Yarn isn't just for knitting scarves or socks anymore. While that of course is an obvious function of yarn, the textile can also be used to cloth such items as poles, trees, steps or signs. This concept of using yarn as tree clothing is an urban art-form known as 'yarn bombing.'
Such a yarn invasion has just happened at the Carnegie Center for Art & History as they celebrate the current show, "Tools of the Trade: Fiber Art by Bette Levy."
"We were working on the exhibit and thought, what if we had a yarn bomb at the Carnegie. But, we wanted to keep it elegant, because the work here is elegant and it is fine art. Then we started thinking about how daunting knitting would be to cover everything, and Bette brought up the idea of using doilies," said Karen Gillenwater, curator, Carnegie Center for Art & History.
That's right, doilies. Instead of knitting or crocheting yarn to cover the sign, tree, urns and other outdoor items, the New Albany Floyd County Public Library Sit and Stitch group and the Louisville Fiber Artists group began stitching the doilies together to form the 'doily invasion.'
Gillenwater reminds us that women did indeed spend hours knitting together the often detailed doilies.
"This is a tribute to all of the women who did all of these crafts," said Gillenwater.
The yarn invasion is also a celebration of Levy's exhibit that features crochet pieces that are combined with vintage tools. Levy is known as an embroidery artist, and she explores textures and patterns found in nature.
Levy's crochet work does indeed complement the vintage tools that they are intertwined with, which leads to a very fluid piece. Gillenwater pointed out that the textile art brings an interesting connection to the traditional gender roles that were men performing outdoor labor while women were indoors.
Also within the exhibit are paper quilts made from shopping lists, letters and envelops that Levy addressed to her parents while she attended college.
Friday, March 16 is the opening reception of "Tools of the Trade: Fiber Art by Bette Levy." The open reception is free and open to the public with the hours of 6-8 p.m. The exhibit will show between now and April 28, and the doilies will remain, depending on the weather. For more information visit http://www.carnegiecenter.org/
