Heather Marano - Crafting the Resistance: 35 Projects for Craftivists, Protestors, and Women Who Persist

A portion of proceeds will be donated to Planned Parenthood.

Copyright 2017 by Lara Neel and Heather Marano

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Jane Sheppard

Cover photo credit by Lara Neel and Heather Marano

Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-3138-7

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-3139-4

Printed in the United States of America

DEDICATIONS

To my mama, who gave me my firm handshake, confident laugh, and strong voice. Also to my wife, who helps me sort out when to act and when to plan.

Lara

To my husband, for his unending support. And for my children, without whom life would just not be as beautiful.

Heather

T ABLE OF C ONTENTS

Emancipation should make it possible for women to be human in the truest sense. Everything within her that craves assertion and activity should reach its fullest expression; all artificial barriers should be broken, and the road towards greater freedom cleared of every trace of centuries of submission and slavery.

Emma Goldman, 1912

I NTRODUCTIONS

Im a lifelong crafter. Ive dabbled in (and been addicted to) knitting, needle felting, spinning, weaving, and sewing. I love them all, for different reasons. Primarily, I agree with Annie Modesitt, who reminds us that crafters create to make themselves happy, not because they think they need more stuff.

I also take great joy in teaching others how to knit and explore other creative pursuits. Often, the upcoming arrival of a baby provides a reason to take up the needles. In the past, knitting and sewing projects were taken on to help support war efforts. Today is no different, really, except that we are the troops and we use words instead of guns to fight for our cause.

I recently read Gloria Steinems My Life on the Road. Its a wonderful, complex book. Steinem was a contemporary, friend, and confidant of Wilma Mankiller. I was too young to vote, but I had the good fortune of being at least a little politically aware when Mankiller was reelected principal chief of the Cherokee Nation in 1991. As a member of the Cherokee Nation and as a woman, I looked up to Mankiller. Steinems portrait of her, which includes her death in 2010, is humbling and moving. It also provides a personal detail. Steinem writes, Among her last requests was that everyone wear or carry something in her improbable favorite color: bright pink.

Ive always had a strained relationship with pink. In my mind, it is closely associated with unrealistic fashion dolls, cheaply made underwear from the mall, and entirely too much branding on breast cancer awareness. (Im all for breast cancer awareness, but its hard for me not to cast a long side-eye at companies that have harnessed pink ribbons as a marketing ploy without seeming especially interested in reducing cancer rates.)

Before my wife, sister, and I joined the sea of pink at the March for Women in January 2017, I sewed several Pussyhats and wore mine with pride. In private, I worried that I might not wear my hat again. Pink, after all, wasnt my color. Im more of a black-and-gray-and-sometimes-red person.

However, I had a very fun encounter about a week after the March. I was wearing my hat in line at the post office when the lady in front of me told me she liked my hat. She wanted to know where I got it, so I told her I made it, asked her if she had one, and said I would give it to her if she would wear it. She was excited, and I was very happy to be able to give it to her. We decided that my payment should be her simply increasing her usual donation to Planned Parenthood.

I made a little vow to myself. Whenever I had a hat to wear, I would make sure I had at least one in my purse to give away, too. Im much more comfortable now with bright pink, and I will be even more proud to wear it, since I know that it carries a connection to the person who taught everyone the power of a woman leader in Indian country.

Lara

resistance /r'zistns/ noun

the refusal to accept or comply with something; the attempt to prevent something by action or argument.

She put up no resistance to being led away.

the ability not to be affected by something, especially adversely.

Some of us have a lower resistance to cold than others.

Resistance is not new. As long as there has been oppression, there has been resistance and advocates for justice. There are countless examples of inequality and oppression from societies all around the world and throughout the historical record.

But there have also been movements. Look at the abolition of apartheid in South Africa, the indigenous rights movements of native peoples worldwide, and, in the United States, the abolition of slavery, the fight for womens suffrage, and the Civil Rights Movement.

All of these movements have one thing in common. A group of people see injustice and they organize to fight it and change it, no matter how long that fight takes. Sometimes that fight goes on for decades. What is needed to keep the movement cohesive and effective is unity and a common message.

Crafters have long been a part of these movements. Just as any artist, we use our creativity to make a statement and to spread the word. Through our art, we educate. We create unity. We spread the message of the movement. The white sashes worn by suffragists in the US and in England are a great example. The Pussyhats worn by activists around the world in the winter and spring of 2017 are another.

This book provides a wealth of different types of projects that can help you continue to spread the word, carry the message, support the cause, spark a conversation! We hope youll find these projects speak to you and help you carry the message of your movement.

With love and solidarity,

Heather

A V ERY S HORT H ISTORY OF C RAFTIVISM

Betsy Greer coined the term craftivism in the early years of the twenty-first century and launched Craftivism.com in 2003. Her short definition is: Craftivism is a way of looking at life where voicing opinions through creativity makes your voice stronger, your compassion deeper, and your quest for justice more infinite. Her work connects to a long history of handcrafts supporting political causes. For example, spinning bees were organized as part of the break away from England and English goods during the Revolutionary War. Also, Mahatma Gandhis swadeshi movement relied on the production of goods at home as a path to political, economic, and cultural independence.

The Pussyhat Project exploded onto the world stage in late 2016. Krista Suh and Jayna Zweiman put out the call for a sea of pink hats for the Womens March on Washington in January 2017, and knitters, crocheters, and sewists answered it. It was so successful that some opponents questioned its authenticity, expressing disbelief that so many hats could have been handmade in such a short amount of time. To us, this says theyve been ignoring our voices for so long that they dont know our numbers, capacity, or dedication.