Published in 2018
308 pages
Betsy Greer is a writer, a researcher and a maker who asks lots of questions and drinks lots of coffee. In 2002, she started writing about the connections between craft and activism, two very (at the time) out-of-touch terms who needed a PR boost. Soon armed with the new term “craftivism,” thanks to a friend at a knitting circle, she began to write about how embracing your craft, passion and creativity can lead to a more holistic life. In 2003, she started keeping track of all things craftivism at her online homebase, craftivism.com. Lucky enough to be involved with the craft resurgence right from the beginning, she continues to be excited when people take up knitting needles, embroidery thread, fabric or other crafty media in their quest to navigate and process the world around them.
Sayraphim Lothian is a public artist who utilises as many crafts as she can lay her hands on. She’s interested in craftivism and creative resistance in all its forms. Her main body of work revolves around kindness as a form of rebellion, craft as a form of subversion and games in public to overturn expected behaviours. She is inspired by street art, craft history and the rebellious in almost all its forms. Lothian is the writer and host of Craftivism 101, a tutorial series on the Youtube channel MonsterThinks and did her Masters thesis on Craftivism. She holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in photography, a Graduate Diploma in Primary Teaching from La Trobe University and a Masters in Art in Public Space at RMIT, Melbourne.
What is this book about?
“Full of ways to show your support for a cause through homemade items . . . a great book for anyone who wants to grow their skills as a maker.” —Nerdy Girl Express
Craftivism is a non-threatening form of activism that gives people a voice when they feel voiceless and power where they feel powerless. It is an international movement for our time and artist, scholar, activist, and YouTube art teacher Sayraphim Lothian has put together the first-ever tutorial book on craftivism.
This master craftivist shows you how to make and use various crafts for political and protest purposes including:
· Embroidery
· Cross stitch
· Knitting
· Stenciling
· Decoupage
· Stamping
Craftivism is a growing worldwide movement in which handcrafted works are being used to highlight political issues, creatively engage in activism, and encourage change in the world. Craftivists employ their works to open a space for people to be introduced to issues and to broaden the discussion surrounding them. While it might seem that this most colorful movement began recently, creative resistance has been with us for centuries around the globe, and craftivism and makers stating their mind through the medium of art is here to stay.
“Whether capturing the stories in crochet, or creating spontaneous interventions of crafted kindness, Sayraphim Lothian’s projects show that the new resistance can be artistic, clever, and kind. Whether using street art or baking, embroidery or soft sculpture, she demonstrates that craftivism is, at it’s very best, a medium devoted to connecting humans together, one creative act at a time.” —Leanne Prain, coauthor of Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet & Knit Graffiti
