Shedding the Shackles
Women’s Empowerment through Craft
Lynne Stein
Herbert Press Ltd
Overview
With its coffee table luxe vibe, this book is set for more pickups than you may imagine. It is set in two halves, the first documenting the preservation of the traditional craft practices, the second is set around women’s craft initiatives.
The author doesn’t describe pure technique over story and background, what I loved about this title is the narrative, the story of the real women - the women who make, who are more than simply makers - they are living beings with onward development and lives.
It would be impossible for Stein to describe effectively each and every tradition of craft by women in every country - so the book has been spread thin, with brief sights into many. This may disappoint, yet isn’t the sign of a good author that of the unsaid as well as the said?
I enjoyed the overview of craft as seen in many camps, as an act of requirement for a wage, not just a sentimental hobby, which often this genre is pigeon holed into within this UK culture we have.
This book is large and I cannot have space to mention it all, however the genre of craft is described in many other camps, including as an act of therapy and a way of reusing and saving earth.
Some of us may identify thematically with one or more themes within this book.
Who is it aimed at? Where would I hope to find it?
Yes, I mentioned the coffee table vibe, but this title content wise would be a great Library addition to both schools and universities. It would also make for great discussions at book clubs which may have more art inclined members.
Last best bits
The photographic content and the research which the author has put into it - this is an act of writing love.