Craft as a Bridge Between Humanity and the Natural World

As people have faced major life and societal altering events that cause them to evaluate the systems they are living in and disengage from them, they seek more sustainable methods of living and community building that nature seamlessly incorporates into its infrastructure. As we engage with the natural world through craft, the lessons from nature can become a guide for us in how we can integrate a more sustainable interconnected lifestyle into our personal lives and communities. Craft helps us to bridge the gap between humanity and the natural world by inspiring us to go out and physically engage with nature and bring artifacts of that home with us to enrich our urban lifestyles. As we practice more conscious and holistic methods of craft we can further refine our relationship with the natural world. That refinement brings added healing and understanding to us as we learn and grow within the interconnected relational world around us.

Craft as a Bridge Between Humanity and the Natural World By Jessica Booth A final project paper submitted to the faculty of The University of Utah in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts Department of Art and Art History The University of Utah (May 2024) 1 Copyright © Jessica Booth, 2024 All Rights Reserved 2 3 4 Table of Contents Arts and Craft Movements.......................................................................................................... 5 Defining Craft............................................................................................................................. 19 Forest Bathing........................................................................................................................... 25 Woven World.............................................................................................................................. 31 Nostalgic Nests..........................................................................................................................32 Wood Wide Web.........................................................................................................................34 Fresh Start..................................................................................................................................35 Aspis........................................................................................................................................... 37 Bibliography...............................................................................................................................40 Images........................................................................................................................................ 44 5 Arts and Craft Movements When considering the Arts and Craft movements throughout American history, it could be assumed that there is little importance in them as there are so many other art movements that seem to be more impactful on society in comparison. However, I will be discussing the relevance of the three main Arts and Craft movements in American society and draw the connection of craft to the natural world and the healing found in engaging with craft as a conductor for humanity to nature. The Arts and Crafts movements in this paper are categorized as the original Arts and Craft movement of the late 1800’s early 1900’s, the Counterculture movement of the 60’s-70’s, and the current Craft Renaissance that gained serious momentum several years before the 2020 pandemic and proceeds to current day. Each of these movements, looked at individually, may have several unique important events that took place during and in response to them. However, when viewed as a whole, certain societal patterns appear in each movement. Each movement has a cluster of social disruptions or major life and society-altering events that are consistent. These patterns of social disruptions show that in times of societal stress and upheaval, humanity often retreats to craft and, thus, the natural world for healing and peace. The social disruptions that will be discussed are as follows: each craft movement had a global pandemic connected to them. Each had major wars surrounding them. There were massive amounts of urbanization and industrialization that inspired people to turn from society and seek solace in the natural world and seek rural vs urban environments, which led to environmental awareness and movements of sustainability to protect the environment. Lastly, all movements were connected to multiple civil rights movements. By looking at these social disruptions and the effect they had on bringing society, especially marginalized groups, together as well as inspiring 6 humanity to reconnect with nature and value the natural world, we start to see the historical relevance of the Arts and Craft movements. The Arts and Crafts movement of the early 19th century started in England as a response to industrialization. Because of the rapid industrialization and the increased need for workers, many people left the rural countryside in favor of the ‘job rich’ urban cities. However, the infrastructure of cities was less than ideal. The living and working environment for general workers was more often than not, an environment for disease and illness to freely spread. Not only was disease spreading quickly because of close quarters of factories, but the workers also had to combat the chemical pollutant produced by new manufacturing methods and the dangerous machine hazards. As a result, the labor movement of the early 1900s began, which was one of the main civil rights movements connected to the first Arts and Crafts movement. The labor movement’s main objectives were to fight for fair wages, better living situations, and safer working environments. The labor movement was important for Craft unions, who defended the prices for their labor during a time in which the factory approach was starting to create product for cheaper prices.1 William Morris, one of the main advocates for the Arts and Crafts Movement, wrote, “Apart from desire to produce beautiful things, the leading passion of my life is hatred of modern civilization.”2 Morris’s dislike for modern civilization came from the lack of fair, safe work environments, and the destruction of the natural world that he saw as a result of industrial factories. Morris became aware of the hierarchical divisions created by contemporary society, recognizing that the dehumanizing industrial system was not sustainable and lacked quality in so many aspects.3 1 Sarah Pruitt, “Labor Movement - America, Reform, & Timeline,” last modified March 31, 2020, https://www.history.com/topics/19th-century/labor. 2 Elizabeth Cumming and Wendy Kaplan, The Arts and Crafts Movement (London: Thames & Hudson, 1991), 15. 3 “Introducing William Morris,” Victoria and Albert Museum, accessed April 24, 2024, https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/introducing-william-morris. 7 Eventually the Arts and Crafts movement moved across the ocean to the United States with similar beliefs and ideas about the engagement of craft. The goals surrounding the American Arts and Craft Movement were similar to those in England, such as the rival of craftsmanship, having safer and more satisfying working conditions, and a unification of different art forms.4 Capitalism contributed more to the US craft movement, as it was used as a tool to help economically distressed people and immigrants be able to integrate into working society and provide for themselves. Settlement houses and other philanthropic establishments provided classes for people to learn these different craft trades. 5 During this time, the ‘New Negro Movement’ was also happening, where schools like the Hampton Institute were created to help Black and Indigenous people gain training in trade to lift up these groups through education. They focused more on the architecture and woodworking aspects of craft to provide employment to these people.6 Along with Black and Indigenous people using craft as a vehicle to provide better lives for themselves, women also joined the arts and craft movement. Ellen Miller and Margaret Whiting were two such women who provided training to other local women in different textile creations adapted from local historical society records. Over time, these women experimented with natural dyes such as Indigo, Madder, and Butternut to produce colored yarns and fabrics.7 With establishments like this, not only were female artists able to work, but other amateur female artists were able to receive training to participate in the craft trade movement. 4 Cumming and Kaplan, The Arts and Crafts Movement, 143. Cumming and Kaplan, The Arts and Crafts Movement, 154. 6 “Hampton Institute and Booker T. Washington,” Virginia Museum of History and Culture, accessed April 24, 2024, https://virginiahistory.org/learn/civil-rights-movement-virginia/hampton-institute-and-booker-t-washington#:~:text= Hampton%20Normal%20and%20Agricultural%20Institute,fifty%20cents%20in%20his%20pocket. 7 Cumming and Kaplan, The Arts and Crafts Movement, 151. 