So last week over on Twitter I asked a question. And here are the answers. (You can find Part 1 over here.)
Bonus answers!
Sylvie suggested “transcendental craft” as a name for this.
Judith left a comment that added What you wrote about is a sort of art therapy, where we can express ourselves in ways that help us heal. I know knitting means a lot to me, helping me center and relax in the midst of stress. However, I think sometimes helping others will allow us to open wounds and heal ourselves.
And around the web regarding craftivism-ishness:
Casper ter Kuile wrote an excellent post regarding “strategy and craftivism” here.
Also! On the righthand column of this page, you will now see a lovely little area at the top where you can sign up for the Craftivism Newsletter! Yeah! After wanting to do this for years, this is my birthday present to myself (I turn 36 in two weeks!), a little monthly love letter to craftivism.
I hope you’ll sign up, help spread the Craftivism Newsletter love and join me in these monthly celebrations of craftivism!
(This link was brought to attention by my friend @snufkin. Thanks for much for sharing it with me, Mary!)
“Because of her career as the Elementary Spanish program teacher and because of her passion for quilting, Detroit Lakes teacher Pat Link is introducing her students to bringing a smile to those less fortunate.
Through Cultural Collaborative, Amy Tervola Hultberg’s second/third grade combo class made two quilts that will be sent to those in need.”
“Each student was given a block of fabric and fabric markers to draw a picture of hope that would make someone else happy. Those drew smiley faces, rainbows, a butterfly, flower, fish, sailboat, family and more.”
Ms. Link and Ms. Hultberg from Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, might just be some of the awesome teachers ever. They not only had their students literally made something from happy, they also turned the quilting into a learning experience!
“Besides the quilts, the group also held a bake sale and raised $174. The money was used for materials, shipping the quilts and the remainder will be donated to some program, one they haven’t decided on yet. But students got to learn about paying bills — materials for the quilts — what profit is, and they got to count and add up the money they made at the sale.”
I think the only thing I knew about bills at that age was that it seemed like lots of old men were mysteriously called Bill even though their name was really William. (It’s still a mystery to this day. I mean, really, where does that B come from!)
So the 2012 Olympics will be held in London. And there is concern about it ruining parts of Hackney, a shame as Hackney has been on the uptick and it needs help in ways other than what the Olympics can provide. Derelict London offers some pics of the areas in question in Hackney, along with some pretty interesting photos of the non-pretty non-touristy side of London, which most touristy people don’t see. More on this controversy from Hackney locals here and here.
Twelve commissions of up to £500,000 will be awarded to create 12 new works of art across the country; one in each of the nine English regions, and in the nations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The project was launched in March 2009 with a call to artists to submit their big ideas in just 400 words. Over 2,000 artists applied, spanning a huge range of artforms and incorporating some spectacular ideas.
I’m especially excited about the project, Lionheart by “crochetdermy” artist Shauna Richardson. You can see more of her work here and some of her projects here. (For the curious, yes, this is a project related to King Richard I, Richard the Lionheart! You can read more about the connection to him here on the righthand side column of the page.)
All of the projects are brilliant, you can check out the winners plus those who were shortlisted here. For more about Shauna, go check out her lovely website. There is also a post with lots of pics of her over at Crochet Creative.
Thanks for the heads up, Mary via her friend Maggie!
Way to go, crochet!
And completely unrelated, but because I LOVE koalas, and will one day get to pet one and see if they are actually soft, did you know they might be extinct in 30 years? As it may take me 30 years to get to Australia, go learn about how they can be saved, therefore helping them live and me achieve my dream!
Today I had the luck to spend the afternoon at the North Carolina State Fair with a friend and the 8 year old she babysits. Yes, it was awesome. They saved everything fluffy or furry (bunnies, donkeys, cows, chicks, duckings, sheep) until I got there, which was even more awesome. The special surprise treat was being there in time for pig racing, with all the pigs named after NASCAR drivers!
What was not awesome was watching people litter right in front of me. Bottles, gum wrappers, fried Oreo papers, you get the idea. One guy even stared at me while dropping a gum wrapper on the ground, and I couldn’t help wondering if he was jonesing for some sort of litterbug stand-off or a citizen’s arrest.
So, in a late reply to the earlier litterbug, here’s the song which I sing when I’m cleaning my house. It’s called Tidy Up Tidy Up by Barcelona Pavilion, a song which Rachael Matthews introduced to me one night, and 5 years later, it’s still in my head! Imagine my glee when I discovered that some young students made a video for this song, Year Six at Sheringdale Primary School in Wandsworth!
Thanks Sheringdale Primary School Year Six students for such an awesome video to such an awesome song! You made my day!
