Hello My Friends!!
Happy Leap Year. It feels so sneaky getting a whole extra day in our year doesn’t it? What are you going to do with your freebie?! I have a fantasy that we all just spend it making art, eating food, taking walks, and spending time with people we love. I’m going to try to fit in a few of those things even if I can’t take the whole day “off” from the grind. I like that the whole year gets called a “leap year”…I think we should channel that energy into a whole vibe. What leaps can you take this year? I mean it is the year of the Wood Dragon…energy and movement abound.
My life has been (and will be) consumed by the creation of this book. I thought writing it and finding a publisher were going to be the hardest parts….hahahah sucker. Turns out there are no easy parts in the book making process.
That said, we are just weeks away from you being able to PRE-ORDER the book AND my publishers moved the publication date up to October 1st! We are all eager to get it out to you before the election. I finished stitching the cover last week and the publishers are turning it into digital magic as we speak. Can I just say, I have NEVER worked this hard on anything in my life (and y’all know how hard I can work). I am so proud of it and I cannot wait to get it into your hands because I believe it will be incredibly helpful for all creative people who want to do more to make this world better. Eeeeee! (sneak peek)
I’ve got a whole bunch of rad shit for you so let’s get to it, eh?
WELL-BEING STUDY AT KENT STATE
Are you a member of a marginalize community and a crafter? Kent State is conducting a research project and would love to hear from you. It’s an hour commitment and there is a gift card for participation. If you are interested please contact Dr. Michelle Burton - MBurton22@kent.edu, Dr. Ja-Young Hwang - jhwang5@kent.edu or Bianka Hausknecht - Sinkfiel@kent.edu and include “well-being study” in the subject line of your email.
PETA FISH EMPATHY QUILT
I asked my friends at PETA if I could use one of their images in my book. They asked me to participate in their fish empathy quilt. Hell yes! I had been wanting to make a piece of art to honor my 25th anniversary as a vegetarian so this felt like a perfect synergy.
I immediately called my friend Melissa who is a fish virologist (Curious about that? Here’s a great podcast interview she did about her work). One of the bigger things she clued me in on is the activism work happening in the Pacific Northwest along the Klamath River.
For nearly 100 years there have been a series of dams on that river blocking fish migration, negatively impacting indigenous culture, and damaging water quality. Thanks to the tireless work of many activists led by tribal nations, four of the dams are being removed! It will be the largest dam removal project in history.
This work will bring salmonid populations back from the brink and restore habitats for many other species. You can learn more and get involved here.
I figured I should use my quilt block to bring attention to that work because we must always CELEBRATE THE WINS!
Are YOU interested in contributing to the Fish Empathy Quilt and having your art travel the world bringing attention to animal rights issues facing fish? Learn more and submit your work: https://www.peta.org/features/fish-empathy-quilt/
CRAFTIVISM GRANT UPDATES
First off, thank you for the folks who have been buying up Alana’s custom designed stickers. They made a $100 donation to Choosing Our Roots thanks to you! Choosing Our Roots is a queer-led nonprofit social service organization providing queer youth housing support and case management to help them thrive in Alaska.
If you want to buy some of our youth activist stickers to help raise funds for queer youth in Alaska get ‘em here: https://www.badasscrossstitch.com/buyart/fundraising-stickers
The 2024 grant winner, Ladipo Famodu is hard at work planning his dream. Omkari Williams, Ladipo, and I have met several times already and summer plans are being laid. Stay tuned…lost wax casting jewelry workshops for Black liberation are coming to Chicago!
UPCOMING PUBLIC EVENTS
March 17 - Glen Ellyn, IL - Craftivism 101 at String Theory -- Stitch with me on St. Patrick’s Day!!!
March 24 - Michigan City, IN - Craftivism 101 for my queer fam and allies at the Lubeznik Center for the Arts
March 30 - Zoom - Intro to Embroidery
April 13 - Zoom - Intro to Embroidery
PATREON EVENTS
The patreon community is hopping! You can join for as little as $1/month and you get access to everything we are doing for #MakeDontBreak.
Want a little taste? January was focused on book binding techniques. We made journals and these darling tea bag notebooks.
I’ve made this tutorial accessible to everyone so you can get a feel for some of the fun we are having in the Patreon. You know you want to make one of these for someone who loves tea. Here you go: https://www.patreon.com/posts/january-project-97435351
In February we had some guest stars. Mindy Tsonas Choi led us through a magical Lunar New Year alchemy collage workshop. Greta Johnsen of the Nerdette Podcast came over and baked cookies with us! We record everything so even if you join now, you can still join in the previous months workshops and events.
March will feature a no-experience required map quilt making workshop with the amazing Rachel Wallis! PLUS, for folks who are not yet embroiderists, I’ll be leading an Intro to Embroidery workshop just for Patreons. There will be a surprise tutorial dropped in there too.
Treat yo self! Join in our crafty fun and get your creative resilience on. Added bonus, your support means I can keep doing this work and still eat! Yay for food!
JOIN HERE NOW
RAGE + WOMEN + FILM = MAGIC
You know how I love to support other badass artists and activists. Well, my friend and a most talented photographer, Whitney Bradshaw has almost met her Kickstarter goal for the very important documentary being made about her work.
Outcry: Alchemists of Rage is a short documentary about the transformational power of women’s rage. It examines Whitney’s project: Outcry. Oh y’all it’s going to be SO GOOD.
To support the creation of this amazing film, I donated 5 signed copies of my new book and a whole workshop as rewards for donors.
Help Whitney get across the finish line and maybe score the first copies of my book or a workshop with me as a reward!
DONATE HERE
Learn more about Whitney and Outcry here
ART EXHIBIT
Stitched, Woven, and Hooked at the Lubeznik Center for the Arts
I am pleased to be debuting a new (apparently controversial) piece of art as part of this exhibit which opens this Friday and runs through June.
I would LOVE to see you at the opening this Friday evening from 5-8pm.
Come hug me!
About the exhibit:
The fiber arts movement of the 60s and 70s took place alongside the Civil Rights, Women’s Liberation, and Anti-War movements and was clearly inspired by those revolutionary times. Many artists working in fiber were also activists pushing for social change and social justice like the extraordinary Faith Ringgold and Emma Amos. Those who identified as fiber artists were mainly women whose chosen medium, up to that point, had been devalued by the patriarchy and characterized as “women’s work” or craft rather than fine art. Together these revolutionary artists reclaimed the power of the needle and made space to share their stories, their experiences, and their masterful artworks in the Western fine art canon.
Today many fiber artists, still largely women, choose to make autobiographical work about their identities, family histories and cultural traditions. The artists included in this exhibition research, collect, combine, reimagine, reuse and revisit historical and contemporary textiles and fiber techniques. The materials and objects they employ hold personal significance and draw on individual and collective memory to convey personal narratives, often challenging power dynamics and concepts related to identity. In their work, the personal is political.
Exhibiting Artists:
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NEED A LISTEN?
I LOVE the Hidden Brain podcast. I had a lot of thoughts after giving this episode a listen. I would love to hear yours…
I adore you. More soon! xo Shannon