You are so very beautiful – the video!

Sometimes when you come up with a project it’s hard to tell people what it’s all about. Therefore, I hired Janice Smith of Big Dog Little Bed to film a little video explaining craftivism and You Are So Very Beautiful.

This project has involved stitchers from all over the world, for which I am so thankful for! The stitches in the video are Olisa Corcoran, Katherine Bates Ruiz (and her adorable son, Michael!), Rebecca Gibson and Barbara Berry. 

Janice came over to my house one day (that’s my grandparents’ chair that I’m sitting on, the one I used to line up my dolls and stuffed animals on when I was a kid, and, yes, there is a Sadie cameo!) to talk to me about the project and craftivism, which was a lot of fun! 

She also followed us around Durham as we put out signs for You Are So Very Beautiful as well! 

For the project, I’ve even made a wee little site, youaresoverybeautiful.com. If you hop over there, you can sign up for 15 Days of Stitched Affirmations to be delivered straight to your inbox! (You can also sign up directly for the list here!) 

Embracing Joyful Activism & an Instagram Craftivism Round Up

I haven’t been around lately because I have been scared. Like stupid scared. Why, you ask?

Because I’ll have to admit something. That when I started making YASVB signs, I thought I was failing. So I was having a super hard time talking about them because I thought it meant abandoning craftivism entirely. But then I remembered that there is no rule book for craftivism (outside of the fact it should fall inside of those tenets and be handmade and make the world better) and that’s why I created it to be the amorphous blob that is. So it can evolve and change so it can involve all interested parties. But I forgot that along the way.

What that means now is sharing the work of other people as it changes and evolves. Such as doing Instagram round ups like this one.

 

I was scared to go in a new direction because I was scared people would tell me it’s not craftivism because it’s not about a cause. I was scared to be told I was a bad craftivist. I was scared to embrace what made me feel good. Really truly amazing. 

Because this work is about fighting the negative spaces inside you. It’s about being strong so you can show up and fight. It’s about being healthy enough to make the right choices so you can make the world better. It’s about believing you are a being of joy and compassion first and foremost.

That, to me, is craftivism. Creative self care. I was holding my breath all the time and not exhaling in fear of my next step. Scared to step into the beautification tenet of craftivism because it seemed like perhaps it wasn’t good enough. But, what can be better than embracing the fullness of our selves and letting ourselves make from a place of full-on ecstatic joy? 

 

Getting there . . . . #craftivism #hb2 #xstitch #wearenotthis #crossstitchersofinstagram #wip #intersectionalfeminism

A photo posted by A. Wiseass (@fakegeekgrrrl) on

 

So for awhile I thought I should just check out and come up with some new portmanteau which was actually really sad and confusing. I struggled to write about craftivism because the project wasn’t craftivism in my head- my brain went in circles trying to find a resolution. And it made me tired and cranky and miserable. And really sad to write posts here and my newsletter (which was randomly sent) because I felt so separate from it. And since I finished my anti-graffiti project years ago I’ve felt this way, but also I just didn’t know what else to do. So I limped along. And was pretty sad.

 

I could go in a totally different direction, but where when I fundamentally agree that craft can be life changing? And how do I spread that word sustainably and maybe even (GASP!) make some money, something I vowed not to do when I started? Then I thought long and hard about the essence of the work. And realized they’re beautification. They’re making the world brighter through craft. They’re making you brighter through craft. They’re making the finder better through craft.

 

I’m ready for the protest tomorrow. #craftivism #craftivismo #embroidery #nãovaitergolpe #brazil #renunciatemer

A photo posted by Clara Beauty (@clarabeauty) on

 

So I realized there is such a thing as joyful activism. And that that can be craftivism too.

 

I wondered how would people react. And just kept making these signs. And collecting them from people all over the world. The people who made them told me how the process of making them made them feel better. About the 12th time I heard that it truly hit me that we were causing change by making these little signs. By listening to ourselves and stitching the words we truly needed to hear. Or say. Or share. 

 

 

And unlike in 2003 when it really was just me, now there are craftivists doing all sorts of work all over the world. We are Team Craftivism. And we are strong. 

And we can be joyful, too. Here’s to joyful making. And changing. And embracing our fears. 

(Also, here is Textile Center interview with Chi Nguyen about 5.4 Million And Counting.) 

 

Craftivism’s Cover Story in Australia!

This happened today, which has made my weekend! It’s a cover story about craftivism in Australia, complete with interviews with Sayraphim Lothian, Casey Jenkins, and Tal Fitzpatrick!


Also, I’ve been lucky enough to have been asked to participate in a show at the Fuller Craft Museum this May! For my piece, I’m going to be sending in YASVB signs that will be displayed during the show then given away to the community for free when it is over.

Here are some shots by my dear friend Cynthia to get you thinking…

Cynthia 1

Cynthia 2

 

And since this is in a museum show about the DIY craft community, I want to spread the word as far as I can within it. Therefore, I would love it if *YOU* helped spread the word! How can you do so? By clicking either over here (how the project came together, with a link to details) or here (just the details themselves_, which share project information, then clicking on one of the share buttons on the side of your screen!

You Are So Very Beautiful is TWO WEEKS away!

You Are So Very Beautiful commences TWO WEEKS from today!

A photo posted by Betsy Greer (@craftivista) on

I’m super stoked to be working with Mary on this, and for there to be coordinating drops in both London and Vancouver on the same day we have our event in Baltimore! To learn more about getting involved, have a look over here!

People have also been kind enough to write posts about it on Mr. X Stitch, Katherine Diuguid, Kurbits, Crafting A Green World,  Monica Miller and Catherine West from Significant Seams also wrote posts here and here, respectively, and are the ones coordinating drops in Vancouver and London, yeah!

This project has reminded me of how important it is to bring joy into what you’re doing, and how sometimes all it takes to switch a bad mood to a good one is some peppy music. (For the past month, I’ve been listening to the 50 Most Blogged (Indie!) Songs over at Google Music as it changes each week!)

For a long time I thought that to create also meant you had to suffer. (I read a lot of stuff by the Beats in college, coincidence?) It took *this very project* to realize how much better it feels to create from a place of joy than a place of sadness or angst or lack. Although I’ve crafting and making for years, it wasn’t until I sat down and literally stitched dozens of affirmations onto cloth that I began to realize how that kind of making resonates on a higher level, a different plane. And it feels good.

I’ve written more about it in my weekly newsletter, that just came off a hiatus. You can sign up for it in the top righthand corner of my blog; I hope to see you there!