2 minute read
Callista Buchen
callista buchen author & educator
Advertisement
Callista Buchen
CALLISTABUCHEN.COM I began this work inspired by my grandmother, a homemaker who desperately wanted to be recognized as an artist. A prolific sewer, embroiderer, painter, and knitter, my grandmother was also an unconventional housewife who was conflicted about how her marriage and motherhood limited the scope of her artistry and by extension, her life.
Her grandmother taught her embroidery one summer when she was 10, but Callista didn’t take the lessons seriously. For her Creative Renewal project, she took a virtual course from the New York Sewing Center. She learned how to create using fabric and thread. I wrote poems inspired by my attempts. I have been trying to understand what motivates the impulse to create crafts from within systems that consistently devalue that which is homemade, especially by women.
Prioritizing her project during the pandemic was challenging because she has a child with chronic lung disease. But being named a Fellow made Callista feel like she was still an artist and a writer. She’s been able to create healthier routines for her family, mentor other writers, edit books, and share her work at events.
I’ve found that I’m an artist of multiple mediums, and when something isn’t working on the page, I can turn to the textile and vice versa. I didn’t think that the needle would feel as comfortable to me as the pen does.
