Let there be light

What directions crochet and knitting can take! I liked these three projects so much I thought they'd make a neat threesome for posting. I'm particularly interested in the crossover between art and craft that the large installations bring. Sculptural crochet is an area that I think needs some looking into and I'm gathering quite a few artists to feature next week on that theme.

So here's a taster!!! The first installation is not crochet (but so easily could be); Nadine Sterk's Sleeping Beauty lamp which knits itself. "A lamp that develops like a living organism: switch it on and it slowly starts growing by knitting its own lampshade at a speed of three rotations per hour." What wonders to behold!! This was the 2006 graduation piece of Nadine Sterk from the University of Eindhoven.

A similar structure which reflects (in so many ways!) the magnificence that can be created by something so domestic as knitting and crochet is by Joana Vasconcelos a Parisian by birth from Portugal. We'll be seeing alot more about Joana on chaincreative next week but for the time being this is her A Noiva (The Bride)2001, which was exhibited in 2007 in the UK. Made up of 25,000 tampons she challenges us to see an object on unfamiliar terms, often using handicrafts as a means of bringing a different aspect to our understanding of an object. She extensively uses crochet which is obviously of great interest to us.

This leaves the average crocheter wondering how we can contribute and I found this project which has some elements of all these great works of art. It may be just a start but you can embellish and develop it as much as you want. 'Crochet an Orb' is the brainchild of knitalatte (also known as?) at Resurrection Fern. I think these glowing spheres would look beauifulscattered through the garden on a warm summer evening.