Public vs. Private Acts of Craftivism: Which Do You Prefer?

| Betsy

Continuing on from my post the other day about solo craftivist acts, 2 things have come to my attention lately that are 2 very different solo acts of craftivism. Public vs. private. I’m not making any judgements to which is “better” or “worse,” these are just two very different stories that have come up on my radar lately that fit under the umbrella of craftivism.

1. Tramway to Hell

This bit of crochet was put in the other day in Edinburgh to speak out against a local tram project.

Market researcher Mary Gordon, 44, snapped some pictures of the knitted notice.

“I was making my way home when it caught my eye. It was on tram barriers near the H&M close to Waverley Station. Quite a few people were gathered in front of it, having a look and taking pictures.

“I’m certainly familiar with the concept of yarn-bombing, and I know it’s been getting more popular here, but I’ve only ever heard of people, say, covering up benches or handrails to add a bit of colour to the environment, not making a political statement. It’s a bit like graffiti, but without the paint.”

Mary, who is herself a keen knitter and crocheter but insists she wasn’t responsible, said that the blanket was of a “high-standard”.

“I would guess that it must have taken at least a week, maybe two, so a lot of work went into it.

“Princes Street looks grim beyond belief right now and it was nice to see something colourful that was also making people think.”

2. Tina Selby’s 10,000 Hats for Soldiers in Afghanistan

Tiny Selby just finished her 10,000th hat for soldiers in Afghanistan. A very different act of craftivism.

A woman who turned her love of knitting to helping British soldiers fight off the cold in Afghanistan has topped a remarkable milestone.

Tina Selby, 50, from Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, has now knitted more than 10,000 woolly hats.

In 2009, Mrs Selby planned to knit just 500 for regiments in Helmand province.

But, following the response she received from the troops, Mrs Selby will carry on knitting until the soldiers leave Afghanistan.

“It’s a full-time job,” said Mrs Selby, who is retired.

Tina Selby says she had about 100 knitters helping her send woolly hats to soldiers in Afghanistan,”but I’ll keep going until they come home in 2014.”

But, both speak to the heart of craftivism: using your creativity for positive change. (Okay, “tramway to hell” may not be the most positive, but it’s opening dialogue, which is it’s own type of change.) What I find fascinating is the dialogue that springs up around each of them. Public and private. One is just as good as the other, but does one make the maker feel better? The viewer? Yourself?

Do they elicit different internal dialogues? Does one seem more “legit” than the other? Does one deserve more recognition than the other?

This is what I’m working with at present, wondering, why do we do the craftivist acts that we do? What is our individual goal in doing them? Which do people prefer? No answers yet, just thoughts. Would love to hear yours!


How What Needs You Finds You, via Side by Side and Stitched Stories!

| Betsy

I have two videos to share with you today!

The first is an interview over at the always brilliant Craftypod with Tsia Carson and her daughter Cedar on their new book, Side by Side. From the interview:

Sister Diane: “In the craft book market for kids, what things did you see missing?”

Tsia: Well, a lot of things, because most craft books for kids are built on the idea of keeping your kid very busy while you go and do something more fun than hanging out with your kid. And there are very few books that are actually about hanging out with your kid and having that be a lot of fun.”

How great is it to have a craft book that is ALL ABOUT hanging with your (or someone else’s) kiddos and making fun stuff?! I love that the book involves stuff on both skill levels so both adults and kiddos can have fun making stuff that they both enjoy making! Yay!

And, speaking of making stuff… Here’s a lovely video called Stitched Stories: A Tale of Subversive Stitchers that weaves together the stories of Sarah Corbett’s work with the Craftivist Collective and the work of Fine Cell Work.

Sarah’s comment that, “I felt like a lot of people were looking at me like I didn’t fit into their activism group” was very poignant to me because we all feel like we need to belong somewhere… but what if that “somewhere” doesn’t exist? You have to create it yourself, no? And by using craftivism, she allowed people to find her, vs. the other way around. “…People have to come up to us, we’re stitching, so we’re not scary.”

Neil, a Fine Cell Work stitcher, speaks to how he found stitching:

When I arrived at prison, I saw a poster up saying “Tapestry,” and I was conscious that I wanted something to do, because there’s a lot of time locked up in the cell with nothing to do. So I thought, “Well, that’s something I’m sure I could have a go at. I often watched my wife doing cross stitch and thought, “Well, tapestry, it’s similar,” and that’s how I got started.

What I like about these two videos is that they are perfect examples of how if you keep your mind and your heart open and your curiosity keen, what you need will find you. You’ll discover what you need to do, where you need to be, what needs to be created in this world, instead of feeling helpless because you don’t know where you belong or should be.

