Here are some photos from yesterday in DC.
I wrote a bit about it here, too, but these are some of my favorites. I’ll post the others tomorrow.
I love seeing everyone’s photos on social media- it’s so incredibly inspiring and amazing! xx
This is a post from 7 years ago that a lot of people still visit. The farm is the lovely Beech Hill Farm and run by the equally lovely Julia Desch.
Dictionary.com defines activism as “The use of direct, often confrontational action, such as a demonstration or strike, in opposition to or support of a cause.” This is the definition I have often been presented with the minute I mention either craftivism or activism. At the mention of these terms, some people rear up and want nothing more to do with the discussion. When such a negative definition is so commonly applied, it isn’t hard to see why feathers are ruffled by even a whisper of activism.
But my own definition of activism lies closer to this, “Activism, in a general sense, can be described as intentional action to bring about social or political change” from Wikipedia. It continues with “The word ‘activism’ is often used synonymously with protest or dissent, but activism can stem from any number of political orientations and take a wide range of forms, from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, simply shopping ethically, rallies and street marches, direct action, or even guerilla tactics. In the more confrontational cases, an activist may be called a freedom fighter by some, and a terrorist by others, depending on which side of the political fence is making the observation.”
Activism (or craftivism) is less about a call to arms and more about a call to act for change. Although there are negative ways one can bring about change, the majority of activists I know are working for the common good, attempting to bring about illumination instead of darkness. By negating a construct and stripping it of its positive intent, the more commonly used definition only breeds fear and unwillingness when in fact every time you make a conscious choice, you are being an activist. In choosing to buy one brand of yarn instead of another due to the way it was produced or by choosing to ride your bike instead of drive, you are being an activist.
The past two weeks I have been living in rural England on a small-scale farm. I can’t think of a time when I have been more inspired or been taught more lessons or been shown so much hope in such a short span. I have been connecting and meeting individuals who continue to farm despite all the obstacles in their paths. After all the governmental and financial restraints have been agreed to, there seems to be little reason to continue an agrarian lifestyle.
As we send all of our textile needs to further shores where people are paid less to work more, resources that the small-scale producers have relied on since the Industrial Revolution have vanished, leaving them trying to fill in the gaps. And as it becomes more and more difficult for small-scale farmers to survive, traditions and methods are lost in the name of technology and progress.
But there is a sense of activism in the air here as people strive to continue to produce wool and fleece as they once did when all the factories where up and running and could take in small quantities of fibre to be prepared. Out of love and determination, activism is alive in its most positive sense- as individuals try and band together to keep traditional methods afloat despite myriad setbacks. In watching their strength and learning from their dedication, I am reminded again and again of why I am not ashamed to call myself an activist.
Interested in learning more about the state of British wool? Go check out Wovember, a blog celebrating all the great things about British wool! To go hear (!) more about British wool, go have a listen to The Sounds of Wool!
So sometimes, you come back from an awesome international trip and move and then get settled and then your blog gets hacked. The past month has been one of those times. If you need to take a breather every now and then, you can play games on sites like í•´ì™¸í† í† ì‚¬ì´íŠ¸.
Therefore, in the hiatus, there’s quite a bit of stuff I want to share with you. Yay! One of the things I’ve been working on is activism of the self, our internal activism or self-activism, I haven’t really figured out how to phrase it (have any ideas?). However, it’s using activism/craftivism as a way/tool for self change instead of changing others. At times on here I’ve felt incredibly selfish when people contact me about the work I’ve done with craftivism, as honestly, it all started by accident. When I started to knit in 2000, I was in an incredibly dark place where, seriously, I don’t know know where I’d be if I didn’t find knitting. When I say that “knitting saved my life,” I’m actually not kidding around.
Crafts connection to activism came out of the healing of my own self. As I got stronger and better, I was able to see how crafts has changed me; therefore, it wasn’t a far leap to see how it could change others, albeit in different ways. Over time I realized that craftivism allowed people the time/space to really think/internalize their own views on craftivist pieces, starting a change in themselves. And it is my belief that this internal change in others is what can make the world a better place, because we change ourselves. But first, we need to help our own selves heal/get strong/thrive before we can truly help others. Thoughts?
I’m calling this part 1, because I’m running out of time and won’t be able to upload the snapshots from the conversation on twitter yesterday with some lovely thoughts from the always helpful and inspiring @MrXStitch, @hstryk, @janislena and @thejaymo.
Also, know any Swedish crafters? The new Swedish craft website Zickermans was kind enough to run a lovely little interview with me over here.
[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!
The lovely fiber artists Rockpool Candy and My Tarpit have launched a lovely new textile intervention project called Let Me Ease Your Day.
The kickoff for the project was earlier this month, but that doesn’t mean that they’re going to stop there. They’ll be spreading goodness through the UK and Ireland for a bit, and then bringing their magic to the United States in the fall! Below is a bit of text taken from a Rockpool Candy blog post regarding the project’s Belfast kickoff, and above are a few photos taken from their website. Want more? Then have a look over here.
In times of financial worry, charities suffer. The public pull in their purse strings and stop giving. When the living is easy, our money is often given to charity to ease our consciences, to allow us to carry on our day to day lives without having to interact with needy causes and to feel like we’re doing something.
But I want society to be different.
As crafters we have skills that we can put to use and make a difference that is not dependent on the free change we have in our pockets.
6th July sees my LET ME EASE YOUR DAY project launch in Belfast. A movement that takes what can often been seen as a middle-class pass time, yarn bombing, and purposes it for the good by providing knitted, crocheted and sewn textiles to the people in our society who might just need a random act of kindness to ease their day.
It could be you.
You may be having a bad day.
You could be sleeping rough.
Your job may be in jeopardy.
You could be worried about your mortgage.
You could have lost your cat/your friend/your child.
All these things leave us feeling vunerable.
What if, during your day, you found a small item left for you by a stranger specifically to nurture you. It won’t solve all your problems, but it may just put a glimmer of warmth in your chest.
Now, you may argue that LET ME EASE YOUR DAY is still a middle class reaction to human loneliness, but surely, as makers, it’s a way that we can make a difference with textiles.
Big big love.