5 8 During the first Arts and Craft movement the suffragette movement was also taking place. Women were fighting back against the systems of oppression they faced from society, and both of these movements worked together to help women gain more rights and independence. The Arts and Craft movement began to give more women a platform to participate and receive some credit for their art and contributions to art and craft. However, their role was controversial and they still had to fight for the rights and recognition they did receive.8 Opinions about women doing paid labor had only recently started changing, as the mentality of ‘The Angel in the House’ was still a prevalent thought in society. Angel in the house, being the idea that women should reside in the domestic sphere and be a submissive, good-tempered wife whose role was to manage the household life.9 The Arts and Craft movement was seen as an extension of those female roles, textiles being a major part of this original movement. However, women's roles were to carry out the designs of male artists rather than original content created by the female artists of this period.10 “The Arts and Craft Movement was paradoxically dependent on women’s involvement and hostile towards their work.”11 In spite of this hostility, women took this opportunity and made the most of it, such as artists like Phoebe Anna Traquair, Ann Macbeth, Mary Seton Watts, And May Morris.12 May Morris was a prominent figure in the Arts and Craft movement who founded the Women's Guild of Art in 1907 which had over one hundred female members specializing in crafts that included embroidery, stained glass, jewelry, enameling, and so much more. Her impact 8 “Arts and Crafts Movement - When Women United in Creativity,” Widewalls, published March 8, 2018, https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/arts-and-crafts-movement-women-artists. 9 Widewalls, “When Women United in Creativity.” 10 Widewalls, “When Women United in Creativity.” 11 Widewalls, “When Women United in Creativity.” 12 “Discover the forgotten women of the Arts and Crafts movement,” Homes and Antiquities, published March 6, 2024, https://www.homesandantiques.com/antiques/the-forgotten-women-of-arts-and-crafts. 9 gave space for other following women to participate in the movement.13 As the daughter of William Morris, she was surrounded by many of the prominent figures of her time, giving her a special position to be involved with the growth and changes that the Arts and Craft movement brought about. She even developed her own softer style compared to the work of her father.14 The growing involvement with both women and men fostered learning and experimentation with these mediums. This time of experimentation was important for preserving methods of working, bringing back older practices, and new processes. William Morris was known to do historical research in dyeing and printing methods on his textiles. This seems to be a natural transition made in most arts and crafts movements, the transition to turn to more holistic methods of creation that rejects artificial man-made technologies.15 John Ruskin, whose writings in many ways inspired this movement, exhorted artists, designers, and craftsmen to use nature as inspiration and instruction. Creating a nostalgia for rural life, the Arts and Craft Movement often showed motifs of the natural world.16 The connection between craft and material is a vital part of the Art and Craft movements and they worked to refine one another as the arts and crafts movements gained traction. Landscape acts as a partner to the craftsman in defining the crafts made, for as the materials are foraged and used, mankind leaves a record of the interaction.17 This connection to the natural world was one of the strongest motivating forces in the Arts and Craft movement. William Morris said, “There is no square mile of earth’s inhabitable surface that is not beautiful in its own way, if we men will only 13 Homes and Antiquities, “Discover the forgotten women.” Homes and Antiquities, “Discover the forgotten women.” 15 Victoria and Albert Museum, “Introducing William Morris.” 16 Victoria and Albert Museum, “Introducing William Morris.” 17 Alexander Langlands, Craeft: An Inquiry into the Origins and True Meaning of Traditional Crafts (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2017), 27. 14 10 abstain from wilfully destroying that beauty.”18 This connection to environmental awareness and sustainability is something that was prevalent in this Arts and Craft movement as well as the other two that will be discussed. Unfortunately the presence of WWI ended this first Arts and Craft movement. As society needed to focus on more serious matters, the movement faded and other art movements took its place. Ironically, the Vietnam War instead helped to create the atmosphere in the United states that brought about the second arts and crafts movement The counterculture movement of the 60’s and 70’s created a strong culture of rebellion in younger generations and of marginalized groups. The disenchantment with the government because of the Vietnam War caused a strong surge of social justice, a rejection of consumerism, and so a promotion of alternative lifestyles prevailed. The civil rights movement, the feminist women's liberation movement, as well as the Identity movement for LGBTQ groups and others rose up in protest for basic human rights.19 Many of these groups used craft to form a sense of identity through fashion and the fiber arts. Fashion was a major part of black and hippy cultures, using fashion to convey dignity in those connected to the peaceful civil rights protest, and an edgier uniform of the Black Panthers which was a black beret, a symbol of militarism, with a leather jacket, dark shirt or turtleneck, with a pin, and sunglasses. The hippy culture centered around the craft of homemade, and natural fiber cloth. Both of these different forms of fashion fiber craft were used to form recognizable identity between community members and to be a sign of protest to those outside of those communities. Fiber arts became a preferred art approach for many of the female artists of the time who were connected to the Feminist Art movement. Artists such as Judy Chicago used domestic 18 William Morris, “Art and the Beatuy of the Earth,” The Architect (October 1881): 282-84. https://www.marxists.org/archive/morris/works/1881/earth.htm#:~:text=For%20surely%20there%20is%20no,labour %3B%20a%20decent%20house%20with. 19 Fred Fromner, “1960s Counterculture,” last modified May 8, 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/1960s-counterculture. 11 crafts as a way to advocate for female artist fair placement in the art world. Through her iconic piece The Dinner Party Chicago highlights and honors women in and outside of the art world for their contributions to society. Giving them a physical place at the table to push forward the metaphorical invitation to all women to have a place at the table. As fiber arts progressed as a legitimate art form, the Quilting movement grew. The 70’s were a fundamental time for quilting in American history. The quilting movement was in part inspired by a nostalgia for simpler times and to return to a ‘homespun’ approach. Quilting embodied the creative spirit of craft and brought people back to pre-industrial times. There was a rebellious nature to quilt making where people reimagined what a quilt could be, and they broke and rewrote the ‘rules’ of quiltmaking. The way they were displayed changed, instead of the traditional display methods they were hung on the wall like paintings to showcase and truly appreciate the hours of work poured into the pieces.20 These alternate display methods led to quilt installations of monumental sizes. The Quilt was a protest piece devoted to bringing awareness to the AIDS epidemic and those lost to it. Human rights activist Cleve Jones organized and held a candlelight vigil for two assassinated gay men, San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone. He learned that over 1,000 San Franciscans had been lost to AIDS, so during a march, he asked the other marchers to each write on a playcard the names of friends and loved ones who had died from AIDS. They then displayed these playcards on a wall together, making the wall with its cards looked like a patchwork quilt. Several years later they organized and held an event on October 11th, 1987, during the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. The Quilt was displayed for the first time, it covers a space larger than a football field and included 20 Rosie Lesso, “A Celebration of History: The 1970s Quilting Revival,” published July 7, 2020, https://blog.fabrics-store.com/2020/07/07/a-celebration-of-history-the-1970s-quilting-revival/. 