adada


Minami Ishibashi


The 2001 Knitting & Stitching Show: exhibited work	Azanaru Spin	Heki II

knitting:	I have knitted ever since I was a child. The things I made were mainly functional, such as clothes for my dolls or gloves for me to wear. I never felt so enthusiastic about other forms of textiles, even when I had the chance to study them properly at Art College. Printed Textiles seemed trapped within two dimensions, whereas Woven Textiles were so strictly confined by warp and weft. I decided to stick to knitting as my main means of expression in textiles. I experimented with many different weights and thickness of yarn and tried many unusual types of material - such as plants, vines, packing twine, paper, clothes or steel wire. I also tried to find ways to create complex combinations of simple 'knit and pearl' stitches and sometimes developed new stitches of my own. I also liked to try out strange combinations of yarn. In one instance I made a matt coloured tapestry by changing yarn each row, or sometimes changing it every stitch. The knitted stitch is formed by loops and whilst this brings a natural elasticity it's natural tendency is to 'flop'. Is it possible to make knitting that can stand up by itself? This is what I wanted to find out. I knitted with thick yarns, but used finer needles. I added spin to yarn to make it more wiry, and knitted with it. I spun and joined yarns together as if making rope, and knitted with it. I combined knitting with other techniques, such as, embroidery or knotting. It has been not so easy. Although I also make wearable knitting this is not my main theme.
message:	There must be more possibilities to knitting… What can I hope to achieve through knitting…? My exploration will continue….