as a child of the eighties, i was surrounded by wretched
brown and orange and green yarn in whatever
monstrous form it took. more often than not it was the
"crocheted stuffed animal of ambiguous species," a
creature that had no true form but was well over stuffed
and made of the itchiest yarn possible. these alleged
"toys" were almost always hand-me-downs from older
siblings, and were accessorized with a variety of stains,
tears, and missing button-eyes.
the memories of such toys are so riddled with nostalgia
and emotion for me that i unconsciously gravitate
towards hideous, non-aesthetically pleasing, circa
1970's yarn art.
yarn art in it's truest form is handcrafted by bored
housewives, over-achieving grandmothers, and that girl
you went to high school with who had really bad breath
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passer by would think this
is some family album of
sorts; or the electronic
version of those little
plastic photo folds found
in wallets all over.
but it isn't that. no, not
really.
my intent here is to
capture every little frame of
my life so I can make this
really great coffee table flip
book...
if you flip fast enough the
pictures move!.
unsightly fabrics, and make-shift framing techniques. most pieces depict scenes from nature:
flowers, insects, kittens (or some combination thereof) and are usually framed unsuitably. it is
actually quite rare to find a work unframed. such pieces are very valuable in the market
today.. selling for upwards of two-four dollars at thrift stores and flea markets.
because framed art is the standard, it is important for the collector to keep the original frame
intact. selecting a more timely or indeed, fashionable frame would greatly decrease the value
of one of these pieces. frames can vary in size, shape, colour, and material of which they are
composed. the more thrown-together the frame is, the higher the worth of the entire work.
the most valuable piece in my collection is a work created on the back of a picture printed on
cardboard, the frame for which has been discovered to in fact be the picture's original frame.
the yarn work itself is taped to the cardboard and then taped into the frame with strands of
yarn pulled tight across the picture. if you turn it over you can see the picture, it's almost like
getting two for the price of one!
of course, the first thing one should address when face to face with one of these nightmares
of mediocrity is the picture itself. "is it ugly enough? do the colours offend? would i be
ashamed to display this in my livingroom?"- if you can answer "yes" to one or more of these
questions then you've found yourself a winner. also take note of the fabric the art is sewn
onto, the more like burlap it is, the better! and what is that smell?
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