Research Friday: Dopamine

ever get to the end of a row and feel that little "kick" of accomplishment and then, go on to do another row--

--EVEN THOUGH IT IS 1:20 AM ON A WORK NIGHT AND YOU ARE SO TIRED YOU CAN HARDLY FOCUS ANYMORE? yeah. me, too.

it occurred to me that just as some folk love video gaming (and by "loving" it, i mean craving it and unable to stop once they start), i am loving stitch-wrangling.

science says:

"Dopamine is commonly associated with the reward system of the brain, providing feelings of enjoyment and reinforcement to motivate a person proactively to perform certain activities." wikipedia

"A number of studies have revealed that game playing triggers dopamine release in the brain, a finding that makes sense, given the instrumental role that dopamine plays in how the brain handles both reward and exploration." discover magazine

"Pain specialist Monica Baird explains that the action of knitting actually changes brain chemistry, decreasing stress hormones and increasing feel-good serotonin and dopamine." press release log

i wonder if i am "under the influence of crochet" when i look at the wiki entries and think how cute a serotonin and dopamine amigurumi would look?

Research Friday: Tapestry Crochet

several years ago, i picked up one of these guatemalan hackysacks at a cool world trade store and it ended up a perennial christmas ornament on my tree. i love the super-bright colours and tight stitches that are typical of guatemalan crochet craft. in some ways, it is like amigurumi since it is essentially spirals of single crochet, but what i found out recently is just how the colour changes are done!

dr. carol ventura is essentially the johnny appleseed of tapestry crochet! she came upon the techniques while serving in the peace corp and has published several books, videos and a website rich with demos, free patterns and examples of tapestry crochet from around the globe. she also teaches where ever she travels, spreading the technique to people who can then use the craft to enhance their incomes. :)

tapestry crochet is essentially a form of crochet colourwork in which several different colours are carried at once until they are needed. unlike fair isle knitting, the thread does not float along the backside of the piece, but is actually crocheted over so it travels along hidden inside the row. both sides of the piece show off the pattern. it works up easily in the round, which is why you see it most often in hackysacks, kippots, bowls and bags.



carol also shows techniques to do flat tapestry crochet that lead to a nice smooth picture. crochet has a slanted quality due to the stitch that force designers to incorporate sharp right angle triangles. carol has some free graphs available for people to work out their designs that will give them a good idea of what they can expect within these limitations.

i would love to what else could be done sculpturally with tapestry crochet that would take it beyond the traditional caps and bags. carol ventura has moved into flat portraiture as has jo hamilton and xenobia bailey makes those awesome urban crowns.

where else could this go?

i think it might be time to pull out my sketchbook! :)

Research Friday: Xenobia Bailey

(click photo to view larger)
xenobia bailey crochets these amazing "urban crowns".

here is a video of her working where you can see that she is using tapestry crochet (more on that soon), but these hats also have shaping techniques you might use while doing amigurumi.

look at all the layers of colour changes and how the stripes flow up and around her shapes almost like topographic maps!

each one is a little jewel!

Research Friday: Tracy Krumm

contemporary artist tracy krumm creates sculptures from layers of crocheted wire netting bound to heavy rusty iron chains, rings and bands. like ruth asawa's work, many of tracy's pieces hang, thus retaining their delicacy, in spite of their heavy iron elements. to me, they suggest artifacts from fishing vessels or long-forgotten industries and i am a sucker for an artifact.

flexibility vs sturdiness, light vs heavy, translucent vs solid, hand-created vs machined--the work is yin and yang in metal. i like it.

these smaller pieces remind me of the delight of cactus blooms: delicate flowers sprouting from places you would not expect.

Research Friday: Ruth Asawa

by crocheting with wire on an almost monumental size, ruth asawa created lovely fluid shapes that appear to be floating and swallowing each other. large as they are, they maintain the delicacy of undersea invertebrates.

i have not tried to crochet or knit wire yet. i have seen it done on a small scale as with yoola's fine craft jewelry or small objects, but i love that ruth took her work large and by doing so, gave the pieces their own commanding presence.

Research Friday: Louise Weaver

australian artist louise weaver uses crocheted wool
to cover taxidermy forms. i like these comfy-looking
birds in particular.

pom-pom fro!

here is a link to art & australia magazine's interview with louise.

in it, louise spoke of camouflage and transformation, but i notice she failed to mention the tension inherent in the juxtaposition of what appears to be a parrot with a sharp-hooked beak surrounded by miles of tempting yarn.

can you see it in the eye of that last bird?

"must...rip...this...to shreds"

Research Friday: Jo Hamilton

Crochet as fine art portraiture by artist Jo Hamilton.

i love the subtle distortions, the odd patches of colour,
the dangling mess of yarn ends and the fact she lets the heads
remain free-form shapes. they expressions are so funny, they
work as wonderful illustrations to my illustrator's eye.
love them.



here is a link to her gallery: jo hamilton