Textile Web Epidemic in London!
Whilst I’m floating around Emily’s ‘Owl Knit You‘ website I thought I’d share her fluffy bits with you – hopefully she won’t mind.
Emily is from Pittsburg and finished studying a MA last year in London – feeling somewhat lost in London (as most people do – it is the place to congregate when you have no roots… just like me!) she decided to embark on a creative project that would help her feel more connected… and how connected can webs be?
Webs can either be comforting (as long as you are not terrified of spiders… but let’s assume the webs are spider free and were created with warm fuzzy feelings). They can make us feel cocooned in a safe place or they can feel like traps that are impossible to get get out of leaving you with a sense of fatigue from all that fighting for freedom – or hopelessness that you are on your own with no connections to anyone or anywhere!
Emily started off with small webs that she yarn bombed around London… (all photos by Emily Wilson @Owl Knit You unless otherwise stated).
In Emily’s words:
“Graffiti is rather like marking your territory. It’s leaving a mark for others to find and identify with or against. It’s a bit like a conversation between the maker and finder. For me, it’s identifying myself and claiming my existence the foreign city in which I find myself living. It’s about becoming a Londoner. “
Owl Knit You - yarn bombing around London (photo by me!)
she even web bombed a police horse (I would never have the guts to even ask!!)
Owl Knit You - yarn bombing around London
Owl Knit You - yarn bombing around London
Owl Knit You - yarn bombing around London
She then moved onto installations of larger web structures
Owl Knit You - Web Installation
Owl Knit You - Web Installation
Her next plan of action is to create a social workshop at the IndieTracks festival.
you can read the interview for IndieTracks here: http://indietracksblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/workshop-interview-3-owl-knit-you.html as well as hear more on her blog and Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Owl-Knit-You/148062365243204
you can keep up with Emily at her website http://owlknityou.com http://hellopixy.wordpress.com/
https://twitter.com/#!/owlknityouxo
http://www.tumblr.com/tumblelog/owlknityou
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hellopixy/
Related Reading:
Webby yarn tagging…
I have an American friend who is feeling a little alienated during her stay here in London – I’ve tried explaining that is what London is about (just kidding) but she decided to embarked on a creative journey to help her connect to London.
I don’t know if many people have heard of Yarn bombing and yarn Graffitti
“Knit graffiti” is an international guerrilla movement that started underground and is now embraced by crochet and knitting artists of all ages, nationalities, and genders. Its practitioners create stunning works of art out of yarn, then “donate” them to public spaces as part of a covert plan for world yarn domination. by Yarn Bombing
Graffiti (singular: graffito; the plural is used as a mass noun) is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property. Graffiti is any type of public markings that may appear in the forms of simple written words to elaborate wall paintings. Wikipedia
In Milly’s own words on her blog about this endeavor:
ReCLAIMation of the City
Graffiti is rather like marking your territory. It’s leaving a mark for others to find and identify with or against. But for the maker and the finder, it’s a bit like a conversation. For me, it’s identifying myself and claiming my existence in a city that can seem very cold and one in which I rarely feel like I belong. And I hope for the finder, they feel less alone. Alex noted that one thing that’s nice about this project is that each piece is a little out of the way, a little out of sight. So the people who are more likely to see it, are more likely to enjoy it. Serendipity.
Here’s Milly hanging up one of her webs on the South Bank of The Thames:
Webby yarn bombing in London
visit her blog here
