Where there is a will there is a way

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Papatuanuku: Our Connection to Nature (bottle top mosaic artwork), mounted in a school in NZ

This year I have been blessed with work in a team of staff who support Year 7’s to 13’s in a NZ school.  I started doing art with a few students that have supported classes in the centre, who have challenges such as autism, Down Syndrome, hearing issues.  I have loved working with these young people - supporting them in mainstream classes, or at their learning in the centre.  As time has progressed I have started doing a lot of gardening and art with our students (of course).

I have been able to be the person I have always felt guided to be - this year - due to the specialness of the environment I have been in.  That’s the only difference... I have wanted to create a bottle top mosaic for over nine years (post here that proves it).  The gardening and connecting to nature themes that I feel inspired to pass on to young people (and their open minds) are in it.

It is mounted in a courtyard between all the food tech classes at the school above where there had been a neglected 3.7 m long planter; I restored the soil and planted herbs for their cooking, in a bit of an adventure, and now the Learning Support Centre students and I maintain it.

It has been the most amazing collaborative effort, true teamwork where the energy of the students pushed me along from my usual perfectionist struggle; and all their ideas from their unique personalities enriched it.  There has been political guidance (to apply and receive permission and funding), team leadership for the drilling of screws, artistic cooperation, but mostly the space and trust to allow me to follow the guidance I listen to from spirit.

A local paper came to the ribbon cutting ceremony (Hibiscus Matters, Dec 18); here are the words to a presentation I made explaining the social message - an important part of the recycled materials mural:

This artwork was created using 2607 plastic bottle tops saved from one family’s usage (mine) over nine years, diverting them from landfill as these are not currently recycled.

The students of the Learning Support Centre have been involved in the creation of this artwork from concept stage, to placement of lids in the mosaic, to drilling screws; each student adding their own unique touch which gives this artwork its power.

The artwork shows the forces of nature at work, from worms digging in the soil beneath the ground to the land being shown as alive with Papatuanuku’s face and body as the hills, the swirls of wind, rays of sun and waters of the ocean and rivers as they flow from the land.

This artwork shows us how nature works and regenerates itself in a cycle, ever recycling what it does not need into something new, never throwing anything "away”.

(Bottlecap artwork method inspired by Michelle Stitzlein, artist in America.)











Monday, December 9, 2019

A whale for Wendy


It was a whale of a project.

But I wanted to express to my sister how much I loved her, from far away.  (I live in NZ, she in North America.  She had also just given me some super valuable advice and had always helped me so I wanted to show her how much I cared.  Also, wouldn't that be a funny thing to get in the mail?  

I restarted several times figuring out the best way to proceed.

I normally knit in the round, and after many sea creatures like dolphins, start at the nose and expand or shape at will.  It is seamless.  It is like a sculpture.

But the humpback tended to the 2D sew-it-together approach as it seems like there are two colours, one on its base, another on top.  Also the mouth wraps around up high on the whale.  After trying a few times switching colours but knitting round I gave up on that and calculated the 3D shape as best I could, mapping put the area around the whale and making a knitting graph of the top and bottom (based on actual tension).  I drew the flanking shapes - lower half shaped like an arrowhead, the top like a bottle starting narrow and staying narrow for awhile then expanding.


The graph and the drawing were super helpful but for some reason I figured it wasn't quite wide enough - too realistic - so I multiplied the stitches by 33% wider...

This was the result.

This is the start of the base (baleen) piece- really big ribbing to show those grooves...

I recorded what I was knitting - eventually sewing both parts together, stuffing it and continuing the second half in freestyle- leaving caps to return to for adding the fins.  

Every part required several tries, the start (5), the joining, the tail (twice).  The fins of course - but when I elaborately spent an evening following the scalloped edge on a fin, this is the most important part to write down as nature is syymmetrical.  I can freestyle the body all I want, but the second fin must copy the first exactly (mirrored).  And the left side of table in to right.  So it must be written down - even just for the moment until it is complete.

Kind eyes need eyelids; I always enjoy adding soul to the animals doing this part.  Eyes are the most important to be done right.

After all was complete adding bumps and even the top fin through shaping added lots of whale character.

