One of a Kind Kind of Making

The Maker Movement is often associated with laser cutters, 3D printers, dancing robots doing a twist, and state-of-the-art technology. However, there’s an entirely different facet to making — one that values the uniqueness of the human hand, traditional knowledge, and emotional connections. I like to call it the “one of a kind kind of making,” because it cannot be replicated in form or value with technology alone. My grandmother, a farmer in rural Kentucky, was perhaps the most soulful and skillful maker I have known. She designed our Halloween costumes, made quilts, fixed items, made homemade glue and paint for us, and everything in between and beyond. I have no doubt she could have built a house with her bare hands if she had to.

The first time I went to a fabric shop was with her. Surrounded by stashes of widely different types of fabric, she encouraged my sister and me to choose the ones we liked the most. Once we did and returned to the farm, her working hands spent hours, days, sometimes weeks creating every imaginable request we had for our stuffed animals and dolls. From outfits to small pillows, my grandmother could make it all. My sister and I would often join her. She gave us permission to explore and take risks, which occasionally led to poking ourselves with a needle and combining scraps in inventive ways. We were fascinated her creative and imaginative capacity. At the end of each summer at the farm, we returned home knowing that what we brought with us in our little blue suitcase was “one of a kind.” FAO Schwarz, Toys “R” Us, you name it — these stores could not offer in any of their aisles what our grandmother’s hands could make for us.

Like my grandmother, my mother, my sister, and I, there are many girls and women who are makers — all around the world. Throughout history, making has thrived in the hands of women. Women have made things out of necessity. Women have made things for pleasure. And women have made as a way of amplifying their social and political force. In the 1920s, women in Gee’s Bend, Alabama made quilts from scraps to keep their families warm in unheated shacks. In San Marcos Tlapazola, Oaxaca, the 300 or so potters (all women) who live there have made pottery their way of life. In the village of Sisokhe, in Kenya, women build, repair, and maintain rainwater harvesting tanks. Yet somehow we never seem to hear or learn about these women.

The kind of making described above is about identity, self-sufficient communities, sustainability, and empowerment. It’s also about stories and the abundance of knowledge these women and communities carry. From an educator’s perspective, we can learn about traditional knowledge systems, ourselves, and the rich history of making through other makers. It also prompts us to question who is included and who is left out in conversations about making, and why? This is a question we should ask ourselves relentlessly as artists, crafters, makers, and educators.

Despite many initiatives, there are still tensions within the Maker Movement. Research reveals that women continue to lack representation and an exaggerated glorification of high-tech making remains. As the movement continues to expand in education, serious attention must be given to young girls, women, and artisanal grassroots movements. Only then will the Maker Movement get closer to achieving its ultimate goal as the leading force behind the “democratization of design, engineering fabrication, and education” (Artisans Asylum, 2014).

More recently, while reading about the collaboration between a cardiologist and the Aymara women of Bolivia, who are applying ancient knitting and weaving techniques to develop devices that help repair heart defects, I found myself incredibly inspired and hopeful that stories like theirs will highlight the beauty and strength of intersecting the arts, craft, technology, and cultural heritage in making and spaces of making. The long history of makers that came before us is filled with knowledge and “one of a kind kind of making.” We must remind ourselves and others, that yes — the artifact is of immense value — but more important than the artifact are the people making them, the stories they carry, and the meaning of their making.

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