Popular “Craftivism” Program Returns to Harriet Beecher Stowe Center
Sampler by Harriet Porter [Beecher], c. 1800-1810, Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, Hartford, CT.
Sewing & Learning 2023 Workshop
The History and Contemporary Craftivist Use of Sentiment Sewing
Hartford (CT)—The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center presents its 2023 Sewing & Learning Workshop. The History and Contemporary Craftivist Use of Sentiment Sewing includes lively talks, a dynamic “sewing circle” with discussion and hands-on crafting, and the materials needed to try your skills as a craftivist, or craft activist. The cost is $55 per person for Zoom access to the talks and a hands-on sewing circle activity, as well as a supply kit, which will be mailed in advance of the workshop.
Participants can choose one of two days to attend the virtual presentation:
Workshop #1: Saturday, January 14, 2023: 2-5:00pm (registration closes January 5)
Workshop #2: Saturday February 11, 2023:2-5:00pm (registration closes Feb 1).
The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center interprets Stowe’s life, home, and collections while also exploring historical and contemporary social activism. “Sewing can be a form of activism,” said Amy Hufnagel, Director of Programs and Visitor Experience at the Stowe Center. “In fact, historically sewing, especially embroidering words into projects, was a way of speaking out in a time when women’s voices were often excluded from public forums.”
The project-based, hands-on/minds-on workshop explores how and why sentimental sewing—also described as adding a moral message—was used by Harriet Beecher Stowe, abolitionists, and activists historically.
“We think about sentimental sewing as ‘craftivism,’ a combination of craft and activism,” said Hufnagel. “We are especially excited to explore how we can channel contemporary impact through this historical practice.”
Participants will receive a makers’ kit, hear and discuss compelling talks about sentimental sewing, and share their own ideas and art. This dynamic learning and sewing experience requires advance registration, no experience with sewing, and is appropriate for ages 12 and up.
More about the Speakers:
Dr. Mariah Kupfner, Assistant Professor of American Studies and Public Heritage at Penn State Harrisburg, will discuss “how women stitch themselves into new selves” and what histories are embedded in the abolitionist political stitch. Kupfner will also explore how sentimental sewing is still practiced today.
Beth Burgess, Director of Collections & Research at the Stowe Center, will discuss Harriet Beecher Stowe as a writer, and share abolitionist quotes that endure.
Rebecca Bayreuther Donohue, living history consultant and stitcher, will outline the sewing project directions and how-to steps.
Jordana Munk Martin, founder of the non-profit TATTER (www.tatter.org) will address the politics of cloth and thread and the complexities of the industry and materials used in craftivist work.
Roxana Alger Geffen, who is a Beecher descendant and multi-disciplinary artist, will present her work, the TinyPricks project, and other examples of text-based craftivist contemporary art.
The final hour of the program will be in sewing circle format where participants will discuss ideas, ask questions of our speakers, and make plans for their craftivist actions to follow.
More about the Makers’ Kit:
Those who register for Sewing & Learning 2023 will receive a makers’ kit, mailed in advance of the workshop. Created by TATTER, the kit includes quotes, and all the supplies needed including cloth, embroidery thread, needles, pattern, and more.
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The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center is a museum, research library/archive, and program center in Hartford, Connecticut. The Stowe Center’s mission is to preserve and interpret Stowe’s Hartford home and the Center’s historic collections, promote vibrant discussion of her life and work, and inspire commitment to social justice and positive change. For general information and updates, please visit www.HarrietBeecherStoweCenter.org.
Thank you so much for your interest in a group tour at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center!
Please help us schedule your visit by answering the questions below.
Adult Group Interest Form
Group Tour Interest Form 2022
Thank you so much for your interest in a group tour at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center!
Please help us schedule your visit by answering the questions below.
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Isabella Beecher Hooker
IsabellaHolmes Beecher Hooker (1822-1907) An ardent member of the woman’s suffrage movement, Isabella Holmes Beecher Hooker joined in the cause along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.
Isabella was the first child of Lyman Beecher and his second wife, Harriet Porter Beecher.
Isabella began her education at Catharine Beecher’s Hartford Female Seminary and lived with her sister Mary Perkins. In 1841 she married John Hooker, a descendant of Thomas Hooker, the founder of Hartford. John Hooker was a lawyer and an abolitionist.
In the early 1860s Isabella got involved in the woman’s suffrage movement. Isabella joined Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony as a member of the National Woman’s Suffrage Association in 1869. She was a founding member of the Connecticut Woman’s Suffrage Association. Isabella’s ideas of equality were influenced by John Stuart Mills’ On Liberty and the Subjection of Women.
In 1871, Isabella organized the annual convention of the National Woman’s Suffrage Association in Washington D.C. and presented her argument before the Committee on the Judiciary of the United States Senate. Her husband, John Hooker, believed in his wife and supported her activities. He helped Isabella draft a bill to the Connecticut Legislature giving married women the same property rights as their husbands. The bill passed in 1877. Isabella annually submitted a bill granting women the right to vote, but it did not pass in her lifetime.
December 2, 2019
Due to inclement weather, the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center is closed today, Monday, December 2.