12 1,920 panels, it was unfolded and layed out at sunrise. Celebrities, politicians, families, friends, and lovers read out the 1,920 names of people represented in the quilts. Throughout the years this quilt has become a historic symbol and is now roughly 54 tons and has nearly 50,000 panels of quilts. The National AIDS Memorial CEO John Cunningham said, “During the darkest days of the AIDS crisis, The Quilt was a source of immense comfort and inspiration and used as a tool for social activism to open the eyes of the nation to injustice and to help survivors grieve and heal.”21 This form of activism that was coined as “craftivism" became a central part of this second arts and craft movement. Not only was it used to protest for human rights but it was turned towards advocating for the climate. As a result of protest, activism, and craftivism of the Counterculture movement, Earth Day was established April 22, 1970. A strong nostalgia for the past and less urbanized environments inspired many people at this time to strive to reform their connection to the natural world. We see this conscientiousness resurge for the environment in the Counterculture movement. The radicalization that surrounded this movement, as well as a book written by Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, brought awareness of pesticides being used in America as well as the effects of car emissions, and other oil and industrial waste effects on the planet and the people who lived on it.22 On the first Earth Day protest there were an estimated 20 million Americans who participated in events, gave speeches and gathered together in support of Earth Day. This was a crucial point for the American government in regards to the climate crisis. It produced the awareness and momentum for several acts to pass in congress in favor of protecting the environment. Acts such as the Clean Air Act of 1970, Clean Water Act of 1972, and 21 National AIDS Memorial, “The History of The Quilt,” accessed April 24, 2024, https://www.aidsmemorial.org/quilt-history. 22 Sarah Pruitt, “How the First Earth Day Was Born From 1960s Counterculture,” last modified April 21, 2023, https://www.history.com/news/first-earth-day-1960s-counterculture. 13 Endangered Species Act of 1973. The EPA or Environmental Protection Agency was also formed at this time. 23 The effects of urbanization and industrialization had become more apparent. Scientists began speaking more about ‘global warming’ and people began to see the evidence for themselves. Craft became a tool to advocate for a change in how we were abusing the earth and the repercussions it was having on our climate. Climate change has become a growing central theme of debate in America. It has ebbed in political and social relevance since the 70’s, but as a result of social media and the way information is shared through technology, it has become a relevant and strongly debated topic. An article entitled “How the First Earth Day was Born from 1960s Counterculture” made the comment on the current Craft Renaissance that the millennials and genz who are participating in this movement are eco-conscious. They stated this like it is a novel idea, but we know from earlier studies that each movement has had aspects of consciousness to sustainable materials and processes. One example in another article said that, “Oscar Crabb, a recent Slade graduate, creates appliquéd textiles using antique linen found on eBay, which he dyes naturally.”24 Just like William Morris, Ellen Miller, and Margaret Whiting, who all in the original Arts and craft movement experimented and used natural plant based dying methods. And similar to the Counterculture and Quilt movement, an awareness of natural fibers is being shown. This current day sustainability is very much in response to the climate crisis and the younger generations trying to do their part to mitigate the growing problem. The sheer impact of this crisis is being shown in current day real life problems through the internet, and specifically through social media. 23 Pruitt, “Earth Day.” Eleanor Cording-Booth, “Taught by TikTok: behind the Gen Z crafting mania,” published May 25, 2023, https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/article/gen-z-crafters. 24 14 The third Arts and Crafts movement is heavily influenced by the internet. In the past decade, social media has become a tool for sharing information on every topic imaginable. It has also been an amazing tool for artists to share images of their art, methods of creating, and their conceptual ideas. With the creation of apps like TikTok, and Instagram, the sharing of handmade arts and crafts has skyrocketed. On these platforms, we have seen a rise in sharing of information on how these objects are often created. It has become a learning hub along with it being a platform for individual artists and craftsmen to showcase their work. Since the pandemic, TikTok has had the hashtag #crochetforbeginners searched with 196.4 million views, #tuftingrugs with 397.4 million views, and #basketweaving with 20.5 million views.25 The generations on social media are actively searching out craft during this time of isolation and social uncertainties we rebuild ‘normalcy’. It is also being used as a way to form and reform connections, and has brought a sense of community to people all over the world. And while the online presence of crafts has been the biggest factor in the widespread of this movement, making crafts is also, ironically, a sort of resistance against being trapped online. As I was studying the topic of craft and the social disruptions surrounding it, I realized that the urbanization aspect with this craft movement was partially a digital urbanization. Yes, more people than at any other time period in human history are living in urban vs rural environments. However, I think that part of this movement is tied to online urbanization and industrialization. British Archeologist and Medieval historian Alexander Langlands wrote in the Book Craeft, “I begin to wonder whether the vast complexities and infinite interactions digital technology promises were in fact doing quite the opposite: are they actually narrowing our sensory experience.”26 People are spending more time online and disengaged from human 25 26 Cording-Booth, “Gen Z crafting mania.” Langlands, Craeft, 11. 15 interactions and the real world. We have essentially moved ourselves further from the natural world by transplanting most of our life, relationships, interactions, and entertainment to social media platforms. Though this online citizenship has provided a way for us to easily access all of these different crafts that so many people have become interested in, we have seen through the engagement with craft the desire to disengage with the online world. I think that the innate desire to be present and engaged not only with the natural world but specifically here in just the ‘real’ world is driving this current Craft Renaissance. More so than art, craft has a repetitive meditative nature to it that is extremely grounding for human beings. Craftok has become so widespread and sustained its momentum because it grounds so many of us in the ‘real’ world. It grounds us outside of the online world, as those who are engaged with the movement start to think more sustainably in the materials they are using and they start to become grounded in the natural world as well. This craft movement that has formed so many online communities is also starting to do the same in the physical world as it grounds us as individuals and as communities. These communities have started to move from the online platforms to in person communities. Potter studios, craft classes, and local fiber arts groups are being flooded as people engage with craft and build community. These communities forming around craft are so diverse. The more established communities use craft as an identifier, such as the LGBTQ+ community who often create handcrafted symbols of personal identity and larger group identity. At events such as PRIDE you can see vendors with different craft objects they have created to build the sense of identity at these events. Often they are different objects that show what sexual or gender identity they identify with and it creates automatic connections for people as they move through the event. 16 There are less formal community identities on The University of Utah campus. The president of the sculpture club here on campus organized and has held several crocheting events affectionately referred to as ‘Stitch and Bitch’ where we gather primarily as 3D artists with some from other departments to gather and share our knowledge of crochet and complain about the things that happen on campus. There was a girl who was interested in creating a group of Latin-based crocheters that she could be a part of. This movement has been used as an effort to engage culturally and ethnically as well as with people who are in similar social circles. Black artists like Bisa Butler, Demond Melacon, Faith Ringgold, and Simone Elizabeth Saunders are using fiber arts and craftivism to talk about Black History, and the BLM movement.27 Native artists such as Raven Chacon (Diné), Kelly Church (Ottawa and Pottawatomi), Jeffery Gibson (Mississippi Choctaw/Cherokee) to name a few who have work that is part of the Smithsonian's permanent collections are using craft to reconnect to their cultural roots, contextualize their culture and history, and to continue long standing traditional methods of making.28 Craft enthusiasts have teamed together with Palestinian advocate groups to hold craftivism event nights to bring the community together and gently protest the treatment of Palestine people through craft and vigils.29 Lilly Higgins is part of a community of artists in Cork who are channeling their craft skills into supporting Gaza. “Through this Craftivism, they hope to shine a light on what is happening and to keep Gaza in our minds and hearts.”30 27 Jennie Drummond, “History Runs Deep: How to Celebrate Artivism and Craftivism,” published February 4, 2022, https://theartofeducation.edu/2022/02/feb-history-runs-deep-how-to-celebrate-craftivism-during-black-history-mont h/. 