A Radical Thread: Stitching the Spirit of the San Juan Ridge

In the Sierra Foothills of California, an extraordinary act of collective creativity is unfolding - one stitch at a time. A Radical Thread, a new 71-minute documentary that premiered this year, tells the story of the San Juan Ridge Tapestry Project and the community who - with 3,600 volunteer hours over seventeen years - brought it to life.

A Radical Thread, a 2025 feature-length documentary, chronicles the making of the San Juan Ridge Tapestry Project: an 83-foot embroidery that captures the challenges, triumphs, and enduring values of a back-to-the-land community shaped by five decades of radical sustainability.

Trailer: A Radical Thread, Documentary by Jeanne C. Finley

Born from the vision of weaver and early Ridge homesteader Marsha Stone, the tapestry project began with a spark of inspiration: a book about the Bayeux Tapestry spotted in a local bookstore. Like its thousand-year-old predecessor, the Ridge Tapestry would be long and narrow, worked in wool on linen, and structured in narrative panels with elaborated lower borders. But instead of battles and kings, its imagery celebrates animals, plants, festivals, and performances - threads of everyday life in a community built on ecological values and creative collaboration.

The Land Then and Now, 6ft. San Juan Ridge Tapestry Project

Illustrated by artist Jennifer Rain Crosby and primarily embroidered by Mary Moore with the help of over 100 community members, the tapestry now spans 83 feet across 12 panels. It chronicles 50 years of San Juan Ridge history, from its founding in the 1970s by artists and environmentalists to its present-day grappling with climate-fuelled wildfires and drought.

North Columbia Schoolhouse, San Juan Ridge Tapestry Project

The film A Radical Thread is both a visual celebration and an intimate reflection. It documents not just the making of the tapestry, but the ethos inherent in a culture of collectivism, care for the land, and an ongoing struggle to live sustainably. The Ridge community, unlike many utopian experiments of its era, formed pragmatic alliances with government and industry, working with the Bureau of Land Management to create economic models of forest stewardship that are now recognised statewide.

The documentary features insights from Ridge residents across generations, including Caleb Dardick, who speaks of the community’s continuity: “The Ridge endures because each member will step up and say, ‘I want to add my stitch.’” Shelly Covert, spokesperson for the Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribe, offers powerful context around the land’s deeper history - unacknowledged tribal genocide, suppressed cultural knowledge, and the possibility of land reparations through shared environmental work.

The Cattle Drive, San Juan Ridge Tapestry Project

Archival footage of poet Gary Snyder, a longtime Ridge resident, is woven throughout the film, reminding us of the urgent choices he articulated decades ago: to pursue long-term sustainability or face environmental collapse. Snyder’s message, once a radical stance, now feels like prophecy.

Volunteers at work on the San Juan Ridge Tapestry Project

Yet the true protagonist of A Radical Thread is the tapestry itself. It is a living document of collective care, with each stitch a gesture of resistance, remembrance, and responsibility. On the back of each panel is a list of contributors: families, friends, visitors. These names form a second, quieter narrative of community, echoing the unsung labour of handwork that has historically documented daily life and social change. It’s a meditation on how stitching together the past might just help mend the future.

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Further Information:

San Juan Tapestry Project

San Juan Tapestry Project

Facebook Page

A Radical Thread

Website

Jeanne C. Finley Instagram

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Screenings: