Diary of a Smart Chick

Various writings from a curious mind

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  • many human trafficking victims are children
    Interviews,  Mental Health

    Dressember: Fight Human Trafficking Through A Community Style Challenge and The Power of Crochet, Slow Fashion, and Sustainability

    November 30, 2020

    Dressember is a movement to fight human trafficking. Each December, teams come together to raise money for the cause. They do so by committing to wearing a dress or tie every day of the month, sharing it on social media along with information about human trafficking, sex trafficking, and slave labor, and asking people to donate. I’ve decided to join the Namaste and Crochet team this year, which has an additional component: raising awareness about the power of crochet and knitting as slow fashion, sustainable, ethical antidotes to fast fashion which is one major contributor to slave labor around the world. My personal fundraising goal is $1000. Ready to donate?…

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    Mixed media artist Whitney Turetzky

    Interview with Mixed Media Artist Whitney Turetzky

    September 7, 2018
    anonymous woman art by eva lake

    Interview with Photomontage Artist Eva Lake

    September 4, 2018
    celiab modeling fashion

    Interview with Fashion Founder CeliaB

    September 4, 2018
  • Fanny Ara of Sintonia Flamenco
    Dance,  San Francisco

    Flamenco Dance Interview: Sintonia Presents “Tattooed”

    September 30, 2019

    There’s about to be a flamenco performance at the newly-renovated Presidio Theatre here in San Francisco. The performance looks powerful. The group performing it looks fascinating. And I’m excited to be able to share a dance interview with you below so you can learn more about all of it. But first, let’s discuss the performance and the group behind it … The Performance: Tattooed Tattooed is “an experimental flamenco dance performance about survivors’ strength and resilience.” Tattooed is a flamenco dance performance by Sintonia. The performance consists of “theatrical vignettes that utilize each dancer and musician as a player in the narrative.” It is about trauma and abuse. It explores how…

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  • videocracy book
    Book Review

    Videocracy: Forms of Collaboration on YouTube

    August 23, 2019

    I recently read the book Videocracy. There was so much rich stuff in there about collaboration. Here are some of the things I learned and thoughts I had while reading this book. Videocracy: About the Book First I’ll tell you a little bit about the book Videocracy. It is all about YouTube trends. The head of the company’s “Culture and Trends” department is the author. Naturally, he has a lot of interesting insight into video watching trends. I think there’s some bias on his part to see YouTube as a mostly great thing. However, in spite of that there’s tons of interesting information in the book. I’m currently working on…

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    Related Posts

    therapist memoir unsayable

    Therapist Memoir: Annie Rogers’ Shining Affliction and Unsayable

    January 10, 2019
    a love for movies

    A Movie Lover’s Search for Romance: A Dating Memoir (Author Interview)

    September 22, 2020
    Nancy drew illustration

    Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her

    September 6, 2020
  • creative duo Orange Barrel Industries
    Art,  Interviews

    Creative Duo Interview: Orange Barrel Industries

    August 20, 2019

    A portion of the interview about this creative duo was originally published in Happily Hooked digital magazine.  Orange Barrel Industries is the collaborative art business of creative duo husband-and-wife printmaking team Hannah and Blake. They are a witty pair who got married in a series of art events. They share on their website, “At first, Blake thought Hannah was some kind of itchy, excitable midget and Hannah found Blake to be an uppity ascetic. It turns out, they were both right, but they learned to love each other, anyway. They bonded over their shared passions of printmaking, drawing, cooking and hard work.“ I had the opportunity awhile back to interview…

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    Related Posts

    anonymous woman art by eva lake

    Interview with Photomontage Artist Eva Lake

    September 4, 2018
    India photography by Danielle Da Silva

    Interview with Director, Photographer and Activist Danielle da Silva

    September 7, 2018
    we shall overcome by Ellen Schinderman

    Interview with Thread Artist Ellen Schinderman

    September 7, 2018
  • artist as culture producer
    Book Review

    Recommended Essay Reading: The Artist as Culture Producer … and Thoughts on Creative Collaboration

