Knitting Art: 150 Innovative Works from 18 Contemporary Artists

As some knitters craft mittens and sweaters, others find themselves taking flight into the realm of art.  Some become true fiber artists, creating exhibition-quality quilts and sweaters and shawls, yarn mobiles and sculptures and gigantic abstract installations.  An exploration of art knitting, this book profiles eighteen of the most prominent and intriguing practitioners of this craft-turned-art.  Karen Searle, herself a recognized fiber artist, examines the works and inspirations of each of these knit artists.  Numerous photographs illustrate each profile, documenting these artists’ work and at the same time offering inspiration to those who might transcend the purely practical aspect of knitting.  Among the artists encountered here are such nationally known knitters as movement founder Katharine Cobey, Carolyn Halliday, Debbie New, Lisa Anne Auerbach, Lindsay Obermayer, Kathryn Alexander, and others.

Karen Searle is a fiber artist specializing in knit and crochet sculptural works.  Her artworks have been exhibited in the United States and abroad since the late 1970s. She has presented classes, lectures, and seminars internationally, has curated fiber-art exhibitions, and served on international jury panels.  Searle is a mentor to emerging artists through the mentor/protegee program of the Women’s Art Registry of Minnesota.  A former publisher of books on ethnic textiles, she writes about the arts for several publications.  She lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.