M aking art

and sharing

well-crafted

things became

a pow erful

way to share

emotional

strength.

You’ve described it as making out of “physical and

emotional necessity.” People began with a need

to make barren living quarters more sustainable, but

then craftwork and art began to take on a more

expressive role.

H ere people are, they’ve lost everything. T h e y ’ve

been put in this camp in the middle o f the desert for the

most part; they’re living in a space w here the walls

don’t go to the ceiling; the only thing in their quarters is

a metal cot and a mattress. T h e y’ve lost their privacy,

their dignity and they’ve physically lost a lot o f things.

Som eone told me a story about how there was one

camp w here the w om en form ed a suicide w atch. In all

o f the camps, people got depressed; suicides w ere

above normal. W hen these w om en heard that someone

w as depressed, they w ould find something o f beauty

and take it to that person. So m aking art and sharing

052 American craft dec/jan 11