This special issue presents research on the topic of textile practice through the lens of health and wellbeing from societal, material, emotional and neurological perspectives.
The worldwide impact of COVID-19 has shifted our focus on health and highlighted the need for connection, community, and self-care. When, suddenly, the future felt uncertain and out of control, many turned to creating and crafting for personal fulfillment, to reduce depression and anxiety, and to help with processing grief. Sharing processes and outcomes creates communities and a sense of belonging. The tactility of textiles and making dexterity contrasts and brings balance to operating in the digital realm. While these features have long been present in textile practice, the positive emotional and psychological impacts deserve attention and broader examination through research.
Many authors featured in this issue focus on craft practice as an agent for health and wellbeing and making as a strategy for self-care. Their easy accessibility make textile materials and craft an optimal activity even for people with no previous experience in making. The materiality of textiles allows feelings, emotions, and experiences to take on a visible and touchable form.
An important aspect pointed out in several articles is the social interaction, cohesion, and sense of community generated by projects undertaken in group settings.
Dr Jo Law and Dr Agnieszka Golda describe how the COVID-19 pandemic shifted the focus of their environmentally-oriented workshops to mental health and well-being. Crafting as a form of mindfulness can help create a sense of social connectedness and boost resilience in the face of challenging circumstances.
Also reflecting on the impact of the pandemic, this time with a focus on school children, are Catherine Howard, Dr Sonja Andrew, and Dr Bruce Carnie in their research on participatory group textile practice. Their study focuses on textile pedagogy and the positive impact shared creative practice has on mental health, wellbeing, and the sense of self.
Some readers may be surprised about the trivializing language Yasmine Dabbous uses to describe the impact of COVID-19, but she chose the wording deliberately to illustrate the severity of other events impacting daily life in Lebanon. In her paper she uses semiotic analysis and emotion theories borrowed from psychology and communication to analyze student work at Beirut based art school Espace Fann. Dabbous argues that the conceptual and design decisions made by the amateur practitioners, many of whom are affected by traumatic experiences, possess significant healing potential.
There is a wealth of research on the importance of emotional wellbeing to our mental and physical health. The power of textiles to convey emotion and experiences, and their close contact to our skin, make them a unique material.
In their project ‘SensAE’, Dr Jenny Underwood and Rashmita Bardalai explore the emotional importance of touch and present a tool to help designers evaluate textile materials and understand psychological considerations surrounding their material choices.
Identity and empowerment play a central role in Jasmina Fercek’s review of ‘I am not alone”, a project and subsequent exhibition of embroidered self-portraits of immigrant women in Slovenia. The project illustrates the potential of craft practice in trauma therapy and as tool for healing.
Dr Sarah Held discusses textile activist art as an empowerment strategy from a feminist perspective, describing collaborative quilts as examples of communication and protest in the public space.
Environmental health is essential for human health and wellbeing. Our last two authors are looking at sustainable practices that can improve the impact the textiles have on the environment.
Molly Radin and Kelly Cobb look at the positive impact sustainable textiles offer for people and the environment. Their wool coasters with embedded seeds are an example of a textile product with a circular life cycle and horticultural function.
Barbara Trippeer and her co-authors take an academic approach to sustainability education in textile-related areas such as fashion and interior design. They focus on curricular activities that enable students to gain a more comprehensive understanding of potentially healthier textile materials in fashion and interior design.
I hope this issue provides you with an interesting read and inspires further research.
All I'm saying is simply this: that all mankind is tied together; all life is interrelated, and we are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr June 1965, Oberlin Ohio
Fashion Institute of Technology, SUNY
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Susanne Goetz
Susanne Goetz is an Associate Professor in the Textile/Surface Design Department. She has worked internationally as a textile designer, lecturer, researcher, and project manager. Her expertise is in printed textile design, sustainable textiles, and artisanship, with a focus on both digital and traditional approaches to design and production. Her research and teaching practice focuses on global sustainable design and manufacturing practices, as well as innovative interdisciplinary work with biomaterials. Susanne holds a MSc in Textile and Apparel Technology Management from North Carolina State University and a BA in Textile Design from Hof University of Applied Sciences, Germany. She is a Fulbright Alumna and a fellow of the Higher Education Academy. [email protected]