Knitwear Designer versus Tapestry Artist
Have you seen the Pantone Colors of the year?
Do you weave with those colors?
I somehow doubt they matter much to you.
I used to live by the colors and trends of the seasons. I’ve mentioned before that I spent a good number of years designing knitwear. But my first love was always weaving; specifically tapestry.
A little background…
With the birth of my first child, I began to feel an urgency to find a way to use my art degree to make money. Sounds crass, writing that- but I was lucky enough to have a father that supported me through undergrad and graduate school and I was determined to show him it was not wasted. The most effective way I saw to do this was to prove to him that I could gain monetary compensation for my “art”. He, himself a consulting geologist, came from a family of small business owners and took great pride in that.
So back to my urgency… unable to support myself weaving tapestries, I took up machine knitting and selling in small boutique galleries, art fairs, the like. This eventually led to freelance designing for hand knit magazines. I took my father copies of my first published designs and he showed them to his friends (for years). Success.
He was always proud of the fact that I was a weaver. Even though I was actually an internationally published Knitter- he never failed to introduce me as a Weaver. Seems he knew something I didn’t.
BECAUSE…
I never felt like my knitting was Art.
Even the one-of-a-kind pieces I did for galleries- never felt like art. Now I know it is because those pieces came from somewhere other than within my heart.
To be a freelance knitwear designer, I was tremendously influenced by the trends of any particular time. It was challenging and fun and I have no regrets- but it was not Art. Not to me.
I don’t aim to compare knitting to weaving.
More to the point, I compare knitwear designer to tapestry artist.
Use of Color
So back to those Pantone colors of the year. As a knitwear designer, I had my fingers on the pulse of trends. I had to. I designed with whatever I was given to design with (not just colors, but also yarns might be changed from design proposal to publication).
With tapestry, I can use my treasured chartreuse I’ve carried around with me forever. I can use any color I want.
Ah, and here’s another difference I enjoy. I don’t need an entire bag of one color to create in tapestry! I can use as many colors in as small a quantity my heart desires.
The Process
With knitting, everything has to be planned in advance. To the smallest detail. Gauges have to be correct and precise throughout the project. Sleeves have to fit into the armhole. Size and fit mattered. Sweaters were my thing.
With tapestry, I’m finding my favorite way to work is without a cartoon to guide me through every section. Don’t get me wrong: I do use cartoons, but they are always roughly drawn and loosely followed!
Meditative Qualities
Now I know knitting has been dubbed the new yoga and is touted for its meditative qualities. And I believe it to be true; just not for me. Knitting for work was never meditative. It was work. Work with a lot of math.
Tapestry IS (for me) however. I can totally lose myself in weaving. Sometimes it feels as if my fingers are making the choices and my mind is free.
Where is all this rambling going?
I don’t know. I just thought I’d share these thoughts on this Sunny Sunday afternoon.
I’m glad to have returned to the quiet and colorful world of tapestry.
Do you knit and weave?
What are YOUR thoughts?