28 “Native and Indigenous Art,” Smithsonian American Art Museum, accessed April 25, 2024, https://americanart.si.edu/art/highlights/native-indigenous. 29 “Craftivism for Palestine,” Green Left, accessed April 25, 2024, https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/craftivism-palestine. 30 Emer Harrington, “Meet the Cork women supporting Gaza through ‘craftivism,’” Cork News, April 11, 2024, https://www.echolive.ie/wow/arid-41370637.html. 17 The craftism and engagement with craft is a way to fight for social justice, human rights, and fight against cultural genocides both in the US and in other countries. Unlike the latter two Arts and Craft movements, the first movement was ended by a war, WWI. The Vietnam War helped to create a political atmosphere to foster the second craft movement and there have been many wars leading up to this current movement; the Iraq and Afghanistan war were precursors to the current craft movement. While this movement has been growing we have had global wars that we as Americans have not completely engaged with in Ukraine and Gaza. However, these conflicts along with others around the world have contributed to the type of crafts created. The residual craft movement that carried over from the 60’s and 70’s has influenced our approach to dealing with these conflicts with the continued engagement with craft and seeking it out as a way to peacefully protest. In times of social disruptions and in the face of war, we see the value in using art as a way to frame the history taking place and to engage with others in empathy and support. The last social disruption that has not been mentioned so far is the global pandemics. Both the first and second Arts and Craft movements had global influenza pandemics. The Spanish Influenza of 1918 is historically devastating in regards to numbers and is well known and discussed, but there was another in 1968. Since the 1918 case was novel and caused incredible social stress and the one in 1968 had fewer deaths, although still reaching around 100,000 in the United States primarily in people older than 65, the outbreak in 1918 is more well-known.31 Just like we have seen in our current pandemic, the first few strains of COVID-19 were so prominent, as lockdowns were enforced and there was such a push for masks and preventative measures to take place. However, the latest strains are almost ignored. The first two 31 Kara Rogers. “1968 flu pandemic,” Encyclopedia Britannica, March 25, 2020, https://www.britannica.com/event/1968-flu-pandemic. 18 pandemics seemed to have minor effects on the craft movements, other than they were part of the specific cocktail of social disruption, however in each of these there was a push to go outside more. In the first pandemic in 1918, they realized that in open air hospitals where patients were exposed to outside ventilated air and sunshine, people improved and healed quicker than their counterparts that were treated exclusively indoors. Sunshine and open air therapy significantly decreased the deaths from this disease.32 A similar approach was taken when during COVID-19, people were encouraged to go outside and avoid cramped inside spaces, and due to the lockdowns, many people had time to reconnect with the natural world even if it was just walking around their neighborhoods. It became one of the main appropriate public interactions. This reconnect with the natural world caused people to become interested in using things from the natural world to create art from. There was a growing interest in basket weaving, and finding natural sources of clay to make pottery from. People were engaged with finding more sustainable materials to craft with. I would like to move on from discussing the Arts and Craft movements and demonstrating their relevance to society through the historical context of the cluster of social disruptions surrounding each movement. I will now focus on the idea of reconnecting with nature, engaging in holistic craft practices, specifically with materials that are found and sourced from the natural world. Through the academic research I have been able to connect that there was value in studying these craft movements together, but the creation aspect of my research is more interested in the theory that craft is a powerful tool for individuals and society for healing because it is a link between humanity and the natural world. This will take into consideration what it is about craft that acts as a bridge between the two. It will strive to define what sort of 32 Jennifer D. Roberts and Shadi O. Tehrani, “Environments, Behaviors, and Inequalities: Reflecting on the Impacts of the Influenza and Coronzavirus Pandemics in the United States,” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17, no. 12 (June 2020): 4484, 10.3390/ijerph17124484. 19 crafts and materials will work as the clearest conductor for healing, by examining how craft can be used as a conduit for humans to access healing through selective engagement of crafts that put you in harmony with the natural world. Defining Craft We have seen from the research above that humans are engaged with craft during times of high stress to seek healing. Craft has a feeling of nostalgia surrounding it, because its history is longer than almost any other art form. Humans have been using craft as a way to sustain themselves since the beginning of human history. Because of this, it often has feelings of stability and of rooting yourself to something bigger than yourself. Craft is a form of meditation, it has a natural rhythm built into its making process. The repetitive nature of craft has been proven to be a way to regulate and calm the human nervous system. Another reason shared by art historian Mary Lambert further explains, “Making beautiful things in captivity is a form of resistance, transcending your situation… But even in perfectly normal circumstances crafts provide self esteem and positive feelings about one's abilities.”33 Craft is also something that can be done with no prior knowledge, and can be built on, experimented with, refined and redefined. Because it has so much versatility, it allows people of all artistic levels to engage in crafts in so many different ways. Considering the differing opinions of what craft is while working on my research, I thought about the basic crafts done with small children where they will trace their hands and create turkeys or ghosts out with the outline for holidays. I also considered the ceramic craft vs art debates from my undergraduate 33 Mary Lambert, text message to author, April 27, 2024. 20 degree. Regardless of which craft your work is closer to you are still crafting, and thus the loose definition of craft gives everyone a safe entry point to participate. As I have studied craft to discover and form my own definition, I came across texts that spoke of craft differently. The word they used was an old english word ‘Craeft’ and is the title of the book written by Alexander Langlands. Carleen Madigan, an editor, wrote in response to the book, that “Crafting isn’t just about creating beautiful, useful objects. It's about reclaiming the knowledge, wisdom, and power that link us to the collective history of civilization. Craeft is what makes us human.”34 Langlands wrote, “that making and doing was comparable to the spiritual strivings of philosophy…that making has a spiritual element to it, and that making fits within a wider understanding of who we are and where we are going.”35 He also writes that someone who is considered ‘crafty’ is someone who often thinks outside the box, someone who approaches something differently. All of these aspects are things that I have personally tried to adopt into my individual definition and practice of what craft is to me. Through studying craft, and participating in different forms of it, I recognized that crafts historical roots in natural materials is part of what makes craft so powerful. As you organically begin to understand those materials through working with them there is specific knowledge gained. That knowledge is centered around forming a meaningful understanding of the materiality of the natural world around you and recognizing your relationship within that. Craft becomes the key that unlocks the door to give us access to the natural world. In a paper entitled Crafting as a Practice of Relating to the Natural World, author Zabe MacEachren writes extensively about his background in environmental education and how crafting has allowed him to gain understanding of his place in the forest and feel more 34 35 Langlands, Craeft, back cover. Langlands, Craeft, 21-22. 