craftivism.

Because craft + activism = craftivism.

re:defining.

| Betsy

Below is a response to a post earlier in the week that I thought was so beautiful that it warranted a post of its own.

Sometimes people ask me what craftivism means. Sometimes I don’t know quite what to say. Or know how it’s related to me.

But craftivism is more than just a way to express your politics and views, it’s about finding a way to better your life and that of others through creative endeavors. Because I believe that everything we make with our hands has power. Just what that power is, is your own decision.

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I’ve just discovered this site and it chimes so many bells with me. In my younger days I went on protest marches and rallies and carried banners and chanted chants. Now I have three young kids and I don’t seem to do that stuff anymore. It’s not that I no longer care about the same things – believe me, having kids has made me care even more. But nowadays I am more likely to make a sturdy shopping bag out of all the plastic carrier bags in the cupboard cut into strips and knit together, or crochet an afghan out of lots of leftover yarn from my late mother’s stash and give it to my father as a Christmas gift. Things like that. Currently I am braiding a rag rug out of all my old maternity dresses (boy does that ever provide closure!)

What would have happened if I *hadn’t* gone on all those protest marches back then? Nothing much. Everyone else would still have showed up – 30,000 people minus me is still lots of people. But if I hadn’t made that afghan for my dad, I never would have got to see the glistening in his eyes on Christmas day, and the tears in my own eyes when I visit him and see it folded over the arm of his favourite chair, obviously much used.

I never had a name for this before, or for the quilts I made for my kids which I tuck round them extra tight every time I hear another mother’s son or daughter has been killed by a suicide bomb, or the cookies we bake together from scratch because I want them to understand where food comes from (and also they taste good), or all the things I repair around the home not because I can’t afford to replace them but because … because … well just because I *prefer* to. And now I do have a name for it. Craftivism. Thank you.

an ever-widening circle.

| Betsy

Yes, that’s a self-portrait with a giant eyeball. In a mirror that is labeled “Look at Yourself.” I found it amusing because one of my main interests is ethnographic research and it just seemed all too perfect.

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Because I believe that in order to see outside you need to first look inside. And that you should use what you’ve learned to better understand the world around you.

I wonder about the ways in which people find me, a somewhat self-selecting group individuals who I have embarked on many amazing conversations with, sometimes collaborated with and always learned from.

While it’s easy to see why we connect with other people, sometimes it’s incredible to look back at the list of those who have contacted you. How suddenly without the academy you become a part of a circle without even realizing it.

When I started talking about craft theory and the cultural importance of handmade, I never could have imagined the wealth of knowledge and inspiration that I would come to know.

While I may be working on the slowest craft documentary project ever (see here), that doesn’t mean that I can’t introduce (as a group, one that is growing) the brightest minds I know of concerning contemporary craft theory:

Kate Bingaman
Maria Buszek
Otto von Bush
Tsia Carson
Diane Gilleland
Julia Kehew
Garth Johnson
Cat Mazza
Kirsty Robinson
Amy Spencer
Dennis Stevens
Stephanie Syjuco

Of course this list leaves out my favorite crafters, artists and friends whose work emboldens me daily…as well as I’m sure a few names that have currently escaped me! But as I look at my inbox and notice a growing list of people who are writing about the theory and sociological perspectives of craft, I can’t help but feel joy. And the acute anticipation of those who share similar views that I have yet to meet.

one more project for the list…

| Betsy

Although I get emails from people with encouraging words about what I’m writing about, it’s rare that I hear what people are doing for charity. If you’re in the process of making something or even just thinking about it, I’d love to know.

At the moment, I’m working on those blankets and hats that will be donated to Olivia’s Angels in Georgia. There are also some chemo caps in the works. Today I’ve added another project to the list, using my scrap yarns from various other endeavours, and making blankets for Snuggles.

People ask me how and why I choose the charities I send things to. It usually starts by something pulling at the heartstrings whether I mean for it to or not. The preemie things are because I was a preemie and my mother a scared mother who needed a little comfort when I was 2lb and so small. The chemocaps for my grandfather because he is fighting prostate cancer that has metastatized and my grandmother who survived breast cancer. (In fact, it’s a rather long list, this one.) The Snuggles blanket in memory of my dog, Annie, who has been a part of my family since the spring of 1991. She was put down last night.

I make and donate things because of the kindness and compassion that has been shown to me and to those I love, and because I want to add a little bit of light to the lives of others. With every stitch I sew or knit or crochet or whathaveyou I am fighting against coldness and for more warmth.

While such a tiny act may not make a difference to loads of people/animals at once, it does make a difference for one. Or two. Or three. Or however many donations you choose to make. That’s the power behind such a small, simple act.

In giving things made with kindness and hope and love to others, I not only embolden and replenish their spirits but my own as well.

thank you, jen!

| Betsy

I was sent a link to the very wonderful subversivecrossstitch.com a few weeks ago, many apologies for just now posting it. I’m tempted to order a kit for my grandmother, but then again, seeing that the last cross-stitch kit she gave me was a bookmark with a cow on it, it might not be such a grand idea.

Suddenly, that time of year is upon us where you realize that you have less than two months before the holidays and the gift giving shall soon commence.

In a very small bloggy way, I want you to take just a minute and think about making your own holiday cards and presents. There is a transformation that occurs when you make something and deliver it to someone you care about, something much more sincere and cheerful than a store bought gift.

The act of making something with your own hands, crafting it specifically for a particular person is a teeny tiny bit of activism, because it’s fighting against the mass consumerism that consumes us all.

Make your own books (see: Exlibris Anonymous), get all Martha Stewart, go to your local thrift shop and find things to redecorate, use some of Kathy Cano Murillo’s fantastic ideas.

See what happens when you start using your hands to say what’s in your heart.

i <3 fridays...

| Betsy

It’s Friday afternoon here in London, and currently my attention is divided between dancing to the new Peaches album, how delicious tea is with soy milk and the political importance of activism in society. Weird.

As some of you may have already noted, I’m in graduate school at the moment. This means that my life is all about sociology and making connections between things. I found this in my notebook after one lecture where I was supposed to be writing about multiculturalism and its relationship to both cultural and economic development:

unhappiness -> activism -> ideas, creativity -> craft

I don’t know if that has any relevance to you, but it sure made sense to me.

Regardless, for those who are craftily inclined, check out this from the amazing people at getcrafty. And while you’re staying in on those cold cold nights, be productive in front of the television, ok?

To borrow from the vernacular, people, get yer craft on!