Convergence 2010

I'm just back from my first Convergence, the biannual Handweaver's Guild of America conference where I taught different four workshops over the four conference days with 75 participants going through my door.....Whew!!....

Unaware that there would be a leader show, 

I also entered a piece in the exhibit, Eye Dazzlers,  

but can't complain as juror, Wendy Weiss gave it 

the HGA Award  awarded

'in recognition of a work demonstrating 

outstanding creativity and craftsmanship 

in the Fiber Arts.'  

 Fated Glory

2008

Then, I admit, I did stay on 

a few extra days 

and go up to Santa Fe 

just for fun.

Did we have fun at Penland or what??!!

AND... How could we not have had a fabulous time 

with such true blue knitters as in 

the Fourth of July Penland Parade?

Presenting The KNITERATTI Marching Band!!!  

KNIT ONE, 1, 2, KNIT TWO, 3, 4.....etc....

Knitting while marching....well....

we knew but did the on-lookers?  

Hard to know.

Our theme song at least clued people in.

AND, WELL.....who could NOT want to sing in such circumstances??!!

How Beautiful the KNITTER'S ART

And endless skeins of Yarn

For needles thick and needles thin

 Our learning does go on 

We knit, We purl, We slip, We add

We twist and then Cast On,

We drop a Stitch.  We curse and Bitch

But still we carry on

(to the Tune of America the Beautiful, of course) 

(Lyrics by Carolyn B.)

 

and with such inspirational leaders as these....
need I say more??!!

But it all grew out of a  studio 
of wonderful sculptural enthusiasts...

 Including some Manly knitters

And so the garden grew.........

As did the interesting work in the class...

Thanks to all for 

2 wonderfully creative weeks!

Bombing at Split Rock

Split Rockers had fantastic ideas about yarn adornments for  sculptor Peter Woytuk's giant bronze bulls resting in a quiet corner of the St. Paul campus mall (after all, what's up with bulls outside a dairy building??) 

but it was really all we could do in a week to get to all the  knitting we wanted to do together.
 

SO....We, I should say, they, yarn bombed  more locally making quite sure not to get caught.and on both campuses  too....

 But we really knew we were with our People

when we saw 

THIS

in the St Paul Student Center.

 

Knit Power!

When Laurinda came into my Metalwerx class and 

told me on the first day that she had 

never knit before, 

I must admit that 

I worried 

but just look at the great results!!!

 Thanks for your patience and persistence in teaching me how to knit with wire.  I am sure that my 'lack of knitting skills' i.e. never knitted in my life!.....presented a unique and amusing experience for you in this class. I am so happy that you succeeded in teaching me.  I intend to use this technique in my metal sculpting and who knows what else!  The other barrier I have never overcome is learning how to swim...how about it? 

Laurinda

KNIT ANYTHING (not clothing) - Split Rock rocks June 13-18

MINNEAPOLIS supports the Fiber ARTS!!

I hope you saw  Textile Center's March show; Metaphoric Fibers; Untamed Knit and Crochet.  I am looking forward to returning next month to Minneapolis for a week of intensive and engaging knitting sculpture at:

Split Rock

Quiet Revolution: Knitting and the Political Landscape
June 13-18, 2010
Maybe Mme Defarge* was on to something. Within the framework of its recent renaissance, knitting has been more widely used as a medium of creative as well as political art. Experimenting with non-traditional materials and using knit in non-conventional ways, this class invites participants to explore sculptural knitting as an expressive art form with a focus on how to create meaning and message. By manipulating stitches and solving knitting geometry, participants will learn to ‘think knit’. The class will cover a range of dimensional techniques to help produce shape and stability as participants execute their ideas. We will examine the work of other knit artists and discuss what works and why. We will also discuss the ways in which knitting has recently exploded into the public space through the current international wave of guerrilla and graffiti knitting. Participants must know basic knitting techniques and be interested in engaging in a lively dialogue on the world around us while working on their own pieces.

• In Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities, Madame Defarge secretly knit a register of the names of the revolution’s intended victims.

Questions either to Split Rock or feel free to email me directly at aonels@yahoo.com
Hope to see you there!
Adrienne Sloane