21 connected. The author writes of his experiences with the different crafts he has done, how they started building a reciprocity with nature, and eventually through that understanding and knowledge he felt like he was an intimate part of the birch forest where he harvested many of his materials for crafting.36 He summarizes that while you are making objects, more importantly you are making experiences and memories that are closely associated with the land. He writes about his interest with how our perception of the natural world is directly tied to our creation process.37 It was fascinating to consider that the way I viewed the natural world was connected to my art process and vice versa that the way I inherently made things influenced the way I looked at and interacted with nature. As I went about my art process in preparation for my thesis show, I started to recognize the validity of that idea through my art practice. The way I approached gathering materials, the mystical or spiritual way I thought about my work, and the beauty and power I tried to embed into my work all lined up with the feelings I felt as I immersed myself in the natural world. It did make me curious to wonder what came first? Was it my love of nature that has been impacting my creation process or was it my art process that led me to the natural world? I am not sure but I know that as I have developed this art practice while in this program, I have seen a refinement of forms, and materials. My concepts have also started to untangle themselves from one another to make it easier to understand what I instinctively feel and do. The refinement in my works is explained when MacEachren said that building a relationship with nature comes through “traditional holistic craft practices.” 38 As my practices have started to include more traditional methods of craft and natural materials, there is a clarity in my making process. In one part of the article he summarizes that crafting should be used as a 36 Zabe MacEachren, “Crafting as a Practice of Relating to the National World,” Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 5 (Spring 2000): 187. file:///C:/Users/posid/Downloads/glodeau,+Journal+manager,+contents.pdf. 37 MacEachren, “Crafting as a Practice,” 187. 38 MacEachren, “Crafting as a Practice,” 188. 22 practice that reaffirms our sense of body as an extension of the earth, and the interconnectedness of the body and the land.39 Through this insight “we gain understanding of bodily limitations, of sustainability, and of something not easily expressed in words but still known.”40 MacEachren questions how our understanding and perception of animacy of our materials affects our harvesting habits. Do we acknowledge the living world as more than just a commodity for humanity? Are we considering that we need to listen to and partner with the natural world as we engage with crafting. As we position ourselves within the network of the natural world, we recognize the responsibility to take in sustainable ways, and work within the natural harvesting cycles in nature. Understanding the cycles nature inherently follows is an important aspect to craft historically. If we look at the ritualistic way people in the past harvested materials from the natural world for their craft, we see that it is less of an act of superstition and more of an understanding of sustainable cycles. Ancient Kozo, a plant fiber used for papermaking, was planted and harvested according to specific moon phases and cycles.41 These ritualistic traditions produced results that allowed humans to live in harmony with the natural world, Kozo was planted to harvest at the end of fall as the winter started, papermakers who worked with fiber utilized this time where they could not work to produce other crops for food to harvest a fiber and work it until the spring. They would only grow and harvest as much as they could, work with without waste, during the winter. Paper made during the winter was more successful than at other times of the year because the cooler temperatures prevented the fibers from going bad without 39 MacEachren, “Crafting as a Practice,” 190. MacEachren, “Crafting as a Practice,” 191. 41 Timothy Barrett and Winifred Lutz, Japanese Papermaking: Traditions, Tools, and Techniques, (New York: Weatherhill, 1983), 13-14. 40 23 chemical intervention.42 Following these routines that aligned with nature benchmarks created superior paper. Understanding the natural world is an essential part to engaging with it in holistic practices. We have evidence that ancient people were aware of cycles and more in tune with nature than most people are today. Though there is little information and only a handful of studies on how the moon could be affecting planting. Speculations on the moon affecting water on earth, or seeds being more prone to spout at certain times and taking advantage of the way the moon moves water on earth have been made with not much evidence. Studies on other relationships not specifically about the moon realized that pollinators were more active during full moons.43 The probability is much higher that it is these tangential relationships within nature that are more likely for the success found in ancient planting methods. As we have studied the earth more, we have come to realize that the natural world is less of individual systems acting independent of each other and more of an interconnected network that brings together species of plants and animals that work together to sustain their ecosystem. One of the main networks found in nature and the one that is of most interest to me and this body of work is the research of Suzanne Simard. Simard is a leading expert on forest ecology and the underground networks found among trees. Simmard’s research on mycorrhizal networks and how they affect newly planted seeds germination and success growing are probably a more likely answer to success of the Kozo plants. This network of fungi underground transfers carbon, energy, and is the way that trees are able to communicate with each other.44 This 42 Barrett and Lutz, Japanese Papermaking, 12. Ryan Pankau, “Lunar Influence on Gardening,” The Garden Scoop, published April 16, 2022, https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/garden-scoop/2022-04-16-lunar-influence-gardening. 44 François P. Teste, Suzanne W. Simard, Daniel M. Durall, Robert D. Guy, Melanie D. Jones, and Amanda L. Schoonmaker. “Access to Mycorrhizal Networks and Roots of Trees: Importance for Seedling Survival and Resource Transfer.” Ecology 90, no. 10 (2009): . https://research-ebsco-com.ezproxy.uvu.edu/linkprocessor/plink?id=9ff1417b-c5f5-31b5-ab77-cf576913a034. 43 24 underground network is nearly 500 million years old and has become known as the ‘Wood Wide Web.45 This mycorrhizal web is thought to connect around 90% of all plants growing on land.46 This connection helps to lower the mortality rate in new growth as new growth is connected to older tree hubs where they are able to receive the help to survive the initial growth phase.47 Simard called these tree hubs ‘Mother Trees’, and she realized in her time as a young Canadian logger that the methods of deforestation were not sustainable and often destroyed these older trees that were hubs for smaller growing trees. Relating this all back to craft, we see that understanding these networks puts you in a position where you are able to work in tandem with the natural world versus the way our capitalistic society generally works where there is almost no understanding and respect of these systems. Traditional craft helps to start rectifying the methods of harvesting we currently see as the norm and shows us how we can as humans still gather resources sustainably. The tradition of craft then becomes a teacher from the past on how we can better live within our natural world network. Regardless of what we often think, humans are a part of the ecosystem and can, in many ways, integrate ourselves into the networks similar to the mycorrhizal networks connecting plants. Discussing the massive health benefits in connecting ourselves to the natural world will help us understand the prior claims of healing. There have been many studies of the health benefits of craft by itself by combining these benefits as a link between us and the natural world that allows for additional healing. Participating in craft is an avenue to engage with the natural 45 Hugh Asher, “The Wood Wide Web,” An Darach, last modified August 19, 2023, https://silvotherapy.co.uk/articles/the-wood-wide-web#:~:text=The%20Wood%20Wide%20Web%20is,and%20other %20substances%20between%20plants. 46 Asher, “The Wood Wide Web.” 47 Teste, Simard, Durall, Guy, Jones, Schoonmaker, “Access to Mycorrhizal Networks,” . 25 world, to allow for the healing benefits from the natural world to enhance the benefits seen from craft. Craft is a way we weave ourselves into the networks in nature. There have been studies done on how nature psychologically, and psychologically affects humans. We see it in the recent biophilic architecture and interior design changes. Biophilic designs are intended to bring nature into interior spaces and connect people to nature. Biophilic being the new age equivalent to craft, craft in the past being the integration of things from the natural world reworked by humans to serve functional and beautifying purposes within internal or human spaces. Statistics have shown that even the small biophilic attempts of today show significant improvements in people's mental and physical health. When you look beyond simply bringing bits of nature into your domestic and corporate spaces to immersing yourself in nature, the research results are even more significantly positive. A good amount of scientific research has been done in connection to ‘forest bathing’. Forest Bathing Forest Bathing or Shinrin-yoku, is a new health therapy approach pioneered out of Japan. The death rate in corporate Japan in the last few decades has hit an all time high. People were literally killing themselves because of their intense work culture. In the 2000’s, 23% of companies reported that their employees were working more than eighty hours of overtime a month. Of that initall 23%, 11.9% said that their employees were working over 100 hours of overtime a month. Even with laws and regulations on average 200 people a year die of heart attacks, strokes and other work related deaths.48 Dr. Qing Li started his research in 2004 this 48 Qing Li, Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness (New York: Viking, Penguin Random House LLC, 2018), 33. 