fine cell work

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?

Fine Cell Work Selling Exhibition This Thursday!

| Betsy

In or near East London this Thursday (the 19th) between the hours of 1pm and 6pm? Go check out Fine Cell Work’s selling exhibition of their wares! Their new film (below) will also be shown at the event, so hop to it!

Leathersellers’ Hall
15 St. Helen’s Place,
London
EC3A 6DQ

Having seen their work in person before, I definitely recommend going! This charity is one of my favorites the world over. The quilt shown in the video will be part of the V & A Museum’s exhibit Quilts 1700-2010, which will be from March 20 – July 4 2010.

There was a video here but it seems to have disappeared? Keeping the link in case it miraculously goes back up.

Want more?

*A Stitch Doing Time
*Doing Time: Patchwork as a Tool of Social Rehabilitation in British Prisons

Now In Stereo.

| Betsy

This Christmas card, from Fine Cell Work is by far, my favorite Christmas card this year. Maybe even of all time.

I like the humanity it brings to what is normally thought as inhumane or deviant. I like that it highlights a part of our communities that might have been forgotten about, people who might have been forgotten about. I like how it communicates quietly that the holidays just aren’t for the ones who are out shopping in malls or wrapping presents and setting up the tree.

The holidays are for the lonely, the forgotten, the abused, the ill, too, and not just for those who try to make this holiday “the best one yet!” And they’re not about money and acquisitions and wish lists. They’re about recognizing love and joy and kindness…wherever they might find you.

Fine Cell Work is an charity that teaches needlework to inmates and sells their work. From their site,

Fine Cell Work is a Registered Charity that teaches needlework to prison inmates and sells their products. The prisoners do the work when they are locked in their cells, and the earnings give them hope, skills and independence.

Savings reduce the likelihood of offenders returning to crime. Prisoners often send the money they earn from Fine Cell Work to their children and families, or use it to pay debts or for accommodation upon release.

The inmates are all instructed by volunteers, many of whom have been taught at the Embroiderer’s Guild, the Royal School of Needlework and the world of professional design. Once trained, they can be responsible for difficult commissions done to deadlines, and support other inmates who are still learning.

Much of their finished work is traditional, but my favorite piece is a cushion of a prison calendar. After going to a sale of theirs in London a few years back, it’s been a pleasure to watch their online shop grow in designs and medium. Their work is always well-done, so I wasn’t surprised to see this excellent holiday card pop up in my inbox!



And in book news:

Today! (December 9)
*An interview I did with Open Mind was broadcast, and will be repeated again on December 14!

Tomorrow! (December 10)
*I’ll be talking about how you can use your craftiness for good at 7.30 in Raleigh at Quail Ridge Books!
*After the event, I’ll be doing a live interview with the wonderful Feminist Magazine on KPFK in Los Angeles, which will be broadcast online and on Pacifica Radio! I’m the last person interviewed on the show tomorrow, so listen up around 10.40 EST!