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Art Craft

Playful Ocean Life Sprawls Throughout Mulyana's Immersive, Knit Installations

“Big Mogus” (2020), yarn and dacron, 96 1/2 × 18 7/8 × 22 1/8 inches. All images © Mulyana, shared with permission

Complete with spiraled tentacles, textured features, and toothy grins, the yarn-based creatures that Indonesian artist Mulyana knits and crochets take a playful, bizarre approach to ocean life. The artist frequently recreates what he refers to as the mogus, or octopus, as a mainstay in his underwater environments. Dotted with multiple sets of eyes, the creature has various iterations ranging in size, color, facial contortions, and number of tentacles. Each billowing mogus is presented suspended from the ceiling, giving it the appearance of floating through the ocean.

While many of Mulyana’s formations are brightly colored, the pieces in his Bety series (shown below) are crafted entirely in white to draw attention to coral bleaching caused by pollution. To maintain his own commitments to sustainability and community, Mulyana re-purposes the yarn that forms his textured corals and ocean life.

If you’re in New York, Mulyana’s sea creatures can be seen at Sapar Contemporary through August 21. Otherwise, keep up with the artist’s vibrant projects on Instagram, and check out where the mogus heads on its next adventure.

“Harmony 14” (2019), yarn, Dacron, cable wire, and plastic net, 41 3/4 × 60 5/8 × 17 3/4 inches

Left: “Mogus 39” (2020), yarn and dacron, 14 1/8 × 29 7/8 × 5 1/8 inches

“Bety 1” (2020), yarn, dacron, cable wire, and plastic net, 73 5/8 × 37 3/8 × 20 1/8 inches

Big Mogus” (2020), yarn and dacron, 96 1/2 × 18 7/8 × 22 1/8 inches

Craft

Extra Tongues and Cheeky Grins Knit onto Humorously Grotesque Masks by Ýrúrarí Jóhannsdóttir

All images © Ýrúrarí Jóhannsdóttir

Although most masks hide emotions, Ýrúrarí Jóhannsdóttir’s knits permanently display fervid grins and facial contortions to those she passes on the street or stands next to in the grocery store. The Iceland-based designer has been crafting grotesque knitwear with the intention of warding off anyone who gets too close through a series of monstrous features. Unruly mouths evoke Medusa, oversized lips grin too eagerly, and a lengthy tongue proves an impossible feat as it licks the designer’s eyeball.

Despite their effective scare tactics, Jóhannsdóttir won’t be wearing these in public because she says they’re not designed to guard against COVID-19. Even so, follow her unorthodox facial coverings and check out her similarly outlandish apparel on Instagram. (via designboom)

Design

Fringed Orange Apparel Knit Entirely From Rubber Bands by Rie Sakamoto

All images © Rie Sakamoto

At first, the garments look as though they’ve been spun with a traditional medium—wool or yarn—but on closer inspection, it becomes apparent that the thin and springy mesh-like material is composed of thousands of elastic bands that have been knitted together. Made by Japanese designer Rie Sakamoto, the handmade collection includes a jacket and dress, each of which illustrates the diverse functionality of stationery items like rubber bands. 

Sakamoto’s “rubber collection” initially was exhibited at Tama Art University in Toyko as part of a graduate exhibition and the garments, which took Sakamoto half a year to make, reflect on how overlooked materials and objects can have diverse uses in fashion, contemporary design, and art. 

The flexibility of the soft bands allows Sakamoto to stretch the rubber to make different-sized garments that are adaptable to various bodies. Similar to how wool garments are created with needles, Sakamoto makes each garment by knitting the rubber bands together. When closely observed, the materials are a matte, sand-like color, but when thousands are merged together into textiles or fashion pieces, an earthy orange emerges. When Sakamoto’s garments are held up in the light, they become almost iridescent

To keep up with the designer’s inventive apparel, follow her on Instagram. (via designboom)

Craft Design

Copenhagen's Distinct Architecture Knit into Color-Blocked Urban Landscapes by Jake Henzler

All images © Jake Henzler, shared with permission

Instead of writing or illustrating a journal to record his excursions, Sydney-based artist Jake Henzler knits colorful memories of urban landscapes into huge pieces of art. The artist goes by the name of “‘Boy Knits World”’ on Instagram and crafts quilt-like panels of urban spaces that he comes across whilst traveling. 

