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Chapter 6The biggest problem in the yarn world today is the lack of education in art. The great pioneers of Hippiedom--Magdalena Abakanowicz, Lenore Tawney, Ed Rossbach--all went to art school and have remained actively involved with art and artists throughout their lives. Keeping us ignorant could be a conspiracy on the part of the yarn establishment (whatever that might be) to keep us servile and dependent, but I doubt it. I think it's just inertia, a continuation of the split (turning into a gulf) between art and craft. It's easier for everyone to depend on a few leaders to make the patterns for the rest of us to follow. Occasionally a gifted amateur will break through with some original work, but mainly it's the same old, same old, rutted, constricted way. So how do you go about educating yourself? For starters, go through the shelves in the 700's section of your library. You'll find books about theory and technique, as well as those beautiful collections of individual artist's work. Learn about composition and design. Find an artist whose work you like and study that work. Find another artist. Watch some of Sister Wendy's videos. And start really looking at your world. Is the sky the same blue every day? How is it different from 9am to high noon to 6pm? Are all gray skies the same? What about grass--is it uniformly green? And is a tree the same color up close as when you're ten feet away? Look. Question. Look some more. And never stop thinking and learning. Next Page Return to Table of Contents
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