Knitting Artists
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Listed in alphabetical order
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Statement:
From
an early age I have always been interested in crafts,
including knitting, sewing, crochet and cross stitch.
I carried this passion through out school, college and university,
achieving high results in Art and Design and Textiles Technology.
It was during my first term at Nottingham Trent University,
that I decided to put my skills to use and start
my own business. Not only was I paying my bills, but improving
my skills and learning new ones, such as spinning my own yarn.
Since
leaving university I have been running missbell full time. Being
able to utilise my creative experience is a dream come true!
I mostly enjoy experimenting with colour, but texture is high
on the list when it comes to my handspun yarn."
Click here to contact Claire
Click here to view more of Claire's work
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Artisan Knitted Bags |
Jackets Essential Magazine |
Mini Dress Rooster Yarns |
Scarf Woman's Weekly |
Statement:
Trained
in fashion/ textiles, I have worked as a freelance knitwear
designer for a number of years based first in London
and now on the Sussex coast. I have designed for companies
supplying the major high street retailers and also smaller
independent companies in both hand and machine knits.
I have also done magazine commision work, designs for companies to
promote their yarns in books and magazines, worked for swatch companies selling
to buyers in the States, and have taught knitwear at London College of Fashion.
Offering; design for handknits, machine knits; garments, accessories.
Technical; specs, try out swatches, sample garments/ items, knitting
kits to promote yarn. I have a team of experienced handknitters also able to
do crochet and embroidery on knit, and a professional pattern writer.
Click here to contact Sian
Click here to view more of Sian's work
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Backwing Top |
Boob Tube And Mini Skirt |
Cabled Top With Tassels |
Top Bag and Hat |
Statement:
My mother taught me to knit, crotchet and hand sew when I was in primary school, as I got older I fell in love with the fashion industry strongly influenced and inspired by shows such as The Clothes Show and designers such as, Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto. Over the years I had been designing/knitting made to order garments for private clients, which encouraged me to go back and pursue a career in design. Finally after attending a cultural exhibition in October 2004 the colours and textures of the ethnic fabrics used to create an African village inspired me to officially produce a range of luxury handmade knitwear and accessories through my label, Eclectic Mix.
My designs are heavily influenced by the yarn texture and simple asymmetrical shapes, like squares and rectangles. I have received commissions from stylists as far away as New York . On March 17th 2005, I was part of a selected group of new designers who took part in Alternative Fashion Week, sponsored by Swatch.. Since then I have gone on to commercial freelance design, designing swatches for a textile company selling designs to international retail/fashion companies.
From April 2004 until May 2005, I attended the New Entrepreneur Scholarship Programme, partnered by amongst others,The Princes Trust, Hackney Business Venture Enterprise and University of Westminster. On production of my completed business plan on the 11th May 2005, I was awarded a business start-up grant. In October 2006, I launched my label at the Fashion Enter Boutique, Crowndale Centre, Croydon, which is owned by Fashion Enter and Fashion Capital, with a view to launching my on-line collection in 2008. My collection is also available at CC Dressing Rooms, South Woodford.
I like to produce collections that are style led, yet fashion conscious an eclectic mix, of vibrant colours and textures, focusing on outside seams and combinations of simple stitch patterns to create texture, hence the name, Eclectic Mix. Utilising blended or pure wool yarns and at times fabric, to create a luxury easily wearable eclectic mix of clothing and accessories. My current influences are Sonia Rykiel, Missoni and handmade vintage patterns from the 40’s, 60’s and 70’s. These influences inspire me to design items that are both able to capture the qualities of the texture and colour of yarn in a very modern and innovative way. The vintage patterns/styles I source, reflect and stretch the versatility of handmade techniques on an extremely practical yet what seems an impossibly stylistic level, and this is what I try to capture within my own collection. I take pride in the fact that my garments are produced by UK based knitters and manufacturers.
Click here to contact Sonji
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| Project realised at
the Irish Museum of Modern Art while on the Artists’ Work
Programme Dublin.
French knitting, four needle knitting, Irish knitting stitches and digital
images |
Installation part of solo exhibition Parterres at
the Charles Darwin University Gallery, Darwin, NT, Australia.
French knitting braids, wool, polyamid yarn, cable ties
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Wall installation for solo exhibition
at The Gallery, Stratford-Upon-Avon, England
Wool, mirrors, pins, lenses, feather, lycra, hair clips and glitter |
Project realised at the Crafts Council for touring exhibition Knit 2 Together New Concept in Knitting with Somali Women’s group. French knitting, wire, yarn |
Statement:
Underpinning my practice is my concern with the nature of the creative process and the condition and location of art production. Inspired by Michel de Certeau’s concept of the art of making in the everyday, my work aims to celebrate the vernacular and creative skills that are invisible, marginal or being lost through migration, socio-economic changes and globalisation. I am interested in the concepts of object détourné, hybridity and the practice of cultural resistance. These issues have and will bring me to work in cross-cultural and transnational contexts where the practice of making objects continues to be an integral part of one’s sense of identity.