    August 18, 2019

    The Artist as Culture Producer: Living and Sustaining a Creative Life is an essay collection edited by Sharon Louden in an effort to combat the stereotype that artists are working in studios alone, toiling away in solitary – even self-absorbed – pursuits. The essays are each by an artist who “reaches outside of the studio to extend creative energies and pursuits into his or her community.” She goes on to say she chose these artists for many reasons including their generosity and that “they inject creative culture into the cracks of society, where they alter the direction of small towns and large cities”. Each of the essays is as different…

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    Related Posts

    art of asking

    Book Review: Art of Asking

    January 5, 2019
    videocracy book

    Videocracy: Forms of Collaboration on YouTube

    August 23, 2019
    book review memoir

    Book Review: Always Too Much and Never Enough

    September 4, 2018
  • Threadwinners artist team
    Fiber Art,  Interviews

    Interview With Crochet Artists Alyssa and Liz of Threadwinners

    September 4, 2018

    This interview was first published by Fempotential in early 2017. Since then I’ve had the opportunity to work with these great women in a number of ways. I’m thrilled to re-share this original article here. Threadwinners is a collaborative crochet art team based in Southern California. It’s made up of two awesome women: Alyssa Arney and Liz Flynn. They each took their own journeys to identifying as artists. They found their way to fiber art on their own. However, their visions really came to life when they joined up as a team. Together they: work to fight against patriarchy and the status quo by using art forms traditionally considered “interior /…

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    Related Posts

    Michelle Anais Beaulieu-Morgan embroidery

    Interview with Embroidery Artist Michelle Anais Beaulieu-Morgan

    September 4, 2018
    Needle felting artist weijue wang

    Interview with Needle Felting Artist Weijue Wang

    September 7, 2018
    embroidery of mountains

    Interview with Feminist Embroidery Artist Maria Arseniuk

    September 4, 2018
  • artist miss marley with embroidery
    Fiber Art

    Interview with Artist Miss Marley

    September 4, 2018

    Marley Myles, better known as Miss Marley, is a self-taught artist from New South Wales, Australia. Her work is inspired by fairy tales, mythology, and symbolism. She works across different mediums including hand embroidery and ink drawing. She’s always bringing a combination of whimsy and humanity to each piece she creates. In this interview, she shares: how tattoos played a role in her development as an artist what she has learned from her son and how activism and art intersect for her. On a Creative Childhood As a self-taught artist, have you ever taken art classes? I was lucky to grow up in a childhood home that was essentially a…

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    Related Posts

    we shall overcome by Ellen Schinderman

    Interview with Thread Artist Ellen Schinderman

    September 7, 2018
    Threadwinners artist team

    Interview With Crochet Artists Alyssa and Liz of Threadwinners

    September 4, 2018
    embroidery of mountains

    Interview with Feminist Embroidery Artist Maria Arseniuk

    September 4, 2018
  • celiab modeling fashion
    Fashion,  Interviews

    Interview with Fashion Founder CeliaB

    September 4, 2018

    Celia Bernardo is the founder of CeliaB, a Spanish fashion brand that she created after spending a decade working with large brand names in fashion. She loves to travel and collects textiles and patterns from all around the world. Additionally, she loves incorporating inspiration from everywhere into her texture-rich clothing designs. In this interview, she shares her inspirations, motivations and the story of her brand. Launching The CeliaB Brand Q: You have worked with some big businesses in the past. What inspired you to start your own brand? I worked with brands like Zara, Pepe Jeans, and Asobio for ten years. After that, I thought it was time to set up…

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I commit to using my skills / experience in writing, crafting and therapeutic creativity to assist others in understanding, exploring and achieving their creative dreams, honoring their artistic selves and healing their inner and outer worlds. This is done primarily through the channel of crochet but incorporates information from other areas of craft, art, creativity, and psychology. Subscribers receive my newsletter and additional rewards at various funding levels. As we reach collective milestones, I donate copies of my books to those in need.

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