Craftivism
I’ve been reading the blog Soule Mama for quite some time. I so loved the writings of Amanda Blake Soule, that I also purchased and read her book The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections. It is fantastic and has helped me to think differently and wonderfully about how I view and use art and craft with my family.
But, now she’s done it again with her new project Mama to Mama: Connecting Families Through the Gift of Handmade. She speaks in her book about a concept called craftivism, “the concept of using craft for social action.” This intrigued me as I thought about what people need around the world and how there is something more connected to sending handmade goods than just flinging money (although sometimes money flinging is needed, I think handmade is also needed). And how wonderful it can be when women, families, classrooms, and other groups meet together for the purpose of creating goods for others in need. I have known of church organizations that quilt or mend for good causes, but other than that I am not aware of how craft can be used for social activism and helping the downtrodden.
In her introduction of the project Soule describes why and how her idea got started. She also describes the first project, The Caps to Cap-Haitien Project: A partnership with Konbit Sante. She describes how crafters can create newborn caps, following a pattern that you can download off the site, send them to her and they will all be donated to the project.
I’m excited by this idea and I look forward to where it could lead. Crafters unite!
Leave A Comment