My practice includes a wide range of making materials and processes including knitting and stitching and digital imaging. I am particularly interested in developing a practice that brings together local-global concerns and traditional-innovative skills. My practice is also located in a wide range of contexts including public and non-art spaces.
With my current research project here and there I aim to develop a new model of art practice that explores the complexity inherent to transnational experience and identity. This will be achieved through a series of context-based and collaborative art making projects that bring together artist and communities in meaningful and ethical creative exchanges.
In 2000 I began spool knitting (French knitting) exploring the simplicity and universality of the technique and its association with home crafts and childhood. I have since realised a large number of French knitted installations for solo exhibitions (les merveilles de Françoise Dupré, Can’Art, Toulouse, France 2002; French knitting, the gallery, Stratford-upon-Avon, England 2003; parterres, Charles Darwin University Gallery, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia 2004) and for group exhibitions (Knit 2 Together Concepts in Knitting, Crafts Council, England 2005-06; Art in Romney Marsh, Ivychurch, England 2004).
The French knitting technique is simple to learn or relearn, it is adaptable and can be used with other knitting and making techniques to create transcultural art work. French knitting crosses over social and cultural boundaries as well as age groups and as a group activity it has been an ideal means through which I have been able to develop collaborative practice that engages with communities and places. So far I have realised two projects: snáth nasc, de fil en aiguille… while artist in residence at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland 2003-04 and Fujaan for the Crafts Council exhibition Knit 2 Together Concepts in Knitting England 2005.
The knitted works I create become part of installations which often include video work and/or stills prints. I consider the digital work an other kind of way of engaging with the process of knitting. The video here and there, french knitting, Brixton made in 2003 explores the solitary, meditative and performative aspects of knitting while the series of digital images, in snáth nasc, de fil en aiguille… and for Fujaan souvenir pack, emphasis the intersubjective engagement with participants. (here and there, french knitting, Brixtonwill be shown in Blurring the Boundaries: Fashion Design Innovation in Contemporary Knitting group exhibition at the Fairfield City Museum and Gallery, Sydney, Australia 2006)
Click here to contact Francoise
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iPod Front |
iPod Back |
Profiteroles |
Web of Wool |
Statement:
I am a third year Fine Art student at Cardiff working with knitting. I have always been fascinated by knitting and decided that I would have to knit everything that I want. The fundamental point to my work is the ability to be self sufficient through knitting. The things I knit are useless in terms of function, but the process brings up all sorts of issues: independence, self sufficiency, greed, consumerism, patience, appreciation of time, appreciation of skill. This involves questioning what I need, what I desire and how much time and energy I’m prepared to give to these.
Click here to contact Kimberley
Click here to view more of Kimberley's work
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Beaded Freeform Crocheted Cuffs |
Freeform Crocheted Jacket |
Freeform Crocheted Garden Hanging |
Freeform Silk Bracelet |
Statement:
I
design and make crochet accessories - jewellery, bags,
scarves and hats, and one of a kind freeform crochet wallhangings
and garments. The jewellery is worked in bead crochet using
silk and/or cotton with glass beads. The bags, hats and scarves
are worked in different types of crochet including freeform, using a
variety of yarns. Inspiration for the jewellery and accessories comes
from the wide variety of yarns and beads now available, the natural
world and the seasons provides the inspiration for garments
and wallhangings. I usually start out with a general idea for the piece
I`m making, which evolves during the working process. This is particularly
true with freeform crochet, where different yarns can be added
as the piece progresses. I am fascinated by colour and texture, particularly
the way colours are affected when placed next to each other.
I hope that in the future crochet will be seen to realise it's full
potential.
I have designed for Knitting magazine, Yarn Forward Magazine,
Reader`s Digest (USA), Sirdar and King Cole and have taught
crochet classes and workshops. My
work has been exhibited in various places in the UK and in the Scrumblers' Unite
exhibition in Australia.
Click here to contact Pauline
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Halter Top (Image courtesy of Knit Today Issue 11) |
Raspberries & Cream (Image courtesy of Knit Today Issue 8) |
Shrug Jacket (Image courtesy of Knit Today Issue 4) |
Waste Not Want Not Bag (Image courtesy of Knitting Magazine Issue 27) |
Statement:
I grew up with the touch and feel of textiles, collecting scraps from the factory floors where my mother and aunts worked, and where I visited frequently to collect pieces for dolls clothes. I could knit, sew and crochet before I learned to read or write; and have been doing so most of my life. In the 1970s, I had a business called The Wendy House, designing whacky knitwear for West End stores, employing an army of home knitters in the suburbs of London. I gave this up to have children.
I am excited by colour and texture, fabric and fibre. I use knitting and crochet in my textile art to illustrate inner and outer themes; often abstract. I love to invent and explore; and to mix and (mis)match, sometimes disparate, media and techniques, frequently using recycled materials. I knit with plastic carrier bags, combine papier maché with fibre, knitting with emulsion paints, distressed fabric with felted human hair and cat fur. Many of my pieces glow in the dark. I am currently designing knitting and crochet patterns for magazines (see above).
