http://www.craftivism.com/blog.html/ craft + activism = craftivism en-us betsy@craftivism.com 2006-05-26T13:36:11-05:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://www.craftivism.com/archives/000225.html So, from this point on, the blog portion of this site will be located here. Craftivism.com is now a page where I'll be linking to various projects, like the Crafter Documentary Project, which you can see a sample page of here! It all still needs some tweaking, but thanks to some excellent coaching, I know have a better understanding of web design! Hooray.... 225@http://www.craftivism.com/blog.html/ 2006-05-26T13:36:11-05:00 http://www.craftivism.com/archives/000224.html This is what greeted me as I was going to get some coffee the other day: There's something similar about the state of the car and the state of the union. Rusty. Patchy. Old-fashioned. But it seems that the political tide is somewhere betwixt and between right now, like the boot of the car. Mixed. Both colors (parties) fighting to take over the whole of the trunk. Photos from Massive Knit's event Tuesday.... 224@http://www.craftivism.com/blog.html/ 2006-05-25T15:36:58-05:00 http://www.craftivism.com/archives/000223.html In what may be the worst photograph ever posted here, I bring you sand: This particular sand is part of a parking lot near my house. While walking home recently, I came across this vacant lot covered in intertwining lines of tire tracks and foot prints, making it look almost like a painting or a piece of fabric instead of a lonely strip of sand. This is why I prefer to walk instead of ride a walk, why my eyes are always darting from side to side as I'm driving down the road, because quiet beauty is so often overlooked.... 223@http://www.craftivism.com/blog.html/ 2006-05-18T14:31:52-05:00 http://www.craftivism.com/archives/000222.html Thanks to my new friends over at Massive Knit, I was recently informed of an upcoming event in NYC, as well as a new blog dedicated to the memory of the inspiring Jane Jacobs. Not only will this event help connect individuals, but it will also unite people with the park and their urban spaces. This is a brilliant idea, as it works with knitting at different levels- because more than just a method of creating, knitting (and crafting) is a way of connecting more than yarn, it grounds us to a moment, to others, to places. And I realize... 222@http://www.craftivism.com/blog.html/ 2006-05-11T16:08:52-05:00 http://www.craftivism.com/archives/000221.html Public transportation is a joy to me (when I manage to get up early enough to catch the bus to work) as not only does it allow me the luxury of traveling and knitting but we're also lucky enough to have a free local bus system! There's something lovely about industrial/institutional design that grabs me. Around here, the interior of buses are either blue or orange, in those blocky clunky colors of my 70s childhood. One of my current challenges is to get myself out of the habit of looking at my hands as I knit, so I'm back to... 221@http://www.craftivism.com/blog.html/ 2006-05-09T08:52:13-05:00 http://www.craftivism.com/archives/000220.html Below is a response to a post earlier in the week that I thought was so beautiful that it warranted a post of its own. Sometimes people ask me what craftivism means. Sometimes I don't know quite what to say. Or know how it's related to me. But craftivism is more than just a way to express your politics and views, it's about finding a way to better your life and that of others through creative endeavors. Because I believe that everything we make with our hands has power. Just what that power is, is your own decision. I've just... 220@http://www.craftivism.com/blog.html/ 2006-05-04T16:33:50-05:00 http://www.craftivism.com/archives/000219.html The theme for last week's Whiplash competition over at Whipup was "no fear." Looking at the entries this morning, I was reminded how often I personally feel fear and always think that it is an emotion I am going through alone. The entries were all gorgeous and striking, the antedote to anti-fear, if you will. Browsing through them made me wonder why we feel that fear should be something we are ashamed of or bewildered by or trapped in. Because we are all scared that what we do will bring about a negative response or that we aren't enough... 219@http://www.craftivism.com/blog.html/ 2006-05-02T13:04:25-05:00 http://www.craftivism.com/archives/000218.html Although these shoes are from a discount-chain-shoestore that shall remain anonymous, I am currently loving them. Unfortunately, everything I purchase is not guaranteed to be produced ethically. Even though I will go out of my way to buy items that were made with ethics in mind, I still use some items that are made without them on anyone's conscience. This choice, however, continues to weigh heavily on my own conscience, as I strive to make the best decisions with my tiny budget. And I know that I am not alone. What can we do to combat this polarity? Buying... 218@http://www.craftivism.com/blog.html/ 2006-04-27T14:40:23-05:00 http://www.craftivism.com/archives/000217.html "In 1839 it was considered elegant to take a tortoise out walking. This gives us an idea of the tempo of the flânerie in the arcades." -Walter Benjamin, The Arcades Project I've picked up The Arcades Project again, and have been reminded of how much I adore Benjamin's views on the importance of the flaneur. Walking around town never fails to incur a wealth of inspiration and tiny joys. I wonder if walking around town with me must, at times, seem like walking around with a tortoise, as I walk with wide eyes and frequently stop to further investigate my... 217@http://www.craftivism.com/blog.html/ 2006-04-21T13:02:39-05:00 http://www.craftivism.com/archives/000216.html Lately, all my thoughts have come back to this photograph. Not just at the actual image, but also the way the top seems to fade into nothing. I've been trying to dry a delicate felt rug that I made in the bathtub for days now. It's made of fleece and due to some thinner spots, I don't want to hang it up before I can mend it with a felting needle. The beginning of southern humidity is doing little to expedite the drying process. Sunday night I gathered the fleece on the rug before me, stacked in fuzzy piles... 216@http://www.craftivism.com/blog.html/ 2006-04-19T16:20:40-05:00 http://www.craftivism.com/archives/000215.html Things may be a little slow around here for a few weeks as I'm in the middle of switching to a Word Press template, editing the scores of photos I've taken while my computer has been in the shop, finally getting the Crafter Documentary Project online, and refocusing not only my own relationship with crafts and activism, but redesigning it as well. It's not so much that I feel a disconnect with craftivism, but that I feel like I need to do more than a blog, and redesigning things from the ground up will enable me to do just that.... 215@http://www.craftivism.com/blog.html/ 2006-04-17T14:54:58-05:00 http://www.craftivism.com/archives/000214.html Yes, that's a self-portrait with a giant eyeball. In a mirror that is labeled "Look at Yourself." I found it amusing because one of my main interests is ethnographic research and it just seemed all too perfect. Because I believe that in order to see outside you need to first look inside. And that you should use what you've learned to better understand the world around you. I wonder about the ways in which people find me, a somewhat self-selecting group individuals who I have embarked on many amazing conversations with, sometimes collaborated with and always learned from. While it's... 214@http://www.craftivism.com/blog.html/ 2006-04-11T10:06:09-05:00 http://www.craftivism.com/archives/000213.html In case you don't already know, Kathy Cano-Murillo is a crafty powerhouse. Over the years she has given me amazing advice via several online craft boards and has often amused me with stories of her handmade mishaps! It always comforting to know that I'm not the only one gluing my fingers together or doing things (as I did this weekend) like injuring myself with a felting needle! I was overjoyed to recently acquire a copy of her new book, Art de la Soul, which is a craft primer of sorts. I love the fact that not only does it contain... 213@http://www.craftivism.com/blog.html/ 2006-04-10T14:07:00-05:00 http://www.craftivism.com/archives/000212.html This is the bay window in the back bedroom of my grandmother's house. It used to be my great-grandmother's sitting room and still holds a blanket she crocheted before her death. For years I thought that maybe somewhere in the definition of the word 'home' was implied that the longer you lived somewhere, the more it became yours. But now, I'm not so sure. What makes a house a home? I know for sure that cardboard boxes aren't part of the equation. As I've been almost constantly on the move for a decade now, I'm an expert of what home... 212@http://www.craftivism.com/blog.html/ 2006-04-05T16:31:06-05:00 http://www.craftivism.com/archives/000211.html Even though my computer has crashed *again* and has made me a bit gunshy of relying on technology, that doesn’t mean I don’t love it still. But I do wish it would hurry up and get out of the shop already! I’ve been taking heaps of photographs in the interim, even though they are currently trapped in my digital camera waiting for me to upload them to my soon-to-be-fixed computer! A few projects that I was working on have now come into the public domain, most notably the Queen of Hearts show at the Paper Boat Boutique in Madison, Wisconsin... 211@http://www.craftivism.com/blog.html/ 2006-03-31T15:46:09-05:00