serendipity

looptopia photos part 2

"People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing."  --  Dale Carnegie

Performance art came to me by accident.  It started as a means of visualizing the familial bond between my daughter and myself and from there it grew and developed.  What I like about the medium is the direct interaction you have with the viewer.  In my performance work, the viewer ceases to maintain the passive and distant stance of gazing at the object and becomes an active collaborator of making and in a sense the object to be viewed by myself and others.  Did you follow all that?  In short,  I must be doing something right as I was having a whole lot of fun during my performance at Looptopia.  See for yourself, that's me on the right in last photograph.   

A big thank you to Sara Peak Convery for these photos!  

looptopia photos part 1

"I love a hand that meets my own with a grasp that causes some sensation."  -- Samuel Osgood

I am finally sorting through images of the Attachment Project at Looptopia to put on my website, but I decided to give you preview here at the Land of Serendipity.  The photos I am showing today were taken by my friend Sandi Gunnett. You should take a look at her own blog.  Her recent photos of a young engaged couple are beyond too cute

Can you tell that folks were having fun?

knitting art!

I am one of the 18 artists featured in this upcoming book!  It is hard to believe that what started 12 years ago as an experiment has brought me to this point. Very exciting!

doggie knits

"Dogs are not our whole lives, but they make our lives whole."  --  Roger Caras

This is not a naughty dog whose sneaking a snack from the dining table, but a model wearing the latest in canine fashion.  Corinne Niessner of Lucky Penny Hand Made is the designer behind these fetching garments.  

I first met Corinne 14 years ago.  I owned a yarn shop and she loved to knit.  My beloved schnauzer Gerttie was the official store greeter, so when Corinne offered to knit her a dog sweater I didn't hesitate to say yes! Photos of Gerttie in her gorgeous cabled turtleneck are somewhere buried in a box, but trust me, she looked adorable.  Gerttie thought she did too as no one could resist coming over to give her a pet (and the occasional treat). 

Yesterday I caught up with Corinne at Knit 1 where a book launch was hosted in honor of her new book Doggie Knits.  It was great to see her talent so beautifully laid out.  I have to knit up one of her hat patterns for the Monster Pup (aka Josie the Papillon).  She would look too cute in one with her big fluffy ears sticking out.  I doubt she would wear it for long, but it's definitely worth the photo op.

An extra bonus for me was catching up with a few other folks from my yarn store days.  Corinne is featured on the far left. 

home

"It is easy to say how we love new friends, and what we think of them, but words can never trace out all the fibers that knit us to the old."  --  George Eliot  It is interesting how the place where you were raised is the place with which you identify.  When folks ask me where I am from, I always respond with St. Louis despite having left it 34 years ago.  Family is still here.  My earliest memories are still here,  It's home. I've been back home for the past few days to teach at an art education conference where I converted several dozen teachers to the joys of knitting.  There was reason behind this madness as I am bringing The Red Thread Project to St, Louis this fall. I wanted to pump energy for the project. It worked. Several schools registered after the conference to have me be an artist-in-residence!  I like being able to combine art with visiting friends and family.   It really is the best of both worlds.   Today I am off to make the rounds of all my favorite food emporiums - Bissenger's for chocolate, the Hill for all things Italian, and some wine from Parker's Table.  Yummmmmmm.

dye garden

 
"Little by little, even with other cares, the slowly but surely working poison of the garden-mania begins to stir in my long-sluggish veins."  -- Henry James

Life on an urban farm is eventful.  You must contend with soccer balls skyrocketing over the fence, trains screeching overhead, and a few slithering critters underfoot.

My sad little patch survived the winter under water, so I spent the better part of 3 1/2 hours hauling compost and manure to dig under and aerate the soil.  Northern Illinois has rich, lovely clay which if you don't amend will soon become terra ceramic under the summer sun.  As I hauled each shovelful, I cursed my laziness for not staying in shape.  

One of the many lovely aspects of gardening are the friends you make.  It's a club. "How did you get the peas to germinate so quickly?"  "Have you tried growing asparagus?"  Everyone shares information, veggies, and the occasional worm.  Monsieur Robin is my latest bosom buddy.  He followed me around the allotment as I worked.  The compost was full of red wigglers.  He was much obliged as he didn't need to lift a wing for a tasty noon day snack. 

All this activity was for a certain goal - to have a thriving natural dye garden.   I started my plot last year and hope to double its production this summer.
 
Our resident green goddess, Kirsten, surprised me with several flats of seedlings!  Into the ground went bull's blood beets, bronze fennel, yellow cosmos, and double face marigolds.  The tansy and yarrow are perennials and were looking great.  Still to be added are hopi red dye amaranth, black eyed susans, and zinnias.  I need some woad and madder to round out my palette.  I may have just enough room for the woad, but madder is a climber and may need to stay at home in my backyard. 

big blue update

"Art is never finished, only abandoned." -- Leonardo Da Vinci

Knitting while twisted like a pretzel and sitting on a very dusty floor is not ideal.  My fingers are covered in blisters, my back hurts and I still have a few more hours of repair work to complete.  Big Blue is not destined for Washington D.C. as originally planned, she is off to San Francisco in August.  It's Baby Blue (a mini replica) that will be in D.C. at the Kennedy Center.  In the meantime Big Blue will be warehoused in a town about 1 1/2 hours out of Chicago, so I am handling repairs now before she is moved into storage for the rest of spring.

It was fun to see the globes again, especially with them clustered together in one space.

Most were scattered across the floor, but a few were on shelves.

Mind you, each globe weighs approximately 250lbs.  Is it any wonder that the shelving unit is made of steel girders? 

For now, I hanker to knit some of the aplaca / silk blend I bought yesterday.  A teasing relief from nylon parachute cord. 

Looptopia - Attachments

at_tach_ment\ 1. the state of being personally attached 2. affectionate regard 3. the physical connection by which one thing is attached to another 4. the process of physically attaching

 

Join me tomorrow evening from 6-10 for my interactive performance Attachments at the Chicago Cultural Center in downtown Chicago. For more on the many events happening at Looptopia, check out this website.

The photo was taken of a performance that was the precursor to both the Attachment Project and The Red Thread Project.  Wasn't my daughter a little cutie back then?  On a historical note, this shot was taken at the site now known as Millenium Park.

you and me and you and me

"I am in You. You are in Me.  There is no distance or distinction."  --  Sri Sathya Baba

I'm getting ready for Looptopia with a collection of hats that join one to another.  One for you and one for me.  Depending on who is wearing which hat, you are either "you" or perhaps you are "me." 

The children at my after school program gave it a trial run.  They loved trying to stay connected and move as one.  As one child put it - "If you are 'you' you are a 'me'."  Out of the mouth of an 8 year old.  Who said philosophers were old and stodgy?

genetic bondage

"Art is much less important than life, but what a poor life without it."  --  Robert Motherwell

I need to be back in the studio knitting for my upcoming performance, but wanted to share my latest piece with you. 

Photo by Sanders Visual Images