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KnittedTogether: Rolling Hills and Calm Seas

Experimentation can sometimes take you places you never intended to go. When the decision was taken to make a model of The Garden of All Things it became clear that there would be a necessity for knitting/crocheting some grass.

A question: What colour is grass?

Green, right??

Well, the group asked themselves the same question and predictably they agreed it was green but what shade of green should they use for their grass?

A blue green; a yellow green; an emerald green; a mossy green; a pastel green; there are so many possibilities.

The artist aiding the group suggested that they could knit/crochet any stitch they liked in any shade of green that they liked, just to keep in mind that they were knitting grass for a garden. They were encouraged to use their creativity in any way they pleased. They explored new patterns and applied old techniques in new ways.

Over the next couple of weeks a colourful array of grass samples arrived into the art studio on Thursday mornings, the group’s usual day for meeting up. There were lush pastures, flowery gardens and wild marshlands. A whole new landscape emerged. As the group was exploring the idea of including the local canal in the sculpture, a couple of the members were asked to make their interpretation of knitted/crocheted water to add to the piece. When a sea arrived shortly after the request was made, it became apparent that a beach would be needed. Then, in a beautiful way, a hairy marshland that was knitted in, let’s call, a “difficult” shade of green, became a perfectly natural sand dune. The piece grew organically and every new addition brought fresh life to the scene.

This work of experimental art, these rambling hills and clear seas are fertile ground for the imagination. You can just imagine yourself rising early in the woolly house to clear skies; tending to your lush garden; eating outside to the sound of birdsong; taking a stroll on the sandy beach and maybe even, taking a dip in the cool waves. You probably could tell your own story from looking at this piece. A whole world can open up when you can give yourself permission to let go, experiment, play and let your hands do the talking.