In Defense of (Craft) Blogging

As a full-time job, I edit. As purely personal pursuits, I write, I do research, I take pictures. I buy vintage items that catch my eye, especially books and textiles. I make crafty things with my kids. I try to find time to make things on my own out of fabric and yarn and paper and paint and whatever items I can recycle. Then I blog about these things.

As an amateur blogger, I was very interested to read Emily Gould's recent article, "Exposed," a first-person account of a professional blogger. The article has aroused quite a powerful response, just judging from the comments on the New York Times site. Here are just a few of the criticisms leveled at Gould, and bloggers in general:

• "Thanks for exhibiting the empty narcissism of so much blogging." [Sounds like this person reads a lot of blogs!]

• "The whole computer "relationship" concept is so anti - human ... regardless of those who would sell it as some sort of way to "interact." Don't you think that interaction should be only used as a term for real human contact?" [Does this comment strike anyone as ironic--the need to post a comment seems to me like an attempt at human contact.]

• "The blogging epidemic strikes me as the height of self-indulgence, without any real regard for the common good. There are other, more graceful and enduring forms of self-expression." [Yes, like quilting, knitting, painting, etc.]

The article has inspired some bloggers to engage in some critical, and constructive, self-examination. Is blogging just an exercise in narcissism? Do I reveal too much personal information? Some of the craft bloggers in particular have written thoughtful posts about Gould's article. Floresita wrote intelligently about the distinction between "TMI" (Too Much Information) blogs and the craft blogs. Essentially, she writes, the craft blogs are all about "creating rather than dissecting life." Astulabee tied blogging back to her own art, which is extremely personal, as much great art is.


In defense of blogging, I side with Floresita that the craft bloggers are doing something far more positive and worthwhile than bloggers like Gould are. Although she may be a good writer, Gould occupies a unique blogging niche in which gossip and negativity are the coins of the realm. (No, I'm not going to link to those sites.) I have to admit, I read these sites compulsively for a while until I realized how juvenile they all were in making snarky fun of the way people dressed or how fat they were. Gould, and bloggers like her, depict themselves as outsiders, and yet what they seem to be doing is reinforcing really negative social norms about how people should look. Reading that kind of negative message daily was making me feel really low about myself, and it doesn't seem like a positive trend for our culture.

Luckily, one day I discovered a much sunnier place to spend my limited Web-surfing time. I wanted to know how to make a yarn pompom for some now-forgotten project and found a handy tutorial on Belladia's blog. Belladia's happy, beautiful pincushions and purses inspired me to start making things again, which I hadn't done for several years. And her long list of Wonderful Blogs gave me multiple windows through which to view what other people are creating for additional inspiration.

Unlike the solipsistic exercise that Gould is engaged in--consuming online culture and criticizing it and making her personal life part of this online culture to be consumed in the same fashion--the craft blogs emphasize production rather than consumption. Craft bloggers produce handmade items, usually for other people. And they are engaged fully in the real world and in fostering positive human interactions through the things they make.


I think that Astulabee hit on something very important in her post as well. Craft bloggers reveal personal details, and there is a tension between demonstrating how a creation was inspired either by personal experience or by a loved one and revealing too much about one's own life and family. But for the most part, I would say that the revelation of personal details helps explain the creative process and is not all about receiving attention for the revelation itself.

I love that there are tens of thousands of art/design/craft bloggers trying to make some sense and beauty--and perhaps even meaning and order--out of our sometimes crazy lives and express this in written and visual form. Rather than tearing people down, they are attempting to create a world that we'd all like to live in, as Astulabee put it.

Like me, craft bloggers are trying to learn new methods, stretch themselves creatively, find inspiration, keep track of and stay on track with their creative endeavors, meet like-minded friends who share their interests, and even feel a part of a community of sorts.

I know that I appreciate the feedback and support I've gotten from participating in the craft blog community. I'm sure that I'm not alone in getting a little thrill from receiving comments on my blog. It's a feeling that, Yay!, someone out there has seen and appreciated what we've put so many hours into creating. (Even without these comments, though, my blog has been a great way to keep me committed to creating regularly. It's almost like a regular journal in that sense.)

Reading other people's blogs and taking part in a dialogue by leaving a comment is another way to feel a part of the larger virtual craft community. I've realized that I'm not alone in feeling unsure about what I'm doing or in feeling frustrated at the lack of time for crafting, among many other issues. And it's nice to share voyeuristically in another crafter's triumph at finishing a project or achieving success commercially or artistically.

Personally, I feel that this sort of positive reinforcement is a crucial part of why I continue to blog. It keeps me creating things despite the fact that crafting is sometimes viewed at best as frivolous and at worst unnecessary or wasteful by the people around us. But then a defense of crafting will have to be left for another post!