Henzler lived in Copenhagen for a year, and during that time, he created an original hand-knitted blanket panel called “‘Copenhagen Building Blocks.” The large work celebrates the traditional, world-recognized architecture of Denmark’s capital. As a whole, the piece is made up of a series of six grid-like patterns, which Henzler has sewn together to form a larger piece. Each of the architectural blocks is named after a different district in the city and features Nørrebro Studios, Østerbro Studios, Hellerup Apartments, Nyhavn Hotel, Nørreport Offices, and Frederiksberg Apartments. 

In Copenhagen, much of the traditional architecture’s brick and woodwork is painted, and the diversity of colors throughout the city creates a strong sense of place. This architectural distinctiveness is illustrated throughout Henzler’s work, and each block comprises the traditional colors, framework, and patterns featured throughout the city’s vibrant districts.

To view more of Henzler’s work, visit his Instagram, and to buy the “Copenhagen Building Block” pattern, visit his Ravelry page. (via Lustik)

Art

Loose Knits Flow from Hands and Needles in Glass Sculptures by Carol Milne

“Sweet Spot,” kiln cast lead crystal and knitting needles, 16 x 21 x 11 inches. All images © Carol Milne, shared with permission

Carol Milne’s knit pieces might resemble your grandmother’s afghans but certainly aren’t as soft or pliable. The Seattle-based artist (previously) utilizes kiln cast lead crystal to create her loose weaves of translucent, color-coordinated glass. They often flow down from the hands and knitting needles they’re fashioned on, giving the feeling that the works could expand with just a few more stitches.

“I see my knitted work as metaphor for social structure. Individual strands are weak and brittle on their own, but deceptively strong when bound together,” Milne writes in a statement. “You can crack or break single threads without the whole structure falling apart. And even when the structure is broken, pieces remain bound together. The connections are what bring strength and integrity to the whole and what keep it intact.” Some of the artist’s knitted glass pieces will be on view from March 6 to May 1 at Blue Spiral 1 in Asheville, North Carolina. Until then, head to Instagram to see more of her delicate pieces.

“Day & Night” (2018), kiln cast lead crystal and knitting needles, 16 x 12 x 10 inches

“Day & Night” (2018), kiln cast lead crystal and knitting needles, 16 x 12 x 10 inches

“Handknit,” kiln cast lead crystal & knitting needles

“Handknit,” kiln cast lead crystal & knitting needles

“Warped (Warp Knitting)” (2019), kiln cast lead crystal, stainless steel wall mount, and knitting needles, 12.5 x 12 x 3 inches

“Sphere Delight,” kiln cast lead crystal, 19 x 19 x 19 inches

“Waterwings,” kiln cast lead crystal and knitting needles, 8 x 19 x 12 inches

“Cloak & Dagger,” kiln cast lead crystal and knitting needles, 15.5 x 20 x 10 inches

Craft Science

People Are Knitting, Crocheting, and Weaving Tangible Records of Temperature Changes

Image © Josie George

In an effort to make the ongoing effects of climate change more visible, needleworkers around the globe are creating temperature blankets and scarves that track local weather patterns. Earlier this month, writer Josie George began an expansive Twitter thread about the project, motivating others to share their similar work. “I decided that this year, every day, I would knit a row on a scarf to mark the corresponding daily temperature/weather of my town,” George wrote in the original post. “It felt like a good way to engage with the changing climate and with the changing year. A way to notice and not look away.”

Although the technique and materials vary, each project follows a basic pattern utilizing a key (like this free one) to track some combination of the temperature, sky conditions, season, and date. The personal projects are part of a larger movement to document micro weather changes that may serve as indicators of broader climate issues. Groups like The Tempestry Project have been crafting wallhangings tracking the daily high temperature of a specific location during the course of year, weaving the results into a yarn-based work resembling a bar graph. Check out this Instagram tag to see more of the activism-inspired projects. (via My Modern Met)

Image © Josie George

Image © qp nell

Image © Rachel Chilton

Image © Annie S

 

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A post shared by Ali (@alisblanketbox) on Jan 16, 2020 at 6:18am PST