Knitting: visualising time
13.7.20 I have been thinking of the process of knitting and how it is linked to the passage of time. I decided to visualise the time I spend knitting by keeping a record of how long I knitted each day for 3 weeks and changing colour each time I knitted in a different setting. In the end, I made 3 pieces of knitting, each one representing one week's knitting. As well as marking time, I was also researching ways to visualise this as sculpture and as a more conventional, flatter piece of knitting.
For more detail of each individual piece, please click the links below, for an evaluation of the whole 3 week's knitting, please scroll down.
For more detail of each individual piece, please click the links below, for an evaluation of the whole 3 week's knitting, please scroll down.
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All in a week's work 1,
16.6-23.6.20 31 hrs 6 mins Dimensions: Part 1 29 x 33 x 29cm Part 2 28 x 33 x 29cm approx. |
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14.7.20 Evaluation of All in a week's work 1, 2 & 3
Form: I knitted a different form each week.
All in a week's work 1 is sculptural, knitted in 2 sections for portability, and is knitted with many protrusions. This I think works best aesthetically, but shows the segments of time less effectively than the other two pieces. It seemed odd to abruptly change colour as I normally blend colours. I'm not so keen on the straight lines, but they're less obvious on this piece as its so sculptural. Knitting something multicoloured and highly textural is obviously slower than either of the other 2 forms of knitting as this took 31 hours but is the smallest -Part 1 29 x 33 x 29cm & Part 2 28 x 33 x 29cm approx.
All in a week's work 2 is knitted as a flat piece of knitting, with much more obvious stripes. I think it's the one that works best, in terms of visualising time in a linear way. It felt very conventional to knit a flat piece of knitting and to knit stripes! I wasn't so keen on the very obvious straight lines, initially, but I began to find them more interesting as the knitting progressed. I decided to pull through the loose ends where I changed colour as they disrupt the surface and, I think, make it more visually interesting. I had been thinking of Rosemarie's Trockel's knitted paintings when I made All in a week's work 2, so might decide to stretch it on a canvas. I also wondered about being more selective with colour and knitting an abstract seascape or landscape, still changing colour with each change of setting.
All in a week's work 3 is sculptural, tube-like, with obvious stripes. I think probably this is my least favourite, although the image of it 'standing' on the floor provides an interesting illusion that it's free standing. Maybe this is something to pursue at some point. I need to try wearing it too.
Colour: I used a selection of browns and orange wool. I'm interested in the ways that different colour communicate meaning, and I wanted to try colours that I hadn't used together before. On reflection I'm not sure that these colours communicate anything particular in this context. It all seems too clinical.
Time: It has been interesting to document how long I knit each day and also to see how many hours I knit each week!
Private/public: I normally do most of my knitting around other people but I have been knitting very little in public because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As well as tracking how long I knitted I also took the opportunity to track where I knitted an with whom.
Week 1:
Private (alone) 0
Private (with Dave), at home or in the car: 14 hrs 49mins
Public (virtual) 5 hrs 43 mins
Public (physical) 10 hrs 34 mins
Total public: 16 hrs 17 mins Total private: 14 hrs 49 mins
Week 2:
Private (alone): 15 mins
Private (with Dave): 579 = 9 hrs 39 mins
Public (virtual): 295 mins = 4 hrs 55 mins
Public (physical): 387 = 6 hrs 27 mins
Total public: 11hrs 22 mins Total private: 9 hrs 54 mins
Week 3:
Private (alone): 11 mins
Private (with Dave): 946 mins = 15 hrs 46 mins
Public (virtual): 266 = 4 hrs 26 mins
Public (physical): 205 mins= 3 hrs 25 mins
Total public: 7 hrs 51 mins Total private: 15 hrs 57 mins
Form: I knitted a different form each week.
All in a week's work 1 is sculptural, knitted in 2 sections for portability, and is knitted with many protrusions. This I think works best aesthetically, but shows the segments of time less effectively than the other two pieces. It seemed odd to abruptly change colour as I normally blend colours. I'm not so keen on the straight lines, but they're less obvious on this piece as its so sculptural. Knitting something multicoloured and highly textural is obviously slower than either of the other 2 forms of knitting as this took 31 hours but is the smallest -Part 1 29 x 33 x 29cm & Part 2 28 x 33 x 29cm approx.
All in a week's work 2 is knitted as a flat piece of knitting, with much more obvious stripes. I think it's the one that works best, in terms of visualising time in a linear way. It felt very conventional to knit a flat piece of knitting and to knit stripes! I wasn't so keen on the very obvious straight lines, initially, but I began to find them more interesting as the knitting progressed. I decided to pull through the loose ends where I changed colour as they disrupt the surface and, I think, make it more visually interesting. I had been thinking of Rosemarie's Trockel's knitted paintings when I made All in a week's work 2, so might decide to stretch it on a canvas. I also wondered about being more selective with colour and knitting an abstract seascape or landscape, still changing colour with each change of setting.
All in a week's work 3 is sculptural, tube-like, with obvious stripes. I think probably this is my least favourite, although the image of it 'standing' on the floor provides an interesting illusion that it's free standing. Maybe this is something to pursue at some point. I need to try wearing it too.
Colour: I used a selection of browns and orange wool. I'm interested in the ways that different colour communicate meaning, and I wanted to try colours that I hadn't used together before. On reflection I'm not sure that these colours communicate anything particular in this context. It all seems too clinical.
Time: It has been interesting to document how long I knit each day and also to see how many hours I knit each week!
Private/public: I normally do most of my knitting around other people but I have been knitting very little in public because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As well as tracking how long I knitted I also took the opportunity to track where I knitted an with whom.
Week 1:
Private (alone) 0
Private (with Dave), at home or in the car: 14 hrs 49mins
Public (virtual) 5 hrs 43 mins
Public (physical) 10 hrs 34 mins
Total public: 16 hrs 17 mins Total private: 14 hrs 49 mins
Week 2:
Private (alone): 15 mins
Private (with Dave): 579 = 9 hrs 39 mins
Public (virtual): 295 mins = 4 hrs 55 mins
Public (physical): 387 = 6 hrs 27 mins
Total public: 11hrs 22 mins Total private: 9 hrs 54 mins
Week 3:
Private (alone): 11 mins
Private (with Dave): 946 mins = 15 hrs 46 mins
Public (virtual): 266 = 4 hrs 26 mins
Public (physical): 205 mins= 3 hrs 25 mins
Total public: 7 hrs 51 mins Total private: 15 hrs 57 mins
