Design: Playing With Color and Form
© Suzanne Griffith
There is no rule in life that anything has to be represented realistically. Some artists have found they can express their perception of the world through abstraction better than through realistic art. I'm in favor of options in life, and I'm glad we have both abstraction and realism. Look at a log cabin quilt - the log motif is repeated over and over, like flowers on calico - you don't see a little log cabin with a tree next to it and smoke coming out of the chimney. Because the design isn't very representational, it has a broader appeal, in my opinion; you can think of all log cabins or logs in general, or you can enjoy the pleasing shape and colors and not think about log cabins at all.
Many traditional knitting patterns are abstract, or they may look abstract and be modified patterns from nature. Look at the color patterns in a Norwegian sweater, for example, which could be flowers, or they could be the result of a knitter playing with two colors and happily ending up with something that coincidentally resembles a flower. I've always been interested in the blackberry or trinity stitch in Aran knitting - some say the stitch has a religious origin and that the very method of making the stitch corresponds to the mystery of the Christian trinity: three in one and one in three (making three stitches in one stitch in the first row and stitching three together in the second row). But the stitch also bears a close resemblance to the fruit of those thorny plants that keep trying to grow in my yard. We will probably never know which interpretation is correct, and maybe both of them have a historical basis.
To return to my knitting, there are several elements in my landscape: First there are objects: cedar branches, a potted jade plant, an azalea (or azalea flowers), and sky or a background. Second there are colors: the natural colors of the objects - dark green (nearly black), jade green, bright pink, and sky blue or gray.
I could make a pair of socks with a diagonal pattern reminiscent of cedar branches, perhaps in green and blue, or green and gray, or even black and white. I could make a sweater with a bright pink and jade green floral motif on a light gray or sky blue background, or on a dark green background to suggest the cedar branches. I could simply use the colors in the design in a Fair Isle or entrelac pattern. There are many possibilities with this design or with one you create yourself. As a reminder of what can be done with some creativity and playfulness, have a look at Molly Gordon's fiber artwork, Ladybug, constructed of knitted pieces and embellishments.
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