Click here to contact Wendy
Click here to view more of Wendy's work
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Knitted Brain |
Body Box |
Knitwear |
Statement:
I have been taught knitting many times through out my life but at 22 I seem to have realised a talent, love and obsession for it. My first project was to create a knitted product, a box filled with knitted organs - all with correct dimensions and with factual information. By knitting the bodily organs I was able to create a learning and play toy that delivered most of the necessary information that I so easily forgot when reading books at school. Since my graduation have experimented with crochet and knitting and have begun a series of knitwear and jewellery. Currently I hand knit only. For me it is only the beginning of what I hope will be a life time of creative knitting in conceptual art, design and fashion. Through my work I intend to explore and communicate ideas, issues and information that one may initially over look. I aspire to educate, communicate and inform with all of my work. Everything has a story. My objective is to illustrate a meaning. I obsess over detail, patterns, delicate and beautiful elements found with in objects. This has led to a conscientious style of working. The ethos of my work is to relate ideas whilst creating a sense of humour and optimism for the subject in hand. My style is organic yet clean and simple, my outlook is playful and honest. I enjoy the making process, and find craft based and hand made work more pleasing. The pieces I design are made to feel precious, and to be enjoyed by all.Subject matter and content is varied although I have particular interest and find inspiration in the sciences, elements of nature and what has created the world around us. I have a thirst for history and the subject of anthropology with an emphasis on growth and development as key themes in content and the aesthetic of my pieces. One idea or piece of information always leads to the next. I enjoy finding unusual ways of communicating an idea, or creating a visual play on words. Mostly I just want to alter the viewers point of view.
Click here to contact Caroline
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Rachel knitting her way through
Camberwell |
Rachel with her performance knitting
of 'Ravel' |
'This is how long' |
Statement:
As a performer working predominantly in live art, one of my core interests is the embodied nature of being and how the experience of time and memory is stored and expressed in the body. In my work I focus on detail and process, and seek to explore (for example through the use of stillness and silence in performance) what is present in a space that is often perceived as empty. I also examine the nature of the performer/viewer relationship, and to what extent it is possible to create a shared space of experience between performer and viewer.
Although I have knitted since the age of 6, I have only recently begun using knitting in my performance work. I am interested in the way knitting can represent and materialise aspects of time and memory, through the creation of a 3-dimensional fabric from something linear. The repeated stitches are indicative of how small details or moments gradually build up into something larger; in contrast to many other artefacts, in most knitting the individual actions which go towards creating the object are still clearly manifest in the finished piece, while the continuity of the yarn suggests how these details are part of a seamless whole. In performative knitting, particularly outdoors, I am interested in how bringing this domestic craft into a public space can influence both the work and the space.
In making work about waiting, one of my aims was to make concrete the time spent waiting which often ‘disappears’ when the thing awaited arrives. This is How Long is a cumulative performative knitting piece. For a residency in London, I knitted each time I waited for public transport. Each different-coloured section thus marked and materialised a time of waiting. Each time I returned to the gallery for which the piece was made I hung the work, marking on the wall the times and places where I had waited.
Ravel is a durational performance created for Camberwell Arts Festival. I laid a line of yarn along a 5-km route through Camberwell, connecting places that in the past were related to water and other historical sites. I then retraced my steps, knitting up the yarn and incorporating small objects found along the way or given to me by viewers, as well as all the tangles and breaks the yarn had got itself into over the day.
Click here to contact Rachel
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Crocheted Plastic Form |
Pink and Green Wall Reef |
Sea Swarm |
Large Reef |
Statement:
I was taught to spin, crochet, knit and sew as a young girl by various friends and family members, but let all of these skills lapse as adult life took over. It's only now in my mid thirties, that I've come back to them and they've literally taken over my life and my home.
I work only with discarded materials; yarns and laces found in charity shops; plastics hoaked from rubbish bins; carrier bags begged from friends; and even foam and bubble wrap plundered from skips. I love to take something that no one else wants and give it a new lease of life; turning it into a thing of beauty and keeping it from landfill.
Most of my time is taken up by coral reef project for the Institute For Figuring based in Los Angeles. This project, to highlight the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, has lead my crocheted, woven, hand and machine-knitted, felted and sculpted reef dwellers to be included in the IFF's Chicago (Oct 2007) and LA (Jan 2008) NYU, Broadway, New York (April 2008) Hayward Gallery, London (summer 2008 tba), LACE, LA (late 2008 tba) exhibtions. As well as this I'm overjoyed to be taking part in the International Fibre Collaborative's wrapping of a gas station, Syracuse NY (April 2008)
Besides the recycling aspect of my work, which I'm glad to say is capturing the public's attention, I adore investigating the social and theraputic aspect of handicrafts and I am currently in the process of setting up a project for a local hospital's clinic waiting room, where I recently found myself spending far too much time for my own boredon threshold.