And that’s perhaps what I’m most thankful for regarding craft and craftivism, for it finding me, when I wasn’t sure where I need to be.

What about you? Has anything made any particular resonance with you and found you along the way?

A Place to Gather: Modern Irish Craft

| Betsy

Stunningly beautiful video on modern Irish craft. I strongly suggest watching it in full-screen view. Features basketmaking, glass blowing, and woodworking, among other traditional Irish crafts still done in modernity.

You don’t know whether you are going to be good at it, you have to become good at it. So whether a person has determination to learn, whether they have the burning desire to learn to make baskets, is the real thing.






Found via morning Percolate email this morning; shared by @orlaithross and @CraftsCouncilUK over on Twitter.

Craftivism: Party of One

| Betsy

Lately I’ve been getting a lot of emails where people have been frustrated about not having a group to ‘do craftivism’ with. As someone who sent emails just like that until a few years ago, I can tell you, being frustrated is seriously not going to get you very far.

However, action will. And if you really want to call yourself a ‘craftivist,’ it’s not about joining a group or creating a circle or whatever. It’s about YOU wanting something to change. It’s about YOU wanting to make the world a better place. It’s about YOU wanting to make yourself a better person.

You could knit a blanket for soldiers or your sick aunt or homeless dogs or homeless people or refugees or a local family whose house burnt down. You could make a tree cozy for that tree in front of that really ugly abandoned building. You could xstitch a headline or a quote or an image of something that grabbed you and resonated with you about change/changing the world. You could then post it in your bedroom or place it on a park bench or downtown.

Because, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you foment change and/or healing. Like I stated above, to be an activist is to create change. To be a crafter is (in a fundamental way) to heal/soothe/bring joy/teach others. Whenever you combine those two, you are a craftivist.

It’s about bringing light and joy and beauty in your life, the lives of those you know, and/or the lives of those you don’t. There’s no one way to ‘do craftivism’ or be a craftivist. If someone tells you different, then they are actually practicing some other -ism, because it sure as hell isn’t the one that I’ve been writing and talking about all these years.

Sometimes craftivist pieces heal you in the making. It’s important not to overlook that, I think. Because changing you is its own kind of activism, because it’s about not accepting the status quo, it’s about taking the reins and taking charge of your own actions. Because as you change, you become an evangelist for change in others, not only by your words, but also by your actions.

If you’re improving things along the way and including craft in this change, you’re being a craftivist. You’re spreading the good word, in a non-confrontational way, and letting people decide if they want to get on the bandwagon or not. With your enthusiasm, you’re empowering them to make changes and maybe even eventually include their creativity in with those changes.

So, take heart, and don’t get discouraged if you are the only craftivist around. That doesn’t mean you can’t act, it means you have even more reason to act! You have more people to inspire with your actions and have more work to do than those of us in towns with craftivist groups or collectives. Activism brings change. Craft brings healing. Craftivism brings healing change.

So, go forth and be crafty, in whatever way you want to be. You don’t have to call yourself a craftivist even, but do know that with your creations, you’re helping foment change without even opening your mouth. And that, my friend, is a very powerful thing, indeed.

Unpacking Kafka and Why Your Creativity Needs You (Sometimes) to be Still.

| Betsy

Related to my post yesterday about why taking a break is okay (and so is re-entry), I found this quote by Franz Kafka.

Because in order to “remain sitting at your table and listen,” you have to first, be willing to sit at that table and then, gather your easily distracted mind enough to listen. Easier said, than done. Especially when Kafka wrote it, pre-internet!

And then once you’ve done those 2 things, you then realize that you don’t even have to listen! You can just wait, if you so desire. Waiting?! We hate waiting! Waiting is the worst!

Except when it isn’t.

Because, as Kafka notes, you really don’t even have to wait, if you think that’s stupid and (literally) a waste of time. Aha! You can have it all if you only… only… “be quite still and solitary.”

Still. You want me to be still? I have ADD. I’m like that small child that can get into trouble in an empty padded room so is my crazy monkey mind. This is a bad idea.

…

When you find yourself doing the above. It’s time to take a break. And breathe. Because, as I tweeted yesterday “Our #1 job as crafters/artists/makers [is] to be permission givers. To make freely and bravely, inspiring others to do the same.”

And how in the hell can we do that if we can’t settle our minds enough do what Kafka (ultimately) asks and “be quite still and solitary?” Because once we can do that, “the world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.”

And it will.

But only if we remember to give ourselves permission to take a break, just like we need to remember to give ourselves permission to freely create.

But only.

Sounds simple.

Except when it isn’t.

So, just a reminder today, to think about where you need to be: taking a break or willing “to be quite still?” And a little nudge that, whatever you decide, it’s okay, it’s natural, and it’s just where you need to be.