Offering interactive art and engaging community in art making is a passion of mine. KNIT3 (KNITcubed) is a project designed to celebrate community building. A series of (12”x12”x12”) knit cubes in bright colors will be available for people to build, stack, organize or arrange into whatever configuration they want. Building with blocks is a milestone that every child remembers and the fascination and compulsion to stack doesn’t go away just because you’re an adult. Visitors of all ages will be welcome to join in these “Block Parties”. Piles of knit cubes will be offered during community block parties in Occidental Park over several dates summer 2013.

Pioneer Square is finally experiencing a regeneration of community this year. Hopes are high that the days of vacant store fronts, dirty alleyways, and high crime are in the past. Now that I have a studio in the neighborhood, I want to offer my talents to brighten this historic neighborhood. By partnering with the Alliance For Pioneer Square at their community gatherings this summer, I want to offer literal opportunities for building community through open ended art making of stacking sweater cubes.

I was recently selected by Seattle Parks and Recreation to create a project called KNIT2 (KNITsquared) as part of their summer ARTSparts program. KNIT2 is a series of blazing sweater wrapped “rain chains” that will ornament and brighten the canopy of the London Plane trees. This project is set to be installed sometime in June, which is notoriously Seattle’s most depressingly dreary month. 125 squares in total will be arranged into individual chains to represent the opening of the Grand Central Hotel adjacent to Occidental Square 125 years ago.

These two projects were designed to complement each other. KNIT2 represents the history mingled with the lofty ambitions of Pioneer Square future. KNIT3 addresses the tactile nature of community. Unfortunately, KNIT3 was not selected to receive funding via ARTSParks.