I may not have made a realistic humpback whale, I think following such a bumpy type of whale (while shortening the proportions) allowed me to make a very whale-like whale!  

My sister has always loved blue, and I used a few strands of blue sock wool, and he same but part white on the base.  When she got this in the mail - it was a whale of a hug!


By the way here is the pattern I painstakingly recorded.  I hate following patterns myself, but just in case!  Well they are a great way to learn technique.


Pattern:

Bottom of humpback whale

Cast on 16 sts

  1. Knit in rib 16 sts

  2. Add 2 each side, rib 20 

  3. Rib 20   

  4. Add 2 each side, rib 24    

  5. Rib 24

  6. Add 2 each side, rib 28

  7. Rib 28

  8. Add 2 each side, rib 32

  9. Rib 32

  10. Rib 32

  11.  Add 2 each side, rib 36

  12. Rib 36

  13. Rib 36

  14. Rib 36

  15. Add 2 each side, rib 40

  16. Rib 40 start double ribbing 2k2p

  17. Rib 40

  18. Rib 40

  19. Add 2 each side, rib 44 2p2k first 

  20. Rib 44 stil 2p2k first

  21. Add 1 each side, rib 46 care for ribbing as 1 extra (Kfb, p, 2k2p…)

  22. Rib 46  starting k1 p2 k2

  23. Rib 46 

  24. Rib 46 

  25. Rib 46 

  26. Add 1 each side, rib 48 

  27. Rib 48 switch bigger needles

Rows 28 - 48, continue double rib 48 for 12 rows, then change to 

49. K or p2tog 7 times following pattern, then continue pattern until 14 left, k or ptog 7 times following pattern

50. K2tog, p2tog, k2tog, continue pattern until last 6 - k2tog or p2tog 3 times with pattern

51. K2tog twice, follow pattern to last 4; k2tog twice (24)

52. P1, k2, p3 etc until last 3, 2p, k1


53 - 55 Continue in triple rib for 3 rows then reduce 1 more each end. (22)


Knit in pattern for 48 rows or until narrow part measures about 30 cm.


103. Switch to double rib again to fade out indents - *(2k2p) repeat until end of row (but ends on a 2k)

104. Start with 2p2k. Repeat to end, but ends on a 2p.*

105-106. Repeat rows 103/104 double rib pattern once more. 

107. K2tog,(2p2k) until last 4, then 2p, k2tog. 20

108. P1, (2k2p) repeat until last 4, then 2k, p1. 20

109. K2tog, p1, (k2p2) until 3 left, p1, k2tog. 18

110. (2k2p) repeat, ends on a 2k. 18

111. (2p2k) repeat, ends on 2p. 18

112.  K2tog, (2p,2k) until end.  17

113. K2tog, (2k, 2p) until last 3, k1, p2tog  15

114. K1, p1, (k2, p2) until last sts k1.

115. P1, (2k, 2p) until last 2, k2tog. 14

116. P1, (k2, p2) repeat until last 1 then k1.

117. K2tog, k1, p2, (k2, p2) until last 3, p1, k2tog. 12

118. (2k, 2p) until end.

119. K2tog, (2p, 2k), until last 2, p2tog. 10

120. K1, p2, k2, p2, 2k, p1. 

121. K2tog, p1, k2, p2, k1, p2tog. 8

122. K1, p1, k2, p2, k2 (8)

123. P2, k2, repeat.

124. P2, k2, repeat

Put sts on hold




Top of humpback whale

Cast on 8 sts

  1. K8

  2. P3, kfb twice, p3   (10)

  3. Kfb, k8, kfb    (12)

  4. P3, kfb, p4, kfb, p3 (14)

  5. Kfb, p12, kfb  (16)

  6. jKfb, p14, kfb (18)

