My friend Jordana is one of those people who simultaneously inspires and intimidates me...she is a wonderful artist and maker of beautiful things. We bond over the crafts we love, and admire many things in common. We both knit and love textiles but here is the thing...when I knit I make a sweater...when she knits she makes art. Never was this more apparent than the last time we met for lunch, and I asked if I could stop by her studio.
I had already seen the amazing crocheted chandelier and pouf. I had already been dazzled by the flowers, made of wool, that creep up the exposed brick walls as if they grew there out of the remnants of paint. But now, the walls are also covered with these amazing creations that she has made on her knitting machine. Many are necklaces: some of the simpler ones look like reptilian chains, others are organic shapes whose beauty is in the simple curve of the fabric, and then some are like a knit flower on a stem which drapes around the neck. There are also 3 dimensional shapes that make me think of sea urchins -- I love them as wall art -- but they may also become beads on more necklaces.
As I admired all of her work, furiously snapping photos all the while, I felt all of my inadequacies rising to the surface. But then, as Jordana always does, she encouraged me to come and finally take a lesson on the knitting machine I bought when the boys were still babies -- the one that has sat idle on my closet floor ever since. I am finally ready to take that first step...if only so I can copy jordana's beautiful work.