Click here to contact Inga
Click here to read more about her work
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Uncensored eyed |
Uncensored freestyle |
Knit Uncensored |
Knit Chatlines |
Statement:
The stereotypes that heavily shroud knitting are the main source of inspiration in my work. Its darker side touches upon feminist issues, sexuality and the fashionability of the craft, but these are expressed through a dark sense of humour, delivering a much more powerful and political message.
All the work reflects our social behaviour in some way. Twisting around the stigma that has attached itself to knitting such as gender, age or use, making us question the social perception of the 'taboo' craft. My work plays on using sex to sell to an audience, of not just women but to men. With common imagery and references that already exist in our society that we can associate to. Transforming knitting from a domestic hobby into a naughty but thrilling must have and above all laughing with and not at knitting, appreciating its true status.
Technology plays a vital role within my work, from concept to design and to the final piece. The entire process demonstrates how the use of technology can enhance this domestic craft and goes against pre-misconceptions with regards to just those two sticks. Above all, it is about celebrating the kitschness of knitting and emphasizing that it's not the knitting, which is dated
….. it's the stereotype.
Click here to contact Kelly
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Rachel at Alexandra Palace |
Selection of Rugs |
Rug on Chair |
Extreme rugs |
Statement:
Through experimentation and research Rachel has developed an innovation in craft concepts, techniques and tools called Extreme Craft©. Rachel has initially focussed on the first in the series - Extreme Knitting©. Using this innovation in hand knitting produces over 30mm (1 inch) thick hand knitted carpets in extraordinary colour blends of 100-200 yarns simultaneously. These pieces are much larger than would normally be seen in knitted items as Rachel has designed a new range of tools to make this possible.
Crafting with so many yarns simultaneously changes how we view yarn colour. Suddenly yarn can be used like paint, mixed and blended, changed at will without losing the flow. Samples and stock are made in a 70-80% wool mix with 20-30% fancy or strengthening yarns such as silks, ribbons, cottons and metallic yarns. Rugs can also be made using 100% pure single type yarns such as deliciously warm wool or beautiful cool cottons.
Rugs and tools are available for purchase
either from stock or by commission. Rugs can be made to the size required
for their purpose. All these rugs are deeply comfortable, very hard
wearing, maintainable and wonderfully versatile. They can be designed
to fit with both traditional and contemporary spaces. These rugs are
heirloom quality and have the potential to last many generations making
them an excellent investment. They can be used as:
- on the floor as carpets,
picnic rugs and therapist mats,
- blankets, throws and even duvets,
- wall hangings,
- corporate art pieces.
During 2006-2007 Rachel will introduce further of her Extreme Craft© concepts.
Click here to contact Rachel
Click here to view more of Rachel's work
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Peacock Wrap |
Tigers Bride Wrap-front |
Tigers Bride Wrap-back |
Sea Spray Cape |
Statement:
Sophie Jonas is a designer who uses innovative techniques of working metal to create unique pieces which blur the line between clothing and jewellery.
She studied three dimensional design, focusing on metal work, at Middlesex University. She left still searching for a technique which would allow her to use metal in a way that went against the traditional expectations of the material: that metal has to be heavy, solid and restricted in surface and colour. She started combining textile and metal work skills gradually developing a method of creating a metal fabric by knitting fine electrical wires threaded with beads which allows great versatility in colour and form. The wires give a great variety in feel from ultra modern plastic coatings, which have an artificial, manufactured effect, to metallic enamelled and plated finishes which have a more ancient, chain mail quality. The beading on top of the wire fabric can either appear harsh and regimented or add subtle layers of sparkling, irridescence to create an exotic feel.
Sophie often combines the wire with silver structures or detailing to help control the form and add weight, she also uses UV reactive rubber and acrylic rod which glows ferociously under club lighting.
She specialises in making collars, the light weight and flexibility of her material making large pieces easy to wear, and is currently exploring the combination of her beaded mesh with eyelash yarns to create “fur” capes. She also uses the semi-transparent nature of the mesh to intriguing effect by creating veils & visors which obscure the eyes of the wearer from onlookers without impairing vision. Other body jewellery includes gauntlets and pieces which cover the arm from wrist to shoulder, and the technique can also create headdresses , necklaces and even brooches.
After additional training as a pattern cutter, Sophie now runs a designer dressmakers which specialises in themed and unusual couture wedding dresses often including knitted & beaded wire “metal brocade” decoration.
Click here to contact Sophie
Click here to see more of Sophie's work
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Spirit Dress 1 |
Spirit |
Knitted Sponge |
Squids |
Statement:
Ruth Lee is an associate lecturer at Cumbria Institute of the Arts (Carlisle, UK), fibre artist, international tutor, writer and knitted textile designer. Currently Ruth is preparing an exhibition for Bendigo Art Gallery, Victoria, Australia spring 2007, and a book "Contemporary Knitting for Textile Artists". Ruth is passionate about moving knit forward as a challenging and relevant working method within contemporary fibre arts practice, either as a stand-alone technique or as part of a multidisciplinary approach. Of particular interest are how ideas evolve through the making process, and the symbiotic relationship between materials, processes and concepts.
