Why Are You Throwing a Crow Party?
Amanda Barbee: Director of Operations
When we lived in Austin, Texas, our kiddos were both under 5 years old. It was there that we learned about grackles and their complete lack of respect for humans (especially little wobbly ones with a loose grip on their snacks).
Though intimidating to our kids as toddlers, our family sort of made a hobby out of identifying and observing corvids in all of the different places we’ve called home. The cultural significance of a crow in Chengdu, China is reminiscent of Poe’s “The Raven,” and Panamanian grackles stop traffic if they please. The crows here in Southwest Virginia send duos as look-outs, to secure spaces for the whole murder (the technical name for a gathering of crows).
For brevity’s sake, Amanda, you said PARTY:
We have unsalted peanuts at Scrap Collective for a look-out duo that has posted up nearby. We have begun to throw food out into the grass whenever the crows caw. We want them to know we are a safe and welcoming collection of people. We want YOU to know that, as well: You are welcome and safe at Scrap Collective. To celebrate our scrappy crafters, to welcome Spring, and to mark TWO MONTHS of connections through crafty reconomy, we’re throwing a CROW PARTY!
Dress in black (if you like), bring trinkets to trade (shiny and sparkly if you please), and come celebrate with us! We’ll have a pecking table, music, corvid-related crafts, and maybe even some live performances! Tickets are pay-what-you-can (as always), and mainly offered just so we know how many snacks to have on hand. Drop-in anytime between 4-7 pm on Saturday, March 28th.
Our Community, Our Wealth
Candice Rohde: Director of Community Engagement
Last night I went to a show at 5 Points Music Sanctuary (it’s a super cool place if you haven’t been yet, go support another nonprofit) and saw a bluegrassy jammy band. The music was awesome and the sound was perfect. A random lady even asked me and my person if she could take a picture for us because we looked cute, and I had no issue with giving her my phone number to send it; I trusted her immediately. Anyway, this band played a ripper called “Roanoke,” and as the crowd grooved, I started thinking about what makes Appalachian culture so special.
People from Appalachia are resilient, community-driven, and they make do with what they have. They care about the environment (because we’re literally tucked into the Blue Ridge Mountains), they value artists, and they are CREATIVE AS HELL. The smallfolk here would rather support a small business than make billionaires more billionaire-y. We want to keep local money LOCAL.
Supporting the community is huge with these people. You don’t find that everywhere – trust me, I’ve lived in quite a few places. Roanoke (especially Old Southwest neighbors) has SHOWN UP to support our mission at Scrap Collective, and we were honestly blown away by how much these people believe in us. But it turns out, our mission totally aligns with Appalachian culture.
We are extremely proud of how much ya’ll show up for each other. By supporting Scrap Collective, you’re supporting the diversity and elevation of the folks of Roanoke. It’s always a good time to create community and help your neighbors, but we need it now more than ever considering the state of the world. Everyone looked so happy at 5 Points last night, and I’m stoked we jumped into Roanoke head-first and are giving back by creating another avenue to do what ya’ll do best: help each other be better.
One Artist’s Trash is Another Artist’s Treasure
Candice Rohde: Director of Community Relations
I truly believe that everything that we need is already available to us – we only need to get creative and reimagine the materials around us. I make miniatures, and every piece I make utilizes some weird unconventional material that I saved from something else. This week I finished a miniature Baba Yaga house – I used paperboard from an empty box of tea bags to make the roof, cardboard for the house frame, random wire and aluminum foil to shape the chicken legs, sawdust to add texture, and a slice of a tree stump for the base.
All of those materials were going to be thrown into the ocean or a landfill, but I made some awesome art instead! You can find all that stuff in your own house, or you can come to your local creative reuse center and find all of that there! Plus, you’ll meet people who really want to talk about your random projects with you and brainstorm the best ways to make what’s in your head become reality.
A creative reuse center is the three-way intersection of sustainability, community, and feral creativity, and it’s where environmentally conscious artists like me THRIVE.