Crafting philosophy, Part 1

This summer had been very crafty for me, and with all this extra time, I have applied another love to my craft- research. I came across Craftivism, DIY ethics, guerrilla crafting.. the connections between third wave feminism and the re-claiming of crafts, to name a few. I stay up late resewing a thrift store skirt and wake up early to rev up the sewing machine on a re-used fabric grocery bag, feeling a statement against wasteful culture flowing beneath my fingertips. On the bus, i knit a rubber band shaped scarf on bamboo chopsticks, holding the project up high and looped around my knees so people can't help but notice, reminding them that all things are made, and that the power to make complexity and beauty is in their hands too- reclaiming an ancient shunned art as a form of public transportation self empowerment.

I first picked up craft at the age of seven, when my aunt taught me to crochet a dolls sweater. Materials haven't left my hands since then, and more and more, my hands itch to move yarn and my mind analyzes any manufactured product to see if its making could be restored to human creators. I like the smooth movements and dexterities I have trained into my fingers flow from my grandparents and other ancestors, who fought their way through life with their hands, building their own homes, weaving their own blankets, sewing their own clothing, raising their own food. In our society, 'arts and crafts' brings up images of hokey homemade jewelry, or shrink wrapped craft kits that produce styrofoam raindeer or ugly cross stitch pillows- but for my family, arts and crafts were an important part of daily life.

I think its time to bring it back to that.