Buffy the Vampire Slayer was easily the most subversive thing on television, and possibly in all of popular culture, in its heyday, and I was a very dedicated fan -- a fanatic. Joss Whedon, creator of the series, knows something about craft in all its forms, and he gave an interview to Kim Werker, former editor of Interweave Crochet and a blogger at CrochetMe.com, that's very funny and endearing. (It's amazing what you find in the black-hole week betwen Christmas and New Year's Day, isn't it?).
I'm linking here to the full Q&A transcript of the interview so you get more Joss, less of the interviewer talking about herself. The Q&A format is tricky too, though, as any writer or editor will tell you; sometimes you get to see too much of the sausage being made, as in, the interviewer trying too hard to be cool and clever, and banter with the celebrity, and it's distracting. This one has some of that self-consciousness but all in all it's pretty good.
Werker asks a lot of leading questions to try to get Whedon to take a firm DIY/Craft 2.0 position, but his answers reveal something of a Slow Cloth aesthetic and philosophy:
Well, you know, at the end of the day right now, you can create something; what you can't usually do is make a fortune off of it. But if we're talking about the sort of people who are actually checking a crocheting website, we're talking about the sort of people who understand that part of what we're doing is in the process. That it's not about, "I'm going to crochet the most hats! I'm going to be the fastest! I'm going to be the most [mumbled] millionaire without enjoying the process and the product." Ultimately, the artistic expression can't be squelched; it's just they'll try to cut off any avenues for that expression to be, shall we say, monetized in a realistic fashion. Like I'm saying, the sort of people who understand the DIY mentality are more about the doing than the having.
Elsewhere this morning, the New York Times has a short piece about the opening of a Manhattan shop for Les Toiles du Soleil, a French fabric company specializing in gorgeous bright striped cotton canvas that will make you think of a summer house at the beach. The company has been making these fabrics for nearly 150 years. They're very . . . French, I guess, in all good ways. Creating a harmonious yet interesting stripe pattern is harder than it looks, and these are wonderful.
photo by Donna Alberico for the New York Times
I really think that every molecule of my being would be happy in France, but to date, I've never been there; I've had a few trips planned that became near-misses. Maybe 2009 will be the year.
And here's a small piece for the Moon of Long Nights:
Oh, to be in Manhattan and see those French fabrics! Love your piece, Lainie, and hope your holidays were good.
By the way, did I ever mention that Maiwa is a favourite browsing shop of mine here in Vancouver? If I were doing textiles again like many years ago, I'd go nuts in there. I love their sister store of clothing and import textiles.
Posted by: marja-leena | December 28, 2008 at 05:18 PM
Hi all - thank you for the excellent comments - Deb, I think we are of about the same vintage, so it must just be different strokes for different folks, as Sly once said. Buffy struck a very deep chord in me that had to do with being the misunderstood outsider and finding her own tribe of brilliant misfits, and of course the epic love story with the dark, dangerous vampire with a soul. I'm a Scorpio, after all . . .
Posted by: Lainie | December 27, 2008 at 10:11 AM
I was totally captivated by Firefly but so incredibly put off by BVS I couldn't believe that it was conceived by the same person. It must be my age and impatience with the nonsense of youth.
Posted by: Deb | December 27, 2008 at 04:21 AM
Happy Holidays Elaine! I love that you can find Joss Whedon (I'm a Firefly addict myself) and textiles in the same blog. Off to read the link.
Posted by: Heather | December 26, 2008 at 08:04 PM
thanks for the dollhouse link :-)
Posted by: Guzzisue | December 26, 2008 at 04:14 PM
Heather - your piece is amazing. I love the refined beauty and elegance of it, and the message, of course. I'd love to have a print or a card of it to keep in my workroom! Go see it, readers, at http://truestitches.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Lainie | December 26, 2008 at 02:08 PM
Thanks for another great link, and, as i am currently reading a book on Hildegaard of Bingen's visions, I am very impressed by your moon piece.
I just finished a very slow piece of embroidery (I'm sure it took over 6 months). If you have time to take a look I think you might like it.
Posted by: Heather | December 26, 2008 at 01:28 PM