Multi disciplinary in approach, Ruth’s current body of work explores knit, stitch, print and off-loom techniques in a wide range of manmade and natural materials including paper yarn, wire, wool and basketry materials. Applications include small-scale wearables, knitting patterns for publications, exhibitions and site-specific fibre-arts work for exterior spaces. In 2005 two pieces of Ruth’s work were selected for Knit 2 Together : Concepts in Knitting; a major Crafts Council touring exhibition of contemporary knitting.
Click here to contact Ruth
Click here to view more of Ruth's work
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Cover of Rachael's Latest Book |
How to knit a Hand Grenade |
Seascape Wall Hanging |
Statement by Lisa J. Curtis:
In person, British author Rachael Matthews is just as outlandish as the illustrations in her new guidebook, "Knitorama: 25 Great & Glam Things to Knit." The self-appointed knitting ambassador made a special appearance at the "Holiday Craftacular" in Greenpoint on Dec. 17. While wielding four-foot-long knitting needles ("to knit carpets and curtains," of course), Matthews (pictured) wore a knitted duck, perched on a knitted nest full of knitted eggs - on her head. Her whimsical hat couldn't help but draw attention to Matthews's mission to raise enthusiasm about "knitting in public," her personal catch-phrase. "It's really amazing and different from what we have in England," said Matthews of the "Craftacular." "People were openly inquisitive about the craft.
In England, people are supportive, but don't ask so many questions about how to do it. "Through her book and through her nomadic club, Cast Off, which she co-founded in London in 2001, the East London resident is encouraging folks to take their knitting into unexpected places: posh bars, nightclubs and on "the tube," London's subway. (Of course, for nightclubs with poor lighting, Matthews recommends wearing a miner's hat.) Matthews's book sets itself apart from the usual manuals with instructions on how to make clothing by encouraging readers to tackle soft sculptures: knitted cakes, ham sandwiches and pints of stout. One might call these examples of Matthews's "extreme knitting." "It's a 3-D medium," said Matthews. "There are so many different yarns and needle sizes, you can work in 2-D and 3-D. There's a lot more freedom once you get past the idea of knitting clothing. "But she does include patterns for wearable art, too, including fried-egg earmuffs and a hip (and seemingly easy to make) cardigan made of 30 rectangles and four buttons.
"Knitting is really important for your well-being, for therapy and love, really," explained Matthews. "When you're knitting for someone else, it's for love. So whether it's done in a lonesome way [at home] or teaching the world to knit, I like to live craft as a way of life."
Click here to contact Rachael
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Snow Bonnet |
Munki Rabbit |
Green Necklace |
Green Necklace |
Statement:
Claire Montgomerie is a textiles designer, specialising in knitting and crochet. Since graduating with an MA in constructed textiles from the Royal College of Art in 2002, she has been designing her own eclectic range of accessories, toys and garments under the name of Monty. She has also designed and written knitting and crochet books and patterns. Her latest book, Easy Baby Knits due out in 2007 and she is currently writing a book of patterns based on her accessories. The knitted toys are participating in an exhibition at the Manchester craft and design centre until December 2006. She enjoys teaching textiles at many different levels, working with people of all ages through workshops and knitting lessons at different institutions in North London such as the artsdepot in North Finchley, Barnet College in Herts and the yarn salon, loop, in Islington.
The toys I create are the result of collaboration with animation company Model Robot. I feel that the quirky characters drawn by the animators translate into the textiles medium perfectly, capturing their charm and personality to create eccentric and sometimes peculiar looking animals, aliens robots and monsters. I loved working with the flat images and bringing them to life, mirroring Model Robot’s process of animation. This delight in the making has led me to continue to craft creatures from my own sketches, as well as Model robot’s, forming toys which are not only meant to be used in the traditional sense of the word. While they make a fun and beautiful child’s plaything, I find the toys also have a universal attraction, with many adults being reminded of their own well-loved, threadbare childhood friend. I find as I begin to make the toys, each one gradually develops its own individual character. This well-worn texture and one-off quality is created by the wonky irregularity of a unique handmade piece, incorporating hand knitting and hand sewing, old scraps of yarn, thread and fabric, vintage buttons and cut up, old, worn jumpers. The knitting patterns I am producing with Model Robot, I hope, will let each maker experience just this pleasure and joy in fashioning an original hand crafted piece. We invite each maker to send us a picture of their finished creature to emphasise the uniqueness each person can bring to the same basic pattern.
Click here to contact Claire
Click here to view more of Claire's work
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Leaf Heart |
Organic |
Portrait |
Soldier 167 |
Statement:
In 2002 I started a part time degree in Art and Design (textiles and ceramics) not quite knowing where it would take me. Four years later I find myself working with hand knitted wire creating both abstract and figurative wall hangings and framed pieces.
