I’m putting them here, because the first slide, to me, is the crux of what craft’s all about. It’s a dividing line of sorts, that makes people argue if craft is this, or if craft is that.
Is craft more populist? Or is it about honed skill?
If you happened to be at the talk or just are curious about what aspects of punk and DIY started my interest in DIY craft, it mainly came from Riot Grrrl.
To me, that’s what’s craft is all about. Raw emotion, raw creativity, raw issues transformed into something heartfelt, beautiful and, yes, of the people.
If the above doesn’t scare you off, I have a nice and easy pattern for fingerless gloves in Craft Hope. As someone who has given these as gifts, I can tell you that they have always been well received, usually either sparking a request for the pattern or a friend to say, “Oooh! Make me some!” I’ve been wearing those exact gloves in the photo below and can tell you that they are handy and keep your fingers from getting cold while both typing and walking around the city.
Some days are awesome. Yet some days you break your blog. And then OTHER days.. you FINALLY figure out how to fix it. Today is such a day!!
Last week I had the pleasure of giving a talk about craftivism in Norway! Above is a photo of the new facilities at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts, which were AMAZING! So much space and resources for screen printing, textiles (including an entire room for looms!), graphics and more! Am so flattered I had the opportunity to speak and would love to go back and check out some of their amazing textile and printing equipment… Which the community can use as well. So if you’re in Oslo, go check it out!
Have much to share about my trip along with some experimentations in audio, as the crunch-thwick-crunch sound the snow made as I walked through it was too awesome not to capture!
Also, NOT awesome. The sidebar plug-in showing up on the blog, despite being de-activated. :(
Apologies now to anyone who really dislikes parentheses.
This is one of those “in case you missed it” posts, because this story broke earlier this year. Because it’s Saturday and because I find this completely fascinating, here’s a video of the Riot Dog in Greece.
While the destructive element of the Black Bloc angers me to no end, there are members who have saved a lot of protesters from harm’s way, which is never a bad thing. So I’m not posting this in solidarity of them, who feature in many images in the video, but for the fascinating repeated attendance of this dog.
But… This post is about the dog, not the Black Bloc. The fluffy, furry 4-legged pal who has shown up at riots in Greece over the past few years. Riot Dog was in the news a lot earlier this year and even has his own Facebook page. Apparently there are several Riot Dogs depending on the source, the most famous being Kanellos, who died in 2008 according to some people. Others seem to think Kanellos is still with us.
Interestingly, I found a blog post reporting Kanellos died in 2008, and was eventually given his own wheelchair and, eventually, a proper grave. It seems like the dog in the video is Louk, who is rumored to be one of Kanellos’ pups. There is (a lot) more about the life of Kanellos over here. You can also decide for yourself whether his name is spelled Kanelos or Kanellos, it seems to vary.
I like the thought of (a) pup(s) of the people joining them during all of the chaos, y’know, (wo)man’s best friend and all. Riot Dog is most likely several different dogs, but, that still doesn’t take away its mythical status, or make it less like a folktale. I like the thought of people speaking up (although not a fan of these types of protests) for their city and country and the dog(s) doing the same alongside them. Whatever his (her?) name is, or however many Riot Dogs there are, these dogs are widely celebrated for the loyalty, courage and energy they disperse among the chaos. Three traits in which anyone who wants true change must adopt, no matter how many feet.
This Monday, when I mentioned I was having a not-so-awesome day, The Man Who Knit sent me a link to their new video. I think this very act should happen every time I have a bad day… A wonderful and lovely video made by wonderful and lovely people should show up in front of me. Actually, it doesn’t even have to be a bad day, good days work, too. The first one they sent me, the second I discovered online. As always, thanks The Man Who Knit!
Like these videos? (And clearly, why wouldn’t you?) You can see some of their other videos here, here and here. You can learn more about The Man Who Knit over on their website or on Twitter.
Lest you think that these boys are alone out there being men who craft, you can find examples and links of many others here and here, which includes the story of Jim Simpson (pictured below), who knit this rug while a POW in WWII.* He’s pretty much like WWII MacGyver, if MacGyver had more free time and was even tougher. He straightened soup pot handles to use as needles and took apart sweaters and socks for the yarn to make this rug. Jim Simpson is truly inspirational and amazing.
