Craftivism.

Just a little, silly word that was made up once upon a long time ago at a knitting circle. A silly little word with a meaning behind it.

In taking two culturally stereotyped words “craft” and “activism,” I wanted to show how they could be used in conjunction and for good.

Just like “craft” doesn’t just mean one particular thing, “activism” doesn’t just mean the Black Bloc throwing bricks or people destroying things. Activism is also about people making positive things that are building people up, not knocking things down. Want some examples? There are some excellent examples over here on what craftivism can be.

Now, there is discussion about what it means, as can be seen here and here.

Yes, it is often associated with liberalism, but what if I started writing about it from a conservative point of view in 2002?

Craftivism is not mine. It’s yours. All I ask is that you read about the tenets I believe in first. Don’t agree? That’s fine. Make up your own words and concepts, show the world how you feel, just please don’t take my words and twist them. Take them and grow from them and with them.

I just ask that you respect a concept that I’ve written about and coddled from a baby seedling to something larger.

Need a definition? See here, here and here.

But HEY, enough of that tuff guy stuff… What’s that new link on the main page?

It’s something NEW, that’s in the beginning stages. Like baby stages. It’s out of order on purpose right now, to show the breadth and width of the term. It’s something that’s been in my head for ages now, and after finally finding an online gallery I like, I’m making it available to everyone!

It’s documenting.craftivism.com, where I’m putting my photos and other people’s photos up of craftivist works and projects.

So send me those photos, ok?