My enduring interest is in the human form particularly portraiture. Most of my portrait based work starts out as small detailed drawings and my aim is to reproduce the spontaneity of these initial sketches in the final stitched piece. I am increasingly enjoying the challenge of working on a large scale and exploiting the apparent fragility of the finished work and its capacity to cast shadows and secondary images when displayed.
Click here to contact Kerry
Click here to view more of Kerry's work
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Gold Sock |
Elephant |
Herring |
Statement:
Deirdre Nelson is an artist originally from Ireland but living and working in Glasgow. Since graduating from Glasgow School of Art in 1992, her work has evolved through experimenting with materials and methods of making in which handwork and craftsmanship provide direction and context. Hand skills are used in the work in a humourous commentary on social and textile history within the museum and contemporary gallery. Her work employs a variety of techniques and materials fusing traditional textile skills and contemporary reinterpretation. She has exhibited in Britain and overseas and has recently been selected for Jerwood contemporary Makers in London.
Deirdre is currently artist in residence at Taigh Chearsabagh Museum and Arts Centre in Lochmaddy N. Uist, Outer Hebrides . She is working with artefacts and archive material relating to social and domestic history of the Uists and will use the archive to inform new work to create and exhibition within the museum at Taigh Chearsabagh beginning May - December 2008 .
With an interest in hand skills, Deirdre was initially drawn to objects relating to ‘making’ within the collection, wool winder, weaving shuttle, drop spindle, rope twister, butter pats etc. With a keen interest in the history and technique of knitting, Deirdre has been working with Aran and fisherman’s gansey patterns in creating work that relates to fishing but also those at home working in a domestic setting while fishermen are at sea.
Domestic objects have textiles (knit and embroidered cloth) added which bringing objects and social history to life. Texts have provided inspiration also through the collection of Gaelic proverbs that relate to the objects and provide humorous and poignant addition to the work. Materials such as linen, hemp, wool and tweed have been carefully chosen to relate to Uist history and many works are edged with gold that relates to the discovery of gold dust in N. Uist in the past.
The community are getting involved with the knitting of fish which will be auctioned off to raise money for the lifeboat association at the end of the year. This is a project which continues from Deirdre’s previous work in Shetland and a collaborative project ‘The Fish Exchange’ with Hazel Hughson of Shetland Arts. Involving the community in knitting fish not only provides enjoyable activity but also links the history of netting, knitting and fishing. She hopes to challenge some fishermen to knit their own catch
Click here to contact Deirdrie
Click here for Deirdrie's web diary of the residency
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Domestic Bliss |
Hopper |
Memory |
Statement:
Domestic bliss - I love to knit!
Liz encompasses a fun and playful quality in her work by using a traditional craft form mixed with a quirky sense of the unusual and unexpected. Her collection of hand knitted pieces are often inspired by everyday objects that are then transformed into colourful and tactile pieces that gain a narrative quality. “There is a really playful side to my work and I want to take hand knitting out of context and into the art world to enthuse more people, I aim to take knitting to another, more inclusive and creative level.”
Liz’s work has been featured in Simply Knitting magazine, Issue 21 ‘Knit one, purl fun’ and Knit Today magazine, The Knitted Wedding and The Knitted Garden. Exhibitions include Chiswick House in London, Liberty’s Department Store, London, The Crypt Gallery in Seaford and Trinity Arts Centre in Tunbridge Wells.
Click here to contact Liz
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Red Knitting |
Ghost chair |
Ten balls of red wool |
Knitted roots |
Statement:
I started knitting in 2001 as a warm up
activity. To get me settled in my studio I would knit to ready
my fingers and get thinking. I soon discovered that I would
knit for whole afternoons. The warm up became my main project.
The wool I had decided to knit with, at that time was red since
the most exciting wool in the shop was red coloured. Since
there was a red line on the subway system where I was living
I would knit the red knitting riding the red line. After the
red knitting, the next idea was to measure a journey around
Japan. I was sponsored by the Gardner fellowship and made a
journey to collect yarns from all over Japan, to knit everyday
and to climb mountains. And in my everyday knitting I measured
out the journey I was making. The idea for this journey came
when a teacher pointed out that knitting was a portable art
form. I could carry with me everything I needed. I collected
needles and yarn as I went and otherwise traveled light. With
only a small backpack. So it was portable and also offered
an introduction and purpose to being in Japan. Everywhere I
went I had to explain I was
looking for wool. I would often knit outdoors or in public
places. I work with process and ways of recording activities.
I am interested in the spaces the body occupies and the ways
in which we go about ordinary life.
