Handmade Nation
By Zio
Words by Perrin Drumm
Faythe Levine’s yet-to-be finished independent documentary, Handmade Nation, is not just about “girls making cute stuff and selling it.” She wants to make that very clear. It’s about the DIY movement that has grown too large to remain undocumented. DIY is not simply arts and crafts. It is not your grandmother’s crocheted tea cozy. It’s anything that’s 100% handmade, one of a kind, and in this case, just a little subversive—like a quilt stitched with snakes slithering out of the face of George Bush, or the group of young women bombing the telephone poles and trees of Houston, TX, with their knitting. It’s about using traditional techniques in a modern way, whether that means naked chicks in needlepoint, self-published books and magazines, re-purposed vintage clothing, or in Levine’s case, a documentary film.
To help Levine finish her film, you are invited to: The Handmade Nation Silent Art Auction, from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, July 19, at Poketo headquarters, 510 S. Hewitt St., No. 506, Los Angeles. The first 50 guests will receive bags of handmade crafts and art. A film clip will be screened at 7 p.m. You can view the work up for auction here.