Knitted Together is a personal project that I began this year. This is Part II: Shirley.
I was recently in a conversation with an artist friend. She asked herself the question, “Can art DO something?” She meant something besides just existing as a passive form of entertainment. She and I both know that it can. Art can inspire, provoke curiosity, sadness, excitement, or hope. It can impel political or social change. It can spark empathy and connection.
I strive for my work to celebrate the human experience. Empathy is always a key component, which is sometimes achieved by including the viewer as a part of the installation.
Knitted Together is a collection of portraits of people darning red garments from wool. Each portrait is printed on canvas and framed. In each, a strand of red yarn leaves the frame and leads back to one shared central ball of yarn.
In each portrait, the red garment is at a different stage of progress. One wraps a person’s neck. One is held in front and trails down the subject’s leg. Each grants insight to an aspect of the subject’s life, including love, loss, birthing, caregiving, sexuality, or outlook: sometimes guarded, or sometimes on display.
This body of work will grow, with new portraits being added. It is about individuals, humanity, and connections. We are distinct, but we exist together.
This project began as an installation in my studio window in January. It will grow to include many portraits. Here is a cell picture of the project’s beginning, set up in my studio window, with the first three canvases.
You can read Part I of Knitted Together HERE