing non-profit seen in the video above, Emerge, which helps young sexually abused girls in Sri Lanka start their own jewelry businesses.

1b. There are other projects I’ve been working on, too, which will surface publicly soon! Yay!

2. Taking some time off the internet entirely, after being told I was misdiagnosed and given medication that made me worse for fifteen years! Although have been knocked a bit back by some allergy problems, have been enjoying finally having the energy to do things once again… some of them for the first time this century. (Krikey!)




While the time off has been pretty great, it’s also reminded me how much finding craft a decade ago has helped me redirect, reshape (and in many ways) rediscover my own life, so will be back on a more regular basis soon. When I started writing about craftivism, this crazy compound notion I came up with in 2003, I had no idea it was going to grow in so many different directions and mean so many different things to so many different people. It’s been so amazing! But it also means reworking what it means to me now in 2011 now that so many other people have found it has meaning in their own lives too. Now that it’s no longer just me touting a rogue idea, but something that has been written about and practiced by people around the world, this time off has been important to really figure out in what direction I need to go to with craftivism now that it’s come into its own.

So, I guess what I’m saying is, I’m still here, and that I’ll be back soon. I just needed some strict time away to refocus on my life outside craft and technology, in order to figure out the best way to go forward within them.

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