26 investigation was on the connection between forests and human health. The forest therapy study group was started to explore what it was about trees that have such a strong impact on humans.49 In 2006, Dr. Qing Li performed his first test in the mountains of Iiyama. He took twelve men who were all healthy middle aged men from Tokyo to do a three day two night forest bathing trip. For the test, all of the men had to go on a two hour walk in the morning and in the afternoon the distance averaged what they would walk on a normal working day. Before leaving, they had done sleep studies with a sleep polygraph and accelerometer to get a base of how much sleep people were getting, the average 383 minutes of good sleep which is a little more than six hours of sleep. During and after they came back they did the sleep studies again and found that during the trip people average 452 minutes or seven and half hours of sleep and after coming home it averaged out to be 410 minutes or a little under 7 hours of sleep.50 The scientific evidence gathered on this trip was that forest bathing boosts the immune system, increases energy, decreases anxiety, depression, anger and stress. The feeling of relaxation increases, forest bathing was found to counter the fight or flight response. It also balanced hormones cortisol and adrenaline and boosted other immune system activity.51 There was also a similar study done with people who had diagnosed sleep problems and they saw a 15% or 54 minute sleep increase.52 They said that the sleep quality was better in both groups and they felt less anxious.53 Another way they measured the results was by studying the immune system, specifically NK cells or Natural Killer cells. These cells are a type of white blood cells that attack viruses and tumor cells. These cells and their higher activity in the human immune system have been shown to decrease the probability of developing cancers and other diseases.54 From analyzing these NK 49 Li, Forest Bathing, 63. Li, Forest Bathing, 70. 51 Li, Forest Bathing, 63, 65, 67, 83. 52 Li, Forest Bathing, 72. 53 Li, Forest Bathing, 72. 54 Li, Forest Bathing, 83. 50 27 cells from before and after showed a 17.3% cell activity increase. The NK cells went from 440 to 661, the presence of anti-cancer protein Granulysin went up by 40%, Granzyme A improved by 39%, Granzyme B went up by 33%, and Perforin went up by 28%. All of these proteins and cells had substantial improvements from spending several hours a day walking in the forest amongst the trees.55 Dr. Qing Li performed studies on the NK cells a day before the trip, while they were there, the first and second day they were back, a week after they returned and a month after they returned. They found from these additional cell studies that the benefits of being in nature and forest bathing lasted up to 30 days after.56 These studies showed that immersing yourself one time in a month's span helped to increase the immune system's ability to fight off disease and cancers. Other research has shown that mortality rates are lower in people who live near larger numbers of trees vs people isolated from them.57 The US Forest Service found that mortality rates from cardiovascular and respiratory tract diseases will actually increase in areas where large amounts of trees are infected by Emerald Ash Borer disease.58 Dr, Qing Li wanted to figure out why humans have such a strong connection physically to trees that the impact of being near trees increases your chances of living and tree infections could have a noticeable connection to human mortality. There are several contributing factors on trees' impact on humans; the first they realized was Phynocides. Phytoncides are a tree stem oil that plants produce and that surround the air around trees. For plants the Phytoncides are similar to the immune system in humans in that they 55 Li, Forest Bathing, 83. Li, Forest Bathing, 86. 57 Li, Forest Bathing, 87. 58 Li, Forest Bathing, 113-114. 56 28 defend them against bacteria, insects, and fungi. The warmer the air the more of these oils are diffused into the air, evergreens are the largest producers of phytoncides.59 These phytoncides were then infused into NK cells to see their effect, the effect shown throughout the study was that there was an increase of cell activity and higher performance of activity. Dr. Qing Li then conducted another study, again with 12 healthy middle aged men. He took them to a hotel and diffused these tree stem oils into their rooms as they slept. They all followed the same routine of going to bed at 11pm. They worked their normal work days, limited their physical activity, and the same amount of Phytoncides in the air were measured into the air.60 The results were a significant decrease in stress, increased hours of sleep, decreased tension, anxiety, anger, hostility, fatigue, and confusion. It also lowered blood pressure and heart rate and balanced out the nervous system. 61 The next factor they looked at was Microbes. Microbes called mycobacterium vaccae are natural harmless bacteria in the soil that we breathe in when we walk through the forest. This bacteria and its effects were discovered by Dr Mary O'Brien, an oncologist. She conducted studies of injecting this bacteria into patients with cancer to see if it would help to enhance their immune systems. It didn’t improve their immune system, but it did improve the quality of life in those injected. M. vaccae acted similarly to an antidepressant, it helped to improve positivity, increased energy, and improved cognitive function.62 Studies done by scientists at Bristol University in the UK showed that m. vaccae affected the neurons that were associated with the immune system which concluded that there is a close 59 Li, Forest Bathing, 89, 91. Li, Forest Bathing, 94, 95, 96. 61 Li, Forest Bathing, 98. 62 Li, Forest Bathing, 102. 60 29 association between our immune systems and our emotions. This soil stimulates our immune system and that boost to the immune system improves our mental wellness and happiness.63 As well as an increase in happiness we see the association with trees increase our creativity, memory, and can literally help us rewire our brains for positivity.64 Research done here at the University of Utah as well as a university in Kansas that concluded, “There is a real, measurable cognitive advantage to be realized if we spend time truly immersed in a natural setting.” They found in these studies that nature can boost problem solving and creativity by 50%.65 With the scientific knowledge of how immersing yourself in the natural world has massive mental and physical health improvements associated with it, the question of how craft fits into this comes back into the conversation. E.O. Wilson wrote, “Because we evolved in nature, we have a biological need to connect with it. We love nature because we learned to love the things that helped us survive.”66 So often in history humans have actively engaged with the natural world through craft to survive, and to enrich their lives. If we simply look at the last statistic above that nature can so drastically affect our creativity and problem solving imagine the effect a creative art practice combined with the natural world could have. Craft can follow a similar pattern of forest bathing and allows us similar benefits as forest bathing can. They are both practices of taking in nature through our senses. Craft integrates all of the sensory aspects of forest bathing our sense of sight, hearing, smell, and touch. Crafting with natural sustainable materials takes you into the natural world to explore and gain the benefits of being in nature and seeking. You then bring back aspects with you that you intentionally sit with, 63 Li, Forest Bathing, 102. Li, Forest Bathing, 104, 105, 106. 65 Li, Forest Bathing, 106. 66 Li, Forest Bathing, 14. 64 30 work with, and test its capabilities and limitations to reform. I know from my own experience with my first pieces of weaving branches. I soaked the branches in my house because it was too cold to work outside and the whole room they were soaking in was infused with the smell of the willow branches. Each time one of my family members walked through the room they commented on the smell. I was no longer out collecting branches surrounded by trees and earth but I had brought strong elements of that home with me into my studio. There is another aspect of forest bathing talked about in Dr. Qing Li’s book about ‘soft fascination’ or Involuntary attention. Soft fascination is a response of being attentive without mental effort. We live in a world that requires so much focus and causes huge amounts of mental strain. Soft fascination comes naturally. It is acknowledging the things around you without having to deplete our mental resources to engage with them. This type of attention allows our minds to wander, reflect, and helps to resort our capacities to think more clearly.67 Craft also has this ‘soft fascination’ attention style to it. When you get to a point where you have learned what you need to do the rhythmic steps of the craft, you can fall into a pattern of movement that allows you to mentally rest and recharge. There have been studies that have shown that images of the natural world and trees improve our health, craft often is about bringing the natural world into your internal spaces. In the famous paper, “View Through a Window May Influence Recovery in Surgery,” the researcher found that patients with simply a view of a green space and trees outside their window versus a brick wall recovered faster.68 They not only recovered faster, but required less pain medication for pain management and felt less anxiety as they recovered.69 This healing was simply through using one of the senses, craft is a full body experience and engages your mind 67 Li, Forest Bathing, 110. Li, Forest Bathing, 109. 