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...
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Image Credits:
Lead Image: The River (detail), San Juan Tapestry Project
All other images as credited in photo captions.