Knit One Pass It On: Secondary School Volunteer Project

Knitting goes on tour again to Holy Family College, Heywood to pass on our expert knitting knowledge to new knitters. This is an ongoing project which will also contribute to a new knitting sculpture. The first of part of the newly formed sculpture will be installed as partg of the knitting exhibition 'Knit One, Purl One' for 'Knitty Gritty goes Large on 22nd May. Pupils work will then be added throughout the life of the exhibition.

Knitty Gritty Goes Large

An exciting afternoon of knitting and crochet crafts. Come and see the new exhibition 'Knit One, Purl One: Contemporary Knitting and Crochet' and meet the curators and take part in a number of artist lead workshops.

Saturday 22nd May 2010 1pm - 4pm

Sophie Horton installing Front Cover on the outside of Touchstones Rochdale

Sophie Horton was commissioned to produce a piece for theKnit One, Purl One: Contemporary Knitting and Crochet exhibition which would extend the exhibition out of the gallery space and on to the front of the building.

The starting point for the site specific work on the exterior of the building was the recruitment poster for the Lancashire Fusiliers on display in the Museum. Sophie’s father was a 2nd Lieutenant during his national service with the Lancashire Fusiliers. In 1968 the Ministry of Defence amalgamated several regiments including the LF into the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. Historically the LF uniform included a bright yellow plume and red sash and it is this use of flamboyant colour that led Sophie to investigate the use of colour by the armed forces.

She was struck by is how many countries have adopted identical camouflage! In 1991 the MOD had to change the camouflage uniforms supplied to the army as not long before the first Gulf War, it was discovered that the enemy itself had been able to purchase uniforms made with the same pattern. In the short time available the camouflage underwent several changes to make it distinguishable from the enemy’s.

Sophie is interested in camouflage as a vehicle of deceit and this led her to question: What would a camouflage of Touchstones Rochdale look like?

Knit One, Purl One: Contemporary Knitting and Crochet opens Saturday 1st May 2010.

Why not come along to Knitty Gritty Goes Large on Saturday 22nd May 1-4pm?

Knit One Purl One: Contemporary Knitting and Crochet

Knit One Purl One opens today at Touchstones Rochdale. This exhibition brings together artists working in contemporary knitting and crochet. Exploring traditional crafts through innovative materials, concepts and techniques the exhibition features site specific installations, a knitted animation and loans from public and private collections. The exhibiting artists are: Anita Bruce, ArtYarn, Karl-Christian Geleff, Sophie Horton, Rachael Matthews, Claire Platt, Freddie Robins, Elizabeth Smith, Sally Spinks and Shane Waltener.

Coming Soon: Knitty Gritty Goes Large

Shane Waltener installing Another World Wide Web

The first piece to be installed in Touchstones Rochdale’s new exhibition Knit One, Purl One: Contemporary Knitting and Crochet was Another World Wide Web by artist Shane Waltener.

Shane Waltener is a London-based artist and an associate lecturer in 3D Design at Camberwell College, University of London. He studied at Chelsea College of Art, gaining an MA in Sculpture and then went on to take further study at the College of Fine Arts of Marseille.

Working in sculpture, installation and performance that explore ideas of craft traditions, processes and techniques, Shane has exhibited his work widely in various galleries and museums around the world.

The work on display Another World Wide Web was originally commissioned by the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and the Fracture Gallery in Melbourne, Australia. It is a new version of A World Wide Web which was initially conceived for the Radical Lace, Subversive Knitting exhibition at the Museum Of Art and Design in New York. Knitted in elastic, the piece is designed to accommodate a variety of spaces. The flexibility of the thread allows for the piece to be moulded by the architecture of the venue in which the piece is installed while drawing the viewer’s attention to features and areas that might otherwise be overlooked. The eyes of the webs act as viewfinders bringing into focus as you walk around the piece shifting perspectives of objects and perspectives within the building. Installed here, the piece highlights the architectural features contained within the ceiling of the gallery whilst also bringing different areas of the exhibition together.

Knit One, Purl One: Contemporary Knitting and Crochet opens Saturday 1st May 2010.

Why not come along to Knitty Gritty Goes Large on Saturday 22nd May 1-4pm?

Volunteers Wanted

Volunteer Opportunity

The 'Knit One Pass It On' project aims to teach secondary school art students the skills of knitting. Many young people have missed out on the opportunity to learn these traditional crafts so this project aims to open up this opportunity to them.

Elizabeth and members of the Knitty Gritty group have been invited to work with Holy Family RC and CE College in Heywood, to create knitted sea pieces to add to the sculpture. The art teacher Emma Dolan has selected pupils especially for the project and we will be working in small groups to make the skill sharing more accommodating for everyone.

The first workshop will take place at the school in Heywood. A coach will provide transport from Touchstones Rochdale to the school for volunteers and I will meet people at Touchstones Reception.
Refreshments will be provided at the school.

Monday 26th April 2010
Coach will collect people at Touchstones Rochdale at 1.30pm
We will return from Holy Family School to Touchstones Rochdale at 4.20pm

I hope you are able to take part in the project and look forward to seeing you in the future!

Please contact Alison Cooper at Touchstones Rochdale if you are interested in volunteering.

Thanks Alison.

Knitting News

Knitted Sculpture

Thanks to everyone who made it to the Knitty Gritty workshop with Elizabeth Smith. I'm over halfway through my seaweed strand now so should be finished soon! All the pieces of seaweed we make will be collected by Elizabeth and sewn together to create a unique knitted sculpture. The sculpture will be on display in our very exiting, forthcoming exhibition 'Knit One, Purl One: Contemporary Knitting and Crochet' which opens on May 1st 2010.

When you have finished your marine knitting please hand it in to the reception here at Touchstones. You are
welcome to leave your name with the work too.

If you have finished the first seaweed project and would like a different challenge (which does not have to be the same project as you have finished) leave a note in the bag with your contact details and we will post something new out to you!

Thanks

Alison

Knit One Pass It On

The Art Gallery at Touchstones Rochdale are recruiting volunteers to create a knitted sculpture for their forthcoming exhibition 'Knit One, Purl One'. Elizabeth Smith will be leading a number of workshops including one on Tuesday 30 March from 2pm-3.30pm. This workshop will run alongside our regularly monthly Knitty Gritty which meets at Cafe Life in Touchstones Rochdale. Why not come along and join in the fun? Wool will be provided but if you can bring along your own size 4mm or size 8 knitting needles that would be great - we look forward to seeing you.

Knitty Gritty

This Tuesday 23rd February.
Time: 2pm-3.30pm
Join our monthly knitting circle in the café. Feel free to bring along your own knitting projects, share ideas or start something new.