Linda M. Cunningham, handmade book artist and installation artist from Calgary, Alberta, has been working on a series of knitted pinecone cozies. She says:
Choosing to pursue dual careers as both a writer and an artist has allowed me to engage in a long-time obsession with the texture of words and fibres, and to develop unique ways to integrate them. Whether adapting and recycling materials into books, or recreating articles of wood, glass, and ivory as knitted sculptures in wool, camel down, silk, and other fibres, I have worked hard to push against boundaries of how knitting and book arts are generally perceived.
Developing this collected/curated/installed work into more knitting-centered installations is an obvious progression of my interests. Recent ventures into public parks and private spaces to install, observe changes brought about by weather, and document these small-scale pine cone “coats” has given me the incentive to work at a larger and more public scale.
Cones create their own universe within the one we usually inhabit: they encompass genetic information from the past, they exist in our present, and they create the forests of our future. As indiscriminate as we are with our interventions in nature, I see as an opportunity to assist in the transformation of nature by recombining elements into new forms with their own rationale.
All images courtesy of Linda M. Cunningham
Thank you Linda for sharing your work! There’s lots going on knit-wise in Alberta these days. I’ve just connected with the new knit graffiti group the Skeinstas 780. Be sure to check out their facebook group and their new blog: The Skeinstas: Yarn Bombing Spectacularz.
Also, for Vancouver Readers – be sure to return later this week as we will have a giveaway for tickets to the indie craft documentary Handmade Nation which will be showing in Vancouver on July 9th! This will be the only Canadian stop on the tour for this show, so if you are on the left coast, be sure not to miss it.
