The Calder Yarn Art Installations continue!
This textile installation was designed to celebrate winter in a whimsical way. And in my opinion, nothing says whimsy like a bunch of gnomes. The scene was a skating rink with a couple of nets set up in the middle of a village with mushroom shaped homes underneath a forested mountain range and a big dark starlit sky. The gnomes were out in full force. Some were skating and playing shinny hockey, others were visiting with each other on park benches, walking and hiking, and the rest were stargazing and just hanging out.
The stars were embroidered on the sky with a shiny metallic ribbon. Snowflakes were knit and crocheted, and the black sky was a knitted fabric panel that I made on my knitting machine, using a subtle pattern (tuck stitch) to simulate clouds and give the sky some movement and texture. The moon was cut out of bright yellow felt, and sewn into place. The snow covered mountains were cut out from knitted sweaters and tacked down into place. The grey fabric was a Value Village find and the white was a brand new purchase from Winners. The trees were done in a similar way, by knitting a textured panel, and cutting out shapes and sewing them into place. The gnome houses were outlined with knitted i-cord, and embellished with felt accents. The gnome house doors and the wooden benches around the skating rink were constructed from fabric from an old placemat.
I got some great feedback from people about this textile installation. Parents told me their kids would ask to stop and look at it, every time they visited the Boxcar. And I knew the gnomes were novel because each week one or two of them disappeared. Next year, I'm stocking up and making more gnomes so I can replenish them every week. I'm thrilled that folks would want to adopt a gnome and give it a real home.
Check out a little (short) slideshow with a few photos!
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