I remember learning to crochet (at school) as an alienated chore – little girls can’t be inspired by making pot-holders. Last year however, at my brother’s house, I happened across the tiny, salmon-coloured and rather close-fitting outfit which I’d made for his favourite soft-toy, a little brown-beige Steiff doggy which he’d had since he was a baby and whose once soft fur had become threadbare and was leaking its filling. With the best intention our parents had tried to replace it with a new one, the same kind, but looking like a gleaming, puffed up version of this love-worn object, lacking its familiar scent and without the hairless indent around its middle (the opposite of love-handles) where his small hands had gripped it every night.
I had completely forgotten about it and wish I could recall its actual making, esp. as crocheting has become my medium. Looking back in time it’s easy to make connections which are rather too neat, but the outfits I fashion nowadays seem to throw an arc to this one: a two-piece ensemble, consisting of a vest and pants which logically allowed an extra opening for Wäuwäu’s stubby tail.
See also Rosie Kearton’s blog, who at the beginning of the year invited artists to participate in ‘The painting in the attic’ – a visual art collaborative project exploring links between childhood creativity and the work we make now.
1 comment:
Thought-provoking post. Interesting to link between childhood creativity and our art work now. I am reading a book at the moment called 'Play, how it shapes the brain, invigorates the soul'. It suggests looking back at childhood play to identify what kind of player we are were. I think our childhood play is a incredible source of inspiration in terms of content but also form, freedom from goals, existing for its own sake, a non-goal orientated process. I am a militant believer in free non-structured play. I am so proud when I see my girls singing, dressed up as monster-fairies, parading naked dolls around toy garages.
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