Call for Knitting
-written by Hearth Founder, Miranda Aisling
In 2011, I was painting an eight foot by eight foot unstretched canvas, also known as a sheet of fabric staple gunned to the wall. As I stood mere inches from the painting, outlining a series of circles, I found myself distracted by the weave of the canvas itself. A long-time amateur knitter, I recognized the pattern and for the first time I wondered if it would be possible to create my own canvasses.
Over the past six years, this fleeting thought has developed into my current series of abstract oil paintings on knitted canvasses. From small squares to large rectangles, each of these canvasses holds multiple stories: the story of each bump in the knitting, of each mark in the paint, and of the finished piece.
At the same time, I dove headfirst into my career as a community organizer, founding Miranda’s Hearth, teaching at the Museum of Fine Arts, and working as the Studio Arts Coordinator at The Umbrella Community Arts Center. Now, I’m reaching out to my creative community to help me take the next step in my art by knitting my canvasses for me!
Knitting Requirements
Any yarn will do, I generally use the generic Super Saver brand from the store- The piece should be either square or rectangular
- There should be a frame of at least 1” around the entire perimeter of the piece created with straight garter stitch (knitting every row)
- This is a place to get creative, I’ve had 1” frames, 6” frames, a single piece with two interior squares, and much more!
- The interior should be stockinette stitch (knit a row, purl a row), this is the easiest to paint on!
- Size: Up to you! I’ve painted on everything from 6” x 6” pieces to 44” x 30” pieces.
- Optional: In some of my pieces, I leave the needles in the finished canvas instead of casting off to emphasize the process.
Acknowledgement: Each finished piece will be named after the knitter who created it.
Questions? Email miranda.aisling@gmail.com
To see some of the finished artwork, visit http://mirandaaisling.com