69 Li, Forest Bathing, 111. 68 31 and body more than a simple view. It is by engaging the sense of touch with craft that we can begin to physically and literally reconnect with nature.70 So many of the contemporary illnesses and stress we see in our global societies today are a result of our disconnection from nature. Dr. Qing Li said, “Shinrin-yoku is a bridge between us and the natural world.”71 Shinrin-yoku and craft have similar goals of reconnecting us with nature and by taking a hands-on approach to the natural world craft will help to restore that connection. Woven Worlds The body of work completed for this thesis is just that, a hands-on approach to reconnecting with the natural world through craft. Each of these installations was an exploration of different crafts and different materials. It was also about approaching these things in sometimes nontraditional ways to add a sculptural aspect to the work. The body as a whole speaks to the sort of journey you would hopefully go on if you were out forest bathing with a fantastical spin on it. The objects are familiar yet foreign. They all have recognizable aspects in materials and processes but also have an ambiguity that inspires the viewer to approach and curiously engage with the work. Each has been a sort of case study for me to elevate craft, to think about different aspects of the natural world, and there was a desire to engage with a spirituality of my own and others. The spirituality and world views I have built and examined through this body of work speaks to the peace I am seeking through my work. A peace to move through the phases and cycles of my life as gracefully as nature goes through her cycles. A peace in letting go of things that I can't have anymore and embracing newness in my life. A peace that 70 71 Li, Forest Bathing, 201. Li, Forest Bathing, 15. 32 comes from knowing I am part of a whole that is so much bigger than me, a biggness that has a place for me. My hope is that this work reads as a visual poetry of those beliefs, feelings, and aspirations. Nostalgic Nests Henry David Thoreau once wrote, “A tree becomes a nest the moment a great dreamer hides in it.”72 Seeing the potential in the material is as much of my art process as the weaving. When gathering these branches, they were transformed into these vessels by the potential I saw in them. Nostalgic Nests were created; these six forms were built around the ideas of nests. In the book The Poetics of Space, there is a chapter all about nests that I had read and thought about as I wove these pieces together. Thinking about how creatures will build nests and children build forts I immersed myself in the process of building structures as havens for my mind to retreat to. Thoreau also said, “A nest is a precious thing and yet it sets us up to daydreaming of security.”73 A poem by Jean Caubere further explains this idea: The warm, calm nest In which a bird sings Recalls the songs, the charms, The pure thresholds Of my old home Gaston Bachelard goes on to expound on these things saying, “The two images, the calm nest and the old home, weave the sturdy web of intimacy on the dream loom. But in order to make so gentle a comparison between house and nest, one must have lost the house that stood for 72 Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space: The Classic Look at how we Experience Intimate Places, translated by Maria Jolas (Boston: Beacon Press, 1994), 97. 73 Bachelard, The Poetics of Space, 102. 33 happiness. If we return to the old home as to a nest, it is because memories are dreams, because the home of other days has become a great image of lost intimacy.”74 Since so much of my work is about creating spaces for peace, I think that these nests were a manifestation of that lost or elusive intimacy or peace, the rhythms of nature and the rhythms of the craft created space for me to peacefully think and be in those moments. As I was building up these nests around me, I tried to express the precariousness of nests and the holes that nostalgia has through the openness of the forms. I intentionally chose to taper off in areas instead of closing them completely. I did not want these forms to become baskets or closed off, but rather vessels or nests that could not sustain permanent residence but would be a place to move in and out of and explore and rest temporarily. Nostalgia was a major component in these pieces, it is such a powerful motivator to return to things, but often it does not hold up overtime. By having these works placed at the beginning of the show I am communicating two points that were beautifully phrased in Poetics of Space. The first, “I had set up my headquarters, like a nest in between…these willows…and there, isolated between heaven and earth I spent hours amongst the warblers.”75 These forms like the forts assembled in childhood became a launching point for this entire show, a headquarters of ideas and feelings I hoped to inspire in myself and others. This installation is a retreat from the real world, part of the natural world but also other worldly. This work suspends between several opposing worlds in a middle space. Ironically, the physical works are situated between willow branches I used for another installation in this show. The last point communicated through these works was said by Gaston Bachelard, “And so when we examine a nest, we place ourselves at the origins of confidence in the world. We receive a beginning of confidence, an urge towards cosmic confidence. Would a 74 75 Bachelard, The Poetics of Space, 99-100. Bachelard, The Poetics of Space, 97. 34 bird build its nest if it did not have its instinct for confidence in the world?”76 This set of branches woven together put me on this path of confidence to imagine and build this world. It set into motion the whole installation. Willow Wide Web As the installation moves on we start to see the next body of work, Willow Wide Web. A twist on the term Wood Wide Web coined by Suszanne Simard, who obviously is making her own play at the World Wide Web. I created hundreds of these willow branches with a three-dimensional type of web wrapped around the branches. These branches were dipped in overbeaten abaca and have a web-like form. The white web is slightly reminiscent of the mycelium networks, the underground networks that connect 90% of all plant life on land. The mycelium networks give plant life the ability to communicate and generously share resources and knowledge. Simard writes that as she researched she found that the trees had a “network of interdependence” that network allowed for them to be interdependent among each other but also it created a connection to past and future intricacies and wisdom.77 I wanted these pieces to move from the beginning of the installation to the end to communicate the connection between all of these pieces. All of them are part of a network of healing and continued ideas. The idea that everything in the natural world is so interconnected is one of the most important aspects of this research, because of its expansive connectivity pulling ideas of craft, human experience, and how we access nature was effortless in many ways. Effortless because there was the knowledge that there is a connection even if it is below the surface, hidden from plain sight, but still it could all be traced to one another. 76 Bachelard, The Poetics of Space, 103. Suzanne Simard, Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest (New York: Vintage Books, Penguin Random House LLC, 2022), 4. 