craftivism.

Crafting A Word.

| Betsy

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?

Creativity Wins Again.

| Betsy

Some girls may have had Auntie Mame to look up to if they found themselves worried about being single later in life, I had Miss Eglantine Price from 1971’s Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Played by everyone’s favorite amateur sleuth from Maine, the always wonderful Angela Lansbury.

She lived in an old house in the countryside in England, were she was taking lessons to become a witch via correspondence school. Thanks to WWII and the bombing of London, she ends up with 3 children taken away from the city for safety’s sake. This clip is the beginning, which is just the start of the loveliness.

Perhaps one of the most endearing things about Eglantine Price’s character is the way she so earnestly wanted to become a witch to help the war effort. How did she wish to exactly? Well, you’ll just have to watch the movie. But, I will say it’s a quite sweet example of how with a little extra thought you can use your creativity to help further any cause or effort you wish.

And in case you missed it, there was a lovely bit about craftivism and Knitting for Good! in the Times Online the other week, which you can read here. Also, online is the Craft Cartel Podcast I did with Rayna, which you can listen to here! Thanks so much!

On Donating Tiny New Things for Tiny New People.

| Betsy

The first time I heard about Afghanistan, the Soviets were in control. After learning in school that the Afghan people had no contact with the outside world, I remember being upset that they wouldn’t have cameras and photographs. When the Russians left in 1991, I was happy and hopeful that things would be better, and that yes, they would get their cameras.

When the United States invaded Afghanistan years later I was angry and frustrated with our foreign policy, like so many people. In 2003, a friend in my knitting circle mentioned she was going to donate some hats to Afghans for Afghans and wondered if we would also like to donate something. I made things then, and have made several more things in the years that have followed.

Currently, Afghans for Afghans is in need of donations for children aged 2-8, with a collection date a few months from now. If you have some spare time and some spare yarn, consider whipping up some items for little wee ones. They may not need cameras, but they surely could use some warm handmade garments. There are more details here.

Speaking of little ones, I was so happy to hear that Mama to Mama collected 5,523 hats to send to cover 5,523 tiny heads in Haiti! So amazing and so inspiring! Lastly, a lovely email arrived in my inbox this week with a link to an organization that was new to me, Little Dresses for Africa! They are an organization collecting dresses made out of pillowcases for children in need. Who doesn’t have an extra pillowcase in their closet?! Now get sewing! Thanks so much, Carrie!

The beautiful image above came from Flickr user Papyrist. Wouldn’t you like to make some wee little vests and sweaters now?

Activism Is Not A 4-Letter Word. (Reminder)

| Betsy

Today’s post is a re-post of something I wrote in November 2005. If you’ve read Handmade Nation, you’ll see that I have an essay in the book with the same name. This original post was what led to the essay a few years later. I’m reposting it here because sometimes it’s good to be reminded of just where your heart lies.

Two things for today, this afternoon I’ll be on The State of Things from about 12.40 until 1EST, and tonight I’ll be talking about craftivism and the book at Barnes & Noble in Cary at 7pm.

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.

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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.

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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.

Craftivism vs. Craftism, and the Quest For Uniquity.

| Betsy

Ok, I’ll admit it. I have no idea what “craftism” is.

I do, however, know what “craftivism” is.

The word “craftivism” came into my life by way of a conversation about “craft” and “activism,” seeing the similarity and opposition in these words as culturally defined, I started using a “craft activism” hybrid. A friend of mine at a knitting circle actually combined the two words into one way back in 2002.

I’m not sure what happens when you start writing about a theory and then thanks to making up a weird looking word, it is commonly spelled missing a few letters instead of the word you started out with! However, if you have an idea of what “craftism” is, I’d be well chuffed to hear its definition. I would argue that the “-ivism” part of the equation is pretty imperative because it denotes craft’s connection to activism, instead of it glomming on a different “-ism” like Marxism or Taoism or veganism.

Bizarrely, Google seems to whip right on by the missing letters…which makes little sense to me as normally it’s hypersensitive?

I often get asked what was going on at the time that made me start connecting “craft” and “activism.” In the next few posts, I’m going to expand a bit of the various cultural trends that seem to have a whole heck of a lot to do with why this whole craft resurgence happened in the first place!

Thanks to the convergence of the quest for uniquity, annoyance at the banality of materialism and the mall/superstore presence, the internet erasing geographic boundaries and the reclamation of the domestic thoughts began to run to making and sewing and knitting and crafting crafting crafting! On a lesser scale, I would argue that a need for the tactile was craved, too. This marked a strange point in time where people were really excited to see what technology could do, but perhaps secretly hoping that teleporting would just be invented already so we could get a hug instead of :)

A lot of times when I bring up the reasons above, more explanation is requested, so here’s the first of 5 posts, with the others soon to follow.

The quest for uniquity

No one likes to show up at a party wearing the same dress as someone else in attendance. Well, up until the Industrial Revolution clothes were made by hand and as a result didn’t come off of the same rack as things were tweaked for specific body types or styles.

Then all of a sudden advances in the how textiles were manufactured came along and clothing was mass produced and you could eventually pop down to the shop on the corner and buy a shirt or stockings instead of crafting them on your own. I can’t even imagine how much of a relief this must have been! Of course, this is a whipquick run-through, as some individuals (the number varying on changes in economics, culture, politics) have continuously been handcrafting their clothes.

Eventually the hype of popping down the corner for that shirt wore off a bit and some people wanted more control of their clothes and wanted a say in color, design and weight of what they wore! In the first few years of this century, a push began starting a craft resurgence that was heavily boosted by people wanting to create what they wore instead of picking them off a on over-stuffed rack. Instead of being annoyed that their favorite store didn’t have the sweater they wanted in orange and only had it in red and green and blue, people were starting to create what wasn’t available to them instead of settling for a product they only halfway wanted anyway because their own vision wasn’t displayed before them in a shop window.

Also, how has the film short The Last Knit evaded me until now?!

*Amazingly, this version of the post is a micro-version of the original. Think of these posts more of elevator speech definitions, although I always love to talk about the nitty gritty details if you’re up for it.