Gloved hands in knitted sculpture

You can find identifiable clothing forms in some of my sculptures. Since I work with knitting, the connection is pretty natural. I use gloves, in particular, to represent people. By changing the design, the color of the yarn, embellishment, or shape, I suggest different personalities. This transforms the gloves from clothing accessories into characters in stories told by the sculptures.

Gloves suggest characters in sculptures

There’s no mistaking the playful child’s hand in Snowball. The primary colors of the simple zigzag design shout youthful exuberance. If you were ever a child in a northern clime, this image should put you in the yard behind a snow fort. The only thing missing are the ice crystals on your face.

That mitten could well have been made for someone to wear. For other works, I have altered traditional glove patterns to give the impression of a place or create a feeling. The tropical colors and frilly layers on the glove in Hurricane Glasses were meant to conjure up a carefree summer party at the beach.

In Knotweed: Not Safe the hand’s significance lies in what it is doing, more than in its design. The hand hides under the leaves where its red-violet color blends gently with the earthy brown base of the sculpture. This hand represents a gardener digging in the soil. It might belong to the nineteenth-century gardener who planted this ornamental. Or in another telling, it is the hand of the naturalist trying to remove this invasive from the landscape. Note the bright red blood where the stalk pierces through the hand. I imagine the naturalist turning purple with frustration over the task.

The hand in Growing Connection tells a story through its placement and pigmentation. It is intertwined with rope and leaves. The mottled color emphasizes the symbiosis between this person and the plants they care for. The blotches on the skin are the color of the plant leaves, as if one is merging into the other.

Gloves represent community in Knit Democracy Together

The gloves that will adorn the sculpture of the state capitol building in my community art project Knit Democracy Together embody community. The legislative building is a symbol of representative democracy, a point that is highlighted through the process of creating the sculpture. In the knitting circles where we make the building block pieces we discuss ways to improve the electoral process by changing the way candidates raise money for their campaigns. These innovative programs reconnect elected officials with their constituents, making them more responsive to voters.

When the gloves are attached to the sculpture, they will be posed holding knitting needles. They will appear to be constructing the building. Here is a maquette of the sculpture testing the design.

The layers of this community art project provide a positive model of participatory democracy. People come together in knitting circles for discussion and shared activity. Their joint effort creates something new. That’s how lawmaking should work. Just as many community hands will build this sculpture, the hands of everyone in our communities should form our government.

Learn more about my Knit Democracy Together project here.