77 35 Fresh Start As these pieces move through the show, the next installation you would encounter is Fresh Start. It is a set of 115 tea cups that are placed on pedestals built from apricot tree branches and woven pine needles are around them on the floor. Many of the cups themselves have pine needles woven between them and on some of them. This piece was inspired by a Chinese myth about Meng Po, a deity whose role in reincarnation is to give you a tea that erases everything from your past so that as you are reincarnated, you have a fresh slate that is unencumbered by the past.78 Similar ideas of rebirth and the constant cycling of energy into new forms is found abundantly in nature. As I was studying more about how trees interact with their surrounding environments outside of other trees, plants, or fungi I started looking at the relationship between bodies of water and trees. The initial thought would be that bodies of water are bigger contributors in their interconnected relationship. However, as I was researching I found that trees are just as important to water and there is a more equal balance to their interaction. Trees play a huge part in bodies of water forming and not simply eroding their path. Tree root systems act as underground stabilizers so that river beds do not erode. That erosion makes the water more susceptible to quicker evaporation, and therefore less effective for plants, animals, and humans. With the added shade of trees, it also helps to keep temperatures down and aids with slowing the process of evaporation. This process of keeping water on the land allows groundwater to recharge.79 Trees 78 ”Meng Po: Goddess of Forgetfulness,” MythLok, accessed April 25, 2024, https://mythlok.com/meng-po/. The Nature Conservatory, “Tress Prevent Stormwater Pollution,” Stories in Washington, accessed April 24, 2024, https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/washington/stories-in-washington/trees-prevent -stormwater-pollution/#:~:text=For%20the%20water%20that%20hits,flows%20to%20recharge%20the%20groundw ater. 79 36 will also protect rivers and lakes from polluted water runoff, and are natural sponges and will help collect and filter that water so that it does less damage to water sources and wildlife.80 Healthy forests are responsible for providing fresh drinking water for over 75% of the world. This is a result of trees holding water in the soil longer so that the water then is able to go through a natural filtration purifying process.81 I thought this connected really well to the myth that had informed my initial design choices. I have found it so interesting to see the connections from older world societal and religious beliefs and how they correspond with the scientific findings of today. This myth about a tea, water and plant herbs coming together for the purpose of purification. Then seeing that in the natural world play out in similar ways of water and plants working together to purify water to allow for a clean slate to build life on. The number 115 in numerology is symbolic of major life changes and to embrace new opportunities with optimism and positivity.82 I felt like it was the perfect number to take these ideas and enter the new phases of life with a fresh start. Having a piece titled Fresh Start at the middle/end of a show may seem out of place but that is one of the many wonderful thing the natural world can teach us, that cycles and phases come and go, and that regardless of where you think you are in your journey in life, some things may come to an end but it is also just the start of something new. As we follow the example of how trees and bodies of water work together we can see those new beginnings can be a fresh clean start, through the interconnected network of the natural world. 80 Jayne Mann, “10 reasons why rivers love trees,” The River Trust, November 28, 2018, https://theriverstrust.org/about-us/news/10-reasons-why-rivers-love-trees#:~:text=Roots%20stabilise%20the%20rive r%20banks,phosphates%20from%20reaching%20watercourses%206. 81 “The Incredible Relationship Between Trees and Water,” Arbor Day Foundation, accessed April 25, 2024, https://www.arborday.org/stories/douglas-fir.cfm#:~:text=HOW%20DO%20TREES%20SUPPORT%20WATER,aqu ifers%20deep%20in%20the%20Earth. 82 Cynthia Garret, “Understanding Angel Number 115 Meaning,” Living by Example, published February 16, 2024, https://www.livingbyexample.org/angel-number-115-meaning/#:~:text=The%20presence%20of%20115%20is,your %20personal%20goals%20and%20aspirations. 37 Aspis Similar to Fresh Start, the last piece in this show, Aspis has connections to human mythology. Aspis is the Greek word for aspens and means shield. In ancient Greece, they would build shields out of aspen tree wood because of their physical lightness.83 On top of that there was a belief that aspen trees had mystical attributes; the Greeks believed they could protect you from psychics, Gaelic Highlanders believed that an aspen leaf placed below the tongue would make you more eloquent and that aspens were a fairy tree and sacred.84 Because of all of the mythical connections to aspen trees, many ancient cultures considered them a symbol of protection and transformation. These ideas were very informative in how I chose to display this piece. I wanted to follow patterns from religious and cultural groups in how they create safe or spiritual spaces. The steel frame that I am using to hang the branches from is an outlined image of aspen trees, the trees are covered in abaca to strengthen that image and to create a sort of ‘stained glass’ window or portal, but instead of glass I used paper. I was thinking about religious stained glass windows being used throughout history to act as portals of light and godliness, and how religions and cultures create shrines or places that people will seek out. The branches are hung in a way that a nook or sort of altar was formed, a symbolic end to the pilgrimage through this entire body of work. In each of the branches I wove in sections of crocheted paper that was then dipped in abaca. Dipping the crochet in the abaca helped to visually blend the colors of the craft and branch so that where one started and the other began was hard to place. Making them seem more 83 “Aspen mythology and folklore,” Trees for Life, accessed April 24, 2024, https://treesforlife.org.uk/into-the-forest/trees-plants-animals/trees/aspen/aspen-mythology-and-folklore/#:~:text=As pis%2C%20the%20aspen's%20Greek%20name,as%20well%20as%20physical%20harm. 84 Trees for Life, “Aspen mythology.” 38 seamless and connected. These sections of craft were then covered in leaves created from abaca sheets. Symbolically, these areas are the bridge between the natural world and humanity. The connection that healing springs from. The repetitive movements used in crocheting creates a meditative rhythm that is soothing to both the body and the mind. Crotchet has been found to be extremely helpful for reducing stress, anxiety, and depression. It has also been shown to combat insomnia and a study done by the Mayo Clinic published in the American Journal of Psychiatry showed that crocheting can be a way to slow or prevent Alzheimers’s disease by 30-50%.85 Using these benefits of crocheting as symbolic elements that are intertwined in the branches to tie how craft is also a vehicle for healing along with the elements from the natural world. This becomes a shrine for healing. The leaves are symbolic of that potential and new growth in each of us as we engage with craft to reconnect with the natural world. The leaves are in a gradient of color, green at the top closest to the portal-like frame, transitioning to yellow and then white. This gradient of color is symbolic of the return from this other world created in the installation to everyday life. This craft and natural world material builds a space for you to mediate before you leave back to the real world. The Greeks believed that if you wore a crown of aspen leaves, you could travel to the underworld and safely return, and I similarly wanted to use this symbolically in my installation.86 Many of the different elements in my show are things found underground, such as the mycelium networks, the filtering of groundwater, and the root systems of the aspen trees hanging, therefore the paper aspen leaves are a subtle gift to the viewer, a hope that they return to their lives outside of this installation safely. The pile of leaves at the bottom of the installation is an offering craft and the natural world give us. 85 “Heal Your Mind and Your Body: Top 10 Health Benefits of Crocheting.” Hemptique, accessed April 26, 2024, https://hemptique.com/pages/10-benefits-of-crocheting. 86 Trees for Life, “Aspen mythology.” 39 As the show is wrapped up and the end of the journey is completed at this work, the hope is that viewers have recognized the importance of craft in this installation, and have been able to see how it has blended with the natural world to create a peaceful environment that has a physical effect on viewers. Each of the pieces represents the interconnected aspect of the natural world and how we are part of that network. As we place ourselves within that network, we can see the benefits to our health and see a more sustainable approach to living and healing. That healing has ultimately been one of the largest motivating factors in the arts and craft movements throughout American history. As people have faced major life and societal altering events that cause them to evaluate the systems they are living in and disengage from them, they seek more sustainable methods of living and community building that nature seamlessly incorporates into its infrastructure. As we engage with the natural world through craft, the lessons from nature can become a guide for us in how we can integrate a more sustainable interconnected lifestyle into our personal lives and communities. Craft helps us to bridge the gap between humanity and the natural world by inspiring us to go out and physically engage with nature and bring artifacts of that home with us to enrich our urban lifestyles. As we practice more conscious and holistic methods of craft we can further refine our relationship with the natural world. 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