Take Knitting to an Entirely Different Level of Creativity
Artists are creating stunning sculptures made by knitting. Take a look at these pieces knit with yarn and wire
So what does a knitter do when they've grown bored by traditional knitting? Having mastered every stitch and sweatered every member of the extended family, what's next? Of course, we here, would like them to knit hats for soldiers and booties for hospitals and lap blankets for nursing homes. But beyond that... then what? Should they hang up the needles and box up the yarn?
They could take their knitting to the maximum level--the stage where knitting gets elevated to a new level of artistry, oddly enough, knitting sculpture. At this level, art critics sip wine while ogling the nuances of the yarn and deciphering supposed layers of meaning. At this level, a knitting artist may abandon yarn altogether, and try instead to knit materials such as wire. Sounds a little absurd! And yet, it's so cool. Take a look.
The art of knitting brought to a distinctively different level
Eve Jacobs-Carnahan spins and dyes her own yarn before even beginning her knit sculptures. Her work, though not exactly wearable, takes its inspiration from traditional knit clothing such as a Shetland vest and a blue mitten. While some sculptures are what they appear to be, others make a statement about important topics such as erosion and terrorism.
Gayle Roehm says she's influenced by both laziness and contrariness when creating her knit sculptures. She started knitting to relieve stress and found her own peace in knitting entirely fun pieces with no functional purpose except to be as they appeared. Her take on Faberge's "Spring Flowers" egg is inspiring. Check out the small basket of flowers hidden inside.
In order to keep her sculptures from flopping over, Gayle used a wire framework inside the pieces. But what about knitting with actual wire? John Binet Fauvel has been using wire for his artistic knit pieces for nearly thirty years. He only uses recycled wire, including salvaged electrical and copper wire. He makes frames to knit his three-dimensional, and often abstract, pieces.
Sarah Jane Brown's knitted wire art could actually be called "cute" or witty. She works in a smaller form than Fauvel and uses a more flexible wire. Sarah works each unique piece by hand, beginning with the main body and then hand stitching in the legs and tails. Her pieces are bendable and she intends for the owners of each piece to pose them as they like, resulting in a distinctly individual sculpture.
Impressive, isn't it? Who would have thought there could be more to knitting than soft yarn and clothing patterns? These fun pieces just lead me to the conclusion that all knitting is impressive to me.