The Stitchers

Susanne Cockrell

The Stitchers follows the struggles and ideals of a group of artists, craftspeople, and deep ecologists who began moving to the San Juan Ridge in the Western Sierra foothills in 1970. Instigated by Gary Snyder, this group sought to incorporate their ideals within the needs of local economies establishing novel methods of cooperative activism. Their commitment to collaboration and environmental sustainability are obsessively embroidered into a 100 foot tapestry by hundreds of volunteer stitchers, demonstrating their community’s cohesive DIY values. The Stitchers explores this 13-year tapestry project as a performative archive that expresses the Ridge community's 50-year commitment to biodiversity, collective joy, indigenous knowledge, and enduring stewardship.

Susanne Cockrell

My social and documentary projects explore the ways people live in specific places over time, amplifying the emergent choreography of landscape, shared experience and participatory actions in shaping collective and civic life.  Early studies in dance/improvisation, anthropology and environmental studies continue to inform my aesthetic practice and research.