Click here to contact Celia
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Comfort Creatures |
Knitted Homes of Crime |
Banner |
Statement:
My awareness of textiles came through “Janie”, a rag doll made for me by my Aunt. Janie’s orange wool hair was a great comfort to me, I would tickle my nose with it. Her hair would gradually wear out and my Godmother would give her a new lot, always wool, always orange.My Godmother became my greatest inspiration. She was always making things, not frumpy, lumpy things that you hid in your wardrobe, but fashionable, desirable toys and clothes. She was a free spirit. She lived alone, was unmarried and just got on with her own thing. I associated textiles with her and therefore with freedom. I loved the “Clangers”, they were knitted. My Godmother taught me to knit, it was difficult, she was left handed. I loved knitting. I was further inspired by the knitwear designer, Patricia Roberts. She did not rely upon traditional textile images, wholesome flowers, but turned instead to the contemporary urban world for inspiration. She was bold. I entered a knitwear design competition in a craft magazine. I won. I was academic but I was also creative. I knew which path I would follow, the one that represented individuality.
My studio practise questions conformity and notions of normality, and intersects the categorisation of art and craft. I use knitting to explore pertinent contemporary issues of the domestic, gender and the human condition. I find knitting to be a powerful medium for self-expression and communication because of the cultural preconceptions surrounding it. My work subverts these preconceptions and disrupts the notion of the medium being passive and benign. My ideas are expressed through an exploration of the human form and have resulted in pieces such as “Odd Gloves” and “Odd Sweaters”. These series question physical normality incorporating both humour and fear. The titles are important. I like to play on words to make visual suggestions: ”Hand of Good, Hand of God” and “Skin - a good thing to live in”. In “Anyway” I explore value and scale through the production of a large knitted sculpture made on CAD controlled industrial machinery.
Click here to contact Freddie
Click here to view more of Freddie's work
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30 Seconds |
Family Knitting |
Keeping Our Memories
Warm |
Continuation |
Statement:
My
work in the main is concerned with my own and other people's
memories of and associations with knitting where pockets form
repositories for those memories and where, in some cases, the
memories are incorporated as text into garments and other articles.
In more recent work
I have used knitting as a basis to explore other areas as in the images
above '30
Seconds' consists of 15 knitted and sewn children's garments related
to the fact the it has been said that every two seconds a child dies
in Africa as a result of disease, poverty, hunger or violence of one
kind or another.
With 'Family Portrait (Three Generations)' I have used digital media to
combine images of sections of garments made by myself, my mother and niece to
show how close the associations my family has with knitting and how it somehow
defines who we are. Also shown digital prints, Black & White and Red & Green
using wire knitting as a basis which is then manipulated and printed onto canvas. 'Keeping
Our Memories Warm' a collection of squares knitted for me by W.I. members
onto which their memories and connections to knitting have been embroidered.
Finally 'Continuation I and II' is
part of a series of five pieces developed from working with
DNA scientists to try and bring a greater understanding of
the sequences that contribute to the uniqueness that is our
true identity. Making visible that which is hidden
using common elements such as knitting and light together with
other processes and interpretations in wall mounted pieces
to produce a truly unique and personal portrait as a functional
artwork. I
also continue to explore ways in which I can use knitting by combining with other
media and experimenting with materials unrelated to knitting to express ideas
and concepts while encouraging others to be creative with their knitting and
to 'think outside the box'.
Click here to contact Biddy
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Mixed Yarn Shrug |
Dip Dye Twist |
Mix and Match |
Chenille Dress |
Statement:
The
initial concept for my collection is based upon the pattern cutting
ideas of Julian Roberts, which I have adapted to suit knitted
garment construction. More and more fashion is dictated by the
people who wear it. People use fashion to express their individuality.
I have created a range of garments that will allow the wearer
to interact with the design and have an impact on the end result.
Fashion should be seen as an immediate art that is available
to us all and my range of clothing aims to help the consumer
to realise their own creativity.
The garments are intended to be used to shape a sense of self and to create an
identity that is expressive of the wearer’s personality. Through photography
I have demonstrated different ways the garments can be interpreted. My work has
been presented in a way that reflects the garments lively impact and demonstrates
engagement with the product
Click
here to contact Helen
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Michiko Kosh A/W 2005 |
Michiko Kosh A/W 2005 |
Iris |
Linen Loop |
Statement:
Since graduating from the Royal College of Art in 2003, I've been working as a freelance knitted textile designer. My work often appears organic but is in fact highly planned, delicate swatches that illustrate the detail and depth that is possible within the surface texture of knit. New stitches are developed by hand and then later translated on to domestic and dubied machines. Challenging preconceptions of knit by combining traditional knitting yarns with unconventional fibres that include hair, rafia, and metal, playing with scale and incorporating plaiting, knotting and beadwork to create fabrics that seem to bear little relationship to knitting, while owing it everything. The possibilities of knit are a constant inspiration.
In 2003 I won the Texprint Prize for Knit,
and in 2004 I was awarded the
Crafts Councils Development Award. I design personal collections
to sell,
and collaborate developing fabrics specifically for fashion
houses, past
clients include Alexander Mcqueen and Michiko Koshino in London,
Lanvin,
Givenchy and Emanuel Ungaro in Paris, Fuzzi and Etro in Italy.
