Monday, October 31, 2011

Craft Activism: Book Review

Craft Activism by Joan Tapper,
photos by Gale Zucker
As a kid, whenever I would whine that I was bored, my mom would say, "Go make something."

The many contributors to this book apparently had mothers similar to mine, because they all make SOMETHING. And you can too.

Craft Activism is more than a craft book - it's a profile of the current crafting movement and includes chapters on sewing, embroidery, quilting, knitting, crochet, etc. The knitting section is as far apart as yarn bombing (tree cozies) to sweaters with political statements to amazingly accurate animal pelts reproduced as knitting projects.

Each profile is accompanied by a project inspired by the crafter's work - if you have basic knowledge of their craft, you can manage the project. It's simplified, but not dumbed-down.

The book is divided up into several sections:  Crafting a Statement, Recrafting the Past, Crafting for a Cause, Crafting to Recycle, Renew and Reuse, and Crafting a Community.  Even without the projects, it's an interesting read simply for the crafters and their various causes and organizations.

Books like this inspire me just by existing. I like knowing there are that many other people out there who get up every day, knowing that by bedtime, they're going to make something.

3 comments:

Cathy said...

I loved your last sentence, Karen. First it made me all warm and fuzzy saying "Yeah", as I realized WHY reading blogs and Pattern Review make me so happy.

Sheila said...

Thanks for the review, being a multi crafter, this book would make a great addition to my crafting library.

Anonymous said...

Very nice post.