One of a Kind Kind of Making

How Making can Make a Difference

The Maker Movement is often associated with laser cutters, 3-D printers, walking robots, dynamic spaces and state-of-the-art technology. However, there’s an entirely different facet to making — one that values the uniqueness of the human hand and traditional knowledge. 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 sewed most of the clothes we wore, designed our Halloween costumes, made quilts, fixed items, made homemade glue and paint for us, and everything in between. I have no doubt she could have built a house with her bare hands if she had to.

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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.

We were fascinated by 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

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, sure — we can learn a lot about geography, social sciences, physics, the arts and math from these makers and their contexts. But far beyond that, we can learn about traditional knowledge systems, ourselves and the rich history of making. 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 that there is still prejudice towards what is handmade. 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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Natalie Catlett


Natalie obtained her BFA from Pratt Institute in New York. Currently, she is living and teaching in São Paulo, Brazil. Her area of expertise is art integration in the
elementary classroom. Natalie has always felt strongly about the
transformative role of the arts in Education. Her experience teaching in IB World Schools inspired her to create an Arts Center for Children, "Arte nos Fundos."