I have also
produced garments for Givenchys Haute Couture collections and
worked with
Michiko Koshino on numerous showpieces.
In 2005 I was asked to participate in the Crafts Councils Knit
2tog
exhibition, and in 2006 I worked with the Italian yarn company
Lineapiu
producing inspirational pieces for the yarn show Pitti Filati
in Florence.
I also tutor part time at Buckinghamshire Chilterns University
College on
their Knitted Textile course.
Click here to contact Jemma
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Collar |
Cream Curly Necklace |
Coloured Coral |
Purple Leaves Top |
Statement:
My mother taught me to crochet, knit and sew when I was a little girl.
For many years I concentrated on intarsia knitting, making up my own colourful designs. Later I went on to train as a period costume maker and fashion & textiles teacher. After 30 years I returned to crochet when I accidentally came across freeform crochet and the work of the members of the International Freeform Crochet Guild on the Internet.
I am fascinated by the 3D aspect of crochet for creating interesting textures and sculptural shapes as well as combining it with knitting. With a strong background in dressmaking, I am always experimenting with how freeform knitting and crochet could be used for garments and accessories.
Last year I contributed a small coral reef to the Hyperbolic Coral Reef Exhibition of the Institute for Figuring. I am also working on further recycling projects using plastic bags and old clothes.
Click here to contact Ildiko
Click here to view more of Ildiko's work
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Lost |
Knitting In The Round |
Installation at The V&A |
Loops |
Statement:
Beyond the
aesthetics of knitting, I am interested in the social
dimension of the craft, people exchanging stories, recollections
and memories when knitting together. The 'Knitting In The Round'
highlights this social interaction. Knitters sit in a circle
creating a large loop sharing circular needles. Each stitch,
symbolically containing a thought, is entered into the circle
and circulates around it. This shared network is much like a
lo-fi version of the internet. The emphasis is on the activity
as much as the fabric produced. The resulting knitted loops
are then exhibited as a sculptures that reference the history
of this activity. Photographs
taken during the performance are attached to the knitted
loops.
Shown in a contemporary art context, knitting somehow redresses
the balance between ‘high’ and ‘low’ art,
between art and craft, the latter having much underrated historically as it has
been associated with women's work. Craft in non western cultures is still
associated with rituals and magic. In Europe on the other hand, it has
been marginalised on account of the idea of progress and modernity. Knitting
in this way becomes political. Producing hand knitted objects celebrated
the craft and keeps it alive. It can also be means of resisting
the ever increasing grip of commercialism.
As a male practitioner producing crochet and knitted pieces, and focusing on
other domestic crafts such as cake decorating and sugarcraft, I consciously
raise question relating to these issues.
Engaging with traditional domestic practices, Shane Waltener finds beauty in
the everyday, and makes art a truly shared experience. Bringing people together
through the craft of knitting, viewers are invited to sit, relax, weave, and
most importantly, chat. Throughout the show, Waltener’s woolly sculpture
grows, encompassing the histories of the participants: the stitches taking
on the individual styles of their makers, each purl and knit capturing a single
moment in time, representing their contribution and exchange, documenting the
creation of a make-shift community.
Click here to contact Shane
Click here to view more of Shane's work
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The Family |
Statement:
Donna Wilson graduated from Royal College of Art London in July 2003. During her time there she produced a range of work that included the knitted friendly creatures, the doily rug, wrapped cacti, the caterpillow and the hands on rug (a collaboration with Carmel McElroy).
Her work is playful, tactile and bright, inspired by the everyday oddities and deformities of life. She likes to think of each of her creations as a character in her very own wonderland, where scale and perception are toyed with.
“The tactile quality of my work comes from my childhood spent in the Scottish countryside. It has had a strong influence on me both in my need for textural and organic forms. I enjoy using handcrafted techniques like felting, sewing, knitting and wrapping. My involvement with wool and felt allows me to create a closeness and cosiness that I want people to connect with.”
Click here to contact Donna
Click here to view more of Donna's work
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Amaranta Dress & Scarf |
Cashmere Amaranta Cape |
Renata Jumper & Amaranta Shrug |
Ursula Tank & Renata Sandals |
Statement
'Keep & Share'
is an alternative luxury label, offering unconventional – yet
infinitely wearable – knitwear for both men and women. Each piece is designed
to satisfy over time, and is lovingly knitted by the designer, Amy Twigger Holroyd
and her small team of makers. The designs range from scarves and slippers to
jumpers, cardis and wraps, all created from textured and patterned knits in off-beat
colour combinations.
The 'Keep & Share' approach to ethical fashion revolves around long-term
wearer satisfaction. True to the label’s name, Amy aims to create pieces
that will transcend short-lived trends and improve with age; versatile pieces
that can be worn in different ways and by different people over their lifetime. In
addition to making and selling her work via Keep & Share,
Amy also runs machine and hand knitting workshops at her
studio, located in beautiful countryside just outside Hereford.
Click here to contact Amy
Click here to view more of Amy's work and details of her courses
© ukhandknitting.com 2005