Made by Numbers

This project was inspired by a call out for a Ruskin open. It asked for an painting of an Urban or a rural environment. I live on the outskirts of a town. On one side of the road is town, the other spreads into countryside. The countryside side of the road is contentious space at the moment. New legislation means that more farmland can be built on. Those who are anti this feel that that it will spoil their villages, disconnect us further from nature etc etc. Those who are for it see it as a chance to own a house or get facilities close by. It is one of the few issues I sit on the fence on.

I was intrigued by this idea of a place between Rural and Urban. An OR space where the boundaries blur. Most borders in the world are contentious places.

So I set about creating a series of paintings of the local construction site. Here will stand a new crematorium.

An example from the internet

The paint by number style came about after several reincarnations of the same painting. I chose its sterility over the more paintrly styles. I am now pondering on the idea of paint by numbers too. A tiny bit of research unearthed this desription of it.

"Propelled by postwar prosperity, increased leisure time, and the democratic idea that anyone might paint a picture, paint by number became a popular pastime in the early 1950s. Each paint-by-number kit included two brushes and up to ninety premixed, numbered paints ready to be applied to numbered spaces on an accompanying
 canvas or board. As the spaces were filled in, the gradual revelation of a picture surprised and delighted." http://j-walkblog.com/index.php?/weblog/posts/Paint_By_Numbers3/
The whole act of creating a fine art painting in a paint by numbers style throws up all sorts of ponderance.
As I draw I choose the lines from the photographic image more carefully than if I was sketching lines in for a traditional painting. If somebody was going to colour this images instead of me they would need it to be right. They wouldn't be making choices and adapting the image as they go along. They would simply be following the pre written instructions.
As I start to paint I embellish the image. Adding blocks of colour which are not in the original line work. My paint by numbers experience is non authentic in this regard. I am still making creative choices.
I leave some of the spaces in the painting uncoloured and add numbers to show more clearly the idea of paint by numbers.

Painting before the numbers go on Spring by Beth Barlow

I have toyed with putting in measures to alter this dicotomy. To make it more authentic I could include more line work in the first instance. I could preordain my colours before starting. Or I could fake that authenticity by adding in more lines once I have finished.  But after some thought I think I like the conceptual disquiet in the painting. If you look at the painted area you see detail, look at the unpainted and it is more vacant. If you took up a brush and decided to complete the image it would either look incongruous or you would have to start improvising detail, make creative choices, become creative in a way.






Latest line drawing's waiting to be filled in:

As Painted

As Photoshoped

Photoshoped to Death

Films about paint by numbers

The March

The simple part of it is that there is a pattern for you to knit your own knitted marcher who can march for a cause of your choice.
After mainly hanging around in my front garden.....

The Marchers went off into the metropolis of Northwich to march along Whitton Street as part of national Yarn Shop day. The flags they all bore started off blank but but the end of the day people had added their ideas about thinks they would bother to march for.

The marchers have become slightly distracted from marching by a new commission. 4 of them are being employed to make up the numbers on a project called Knit A Year. With a little assistance they will be knitting their moods and blogging about it on www.knitayear.ning.com . You can witness their exploits and if you want to talk to them you can sign up to become a members of the knit a year site. Usually flexible in their personal traits and views they will be taking on characters inspired by the Knitting project for the next few weeks. They will then be appearing as part of the Inspired By Knit a Year exhibition at The Brindley Arts Centre in Runcorn in November.

What a motley crew!!

 The Marches time with the Knit a Year Project is coming to an end. They have knitted, blogged, staged a mini exhibition and now they are all set to feature in The Brindley Arts Centre Exhbition running from the 29th November to 10th January.

After hanging around in their undies eating cheesy wootsits for a while the marchers gained a new purpose when they attended a demo against Fracking in Frodsham. From a facebook post 42 people said that they would like a knitted person to represent them and say NO to fracking. Unfortunatlely the numbers took me by suprise and I could only locate 7 marchers. It would be great to have one person per request so if you fancy knitting a person to donate to this cause the pattern is below.

Marcher Pattern

Equipment

Whatever needles you can spare. (You will use them to support your finished marcher)

Neutral colour yarn of any kind

Big eyed needles to sew it together

Head

Cast on 10 stitches

Knit each row

Knit 27 rows

Cast off

To make the head shape

Sew together the cast off and cast on edges

Choose an end of the tube to sew up first

Using running stitch sew up and pull tight to gather it into the top of a head shape

Turn inside out

Stuff the head

Sew the bottom of the head up in the same way as the top. Leave a tail of wool to attach it to the body.

Body

Cast on 20 stitches

Knit Each Row

Knit 35 rows

Cast off

To make the body shape

Sew together the cast off and cast on edges

Choose an end of the tube to sew up first

Using running stitch sew up and pull tight to gather it into the top of a body shape

Turn inside out

Stuff the body

Sew a stitch in bottom of the body where the groin will be which pulls the front and back bottom together. This should leave two holes for the legs to go in like you get with a Barbie doll.

Arms

Cast on 5 stitches

Knit each row

Knit 40 rows

Pull thread through stitches on needles and tie off tight to create a pointed hand

To make the Arm shapes

Start at the hand end

Fold the arm in half and sew together close to the edge

The arms are too thin to turn inside out so they stay this way around

Legs

Cast on 7 stitches

Knit each row

Knit 40 rows

Cast off

To make the leg shapes

Start at the foot end

Fold the arm in half and sew together

Turn inside out

Stuff

To make the foot turn up the end of the leg and sew it to rest of leg with a few stitches (tip. if you sow through what will be the bottom of the foot and go back to here with your last stitch you can hide the cut thread ends under the foot)

To Sew it all together

Sew head on first (try to get the seams all at the back)

Sew Right arm on to body so that it hangs down

Sew left arm on to body so that it is raised in the air

Push each leg into the holes in the body and sew all around.

Push one needle through mans head, down back and out of well …his bum

Sew left hand around the other needle and then push the end of the needle into his leg …EKKKK.

Use his banner stick to feature a banner for anything you think he should march for, world peace, fluffy bunnies, more cake and less homework …..