  7. K8, kfb twice, k8 (20)

  8. Kfb, p18, kfb (22)

  9. K10, kfb twice, k10 (24)

  10.  Kfb, p23, kfb (26)

  11. K7, kfb, k10, kfb, k7 (28)

  12. P28

  13. K13, kfb twice, k13 (30)

  14. P30

  15. K30

  16. P30

  17. Kfb, k30, kfb (32)

  18. P32

  19. K32

  20. P32

  21. K3, kfb, k to last 4, kfb, k3.  (34)

  22. P34

  23. K34

  24. K2tog, p to last st, k2tog (36)

  25. K36

  26. P36

  27. K12, kfb, k10, kfb, k12 (38)

  28. P38

  29. K38

  30. Kfb, p38 (until last st), kfb

  31. P40

  32. K40

  33. P40

  34. CO 10 to right side, k to end, .CO 10 sts

  35. P60

  36. K29, kfb twice, k29 (62)

  37. P62

  38. K62

  39. P62

  40. Kfb, k to last st, kfb 

  41. P64

Stockinette until matches bottom piece then sew together leaving holes for side fins and knit in round again.

Narrow tail by eye looking at photos of whale.


Whale tail

When at most narrow (48 sts) start increasing - also knit more rows below so tail will be slightly lifted up(like when the breach).

Over 16 rounds increase to 82 total (I turned and knitted more rows on underside than top).

Method for knitting tail - when stitches are evenly divided onto 4 needles, knit with 2 at a time, other 2 on hold.  

For a few rows, reduce k2tog x 2 at beginning (closest to tail centre), then increase by 1 at tail edge on end of needle, again at end of next needle, then k to last four of round at k2tog x 2 again.

Then k2tog at start and end of rounds with no increases at edge until all stitches gone - draw string through last two.  

Repeat on other side.

Whale fin - right (according to whale)

Doesn't matter what you do just write down and mirror exactly as fins are symmetrical!

Right side, round starts by eye, bottom needle first to the left...

Stick needle in round hole, pu 14 sts top, 14 bottom

k 4 rounds


  1. k28

  2. k28

  3. k28

  4. k28

  5. Increase by 2 on bottom (16) and by 4 on top (18) 34 sts

k 8 rounds

  1. k34 

  2. k34

  3. k34 

  4. k34 

  5. k34 

  6. k34 

  7. k34 

  8. k34 

  1. n1 bot: Kfb by eye, k2tog at end (tail).  n2 top: k to last st, kfb by eye. (35)

  2. k round 

  3. k round 

  4. n1 bot: k2tog by eye, k to end of round

  5. n1 bot: k2tog x 2 by eye, k.  n2 top: k to last 2 and k2tog (by eye).  

  6. n1 bot: k.  n2 top: k2tog by tail and k2tog x 3 by eye. 

  7. k28 (15 bot n / 13 top)  

  8. n1 bot: k.  n2 top. k to last 2 and kfb x 2 (by eye). 

  9. n1 bot: k.  n2 top: k to last 2, kfb x 2 (by eye). 

  10. n1bot: k to last 2, k2tog (by tail).  n2 top: k. 

  11. k29 (14 bot / 15 top)

  12. n1bot: k2tog by eye, k to end.  n2 top: k to last 4 sts, k2tog x 2 by eye.

  13. n1 bot: k2tog by eye, k to end.  n2 top: k2 tog by tail, k to end. 24 sts

  14. kfb x 2 at start and end of round (by eye)

  15. k28 

  16. n1 bot: k to last 2, k2tog (by tail).  n2 top: k. 27 sts

  17. k2tog x 2 at start and end of round (by eye)  23 sts

  18. n1bot: k2tog by eye, k.  n2 top: k. 22 sts

  19. k22 (10 bot, 12 top)

  20. k22 

  21. k22

  22. n1 bot: k to end.  n2 top: k2tog by tail, k.

  23. k21

  24. k21

  25. kfb start and end (by eye).

  26. k23

  27. k23

  28. k2tog at start and end of round (by eye)

k 6 rounds

  1. k21

  2. k21

  3. k21

  4. k21

  5. k21

  6. k21

  1. kfb at start and end f round (by eye)

  2. k23

  3. k2tog x 2 at start and end of round (eye)

  4. k2tog at start and end of round (eye)

  5. k2tog x 2 at start and end of round (eye)

  6. k2tog x 3 at start and end of round (eye)

  7.  k2tog x 4

  8. k2tog x 2

draw string through 2 sts

tidy up corner

shape and stuff bumps, reinforce, look at photo whale fin 

other fin - round starts by eye but is top needle first.  replicate (mirror)

That's it!