We were instantly riveted by @tumanualidades.de‘s tiny videos of mending because they were so restful to watch, offering seemingly simple solutions to fixes we have in the past spent too much time worrying or procrastinating about. Where our attempts at darning yield a wild lumpy cross hatch, here are precise, graceful patterns, easily done, showing a dispiriting rip returned to order. It seems other people feel the same way. This video got 2.5 million likes.

There are LOTS of strangely revelatory videos, many with a surprising outcome:

Click the right arrow to watch the second video: a clever and satisfying repair of an L-shaped rip.

We are reminded of Louise Bourgeois’ words:

The act of sewing is a process of emotional repair.

There are also videos with techniques for “tailoring” clothes, like this cut-less hem-fix for jeans:

We’re especially smitten with this method of nipping in the waist of a pair of pants or a skirt, something we’ve wanted to do many times:

These entrancing videos got us thinking about mending, in particular Yoko Ono’s various Mending Pieces, like this “instruction” from her wonderful little book Acorn.

One of her most famous installations is long tables cluttered with broken cups and plates, and scissors, tape, rubber cement, and string all available for viewers to assemble the fragments into a new whole. Writing for Hyperallergic,  Allison Meier reported that Mend Piece provoked  genuine joy from visitors”.

Yoko Ono “Mend Piece” at Andrea Rosen Gallery

We love the equation of mending and joy.

@tumanualidades.de‘

Related Posts

If you’ve found illumination, joy, or inspiration in this post, please consider supporting Improvised Life. It only takes a minute to make a secure donation that helps pay our many costs. A little goes a long way towards helping Improvised Life continue to live ad-free in the world.

Support Improvised Life ♥

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *