hand dyed traditional mittens – modeled
Originally uploaded by cosymakes.
the two things that are going to dominate this blog for at least the next five months are my handknit integrated project in theology and the arts and a handknit accessory book that i am working on. here’s a short write up on my thesis project taken from my accepted proposal so that you know what the heck i’m on about.
I RECLAIM
integrated project in theology and the arts
for the MCS degree at Regent College
physically:
my thesis will be eight historical projects representing my own knitting traditions (i.e. lithuanian, general european, american etc.). i will then be dialoguing with these pieces by creating two or three of my own pieces with a starting point of some techniques, shapes, stitches, etc. from the historical piece. at the end of my knitting (april?) i will have a gallery show in the gallery at my school. the historical pieces will be on the wall as art, and my pieces will be lying around to be tried on and held (right now we’re thinking of setting it up as a living room with my couch, coffee table and antique trunk).
another part of my thesis has been the free promotion of knitting, spinning and dyeing in my community.
what i’m thinking about:
I understand knitting as an act of reclamation. In knitting I reclaim a lost domestic art that reaffirms both family and home. I reclaim the idea that what we do daily and the items that we surround ourselves with are important. I reclaim a rich tradition of provision, beauty, and care that has been passed down through the generations. I reclaim the good gifts of God in natural fibers and use them to good ends that glorify Him. And lastly, I reclaim for myself and for my neighbors, students, and friends the image of God given to us by a good creator ‘to make’ and be creative creatures ourselves.*
Knitting is a significant medium because it bridges generations and communities. Knitting historical pieces and dialoguing with them brings my art into the historical timeline. This timeline is important because, although the necessity for knitting has changed, the meaning of wool and knit items have not. Knitting is still an art form that has been passed down through the generations that is accessible to all people because of its practicality, yet it is more than its practicality. Knitting is appropriate for what I want to accomplish because it is a deep practice that speaks not only of my own time and place, but rings with echoes of the creation, creativity, beauty in every day life, and those who have come before me.
* Jurgen Moltmann, God in Creation (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993), 73.
