STARTING next week, keen observers may notice trees suddenly sporting warm vests.
Fear not, the new look has nothing to do with a pine beetle infestation.
Instead, the knitted attire is part of a unique community public art project called Tag . . . You're Knit!
Presented by the North Vancouver Community Arts Council, the project employs a form of "yarn bombing," a somewhat new addition to the art world, in which pieces of knitting are wrapped around trees and poles and added to various parts of urban landscape.
The yarn-bombing art installation will consist of numerous pieces of knitting that will appear at various sites around North Vancouver city.
"Where they're going to end up will be a surprise, of course, so that's the yarn bombing component of it," explains Linda Feil, executive director of the arts council.
As part of the project, the arts council has held a number of community workshops for anyone wanting to learn how to knit, and for those wanting to add their work to the yarnbombing project.
The first beginner workshop attracted more than 20 new knitters, as well as a number of seasoned knitters who showed up to help the beginners.
Other workshops have attracted up to 40 people, and a wide range of ages. At one workshop, which featured knitting with fingers, not needles, and using plarn (plastic yarn) instead of yarn, there was a 55-year-old, a five-year-old and a twentysomething among the group. Initially, the five-yearold was very enthusiastic, and the other two less so; they had clearly been dragged along by their partners, notes Feil. By the end of the workshop, however, the two older participants were very engaged, and the 55-year-old even took home a bag of knitting to work on.
"I never knew the legs this would have," says Feil of the project. "I never realized how it reaches into the community in such an incredible way."
For a $10 deposit anyone may also take home a bag put together by the arts council that contains a set of knitting needles, a ball of yarn, a template, and an instruction book about how to do a simple stitch. Participants who complete three stages of the at-home kit (each stage is a new ball of yarn) and return their completed knitting may keep the bag and its contents. The completed pieces will also be added to the final installation project.
"It's unbelievable," says Feil about the number of people who are participating.
To date, there are 104 knitters registered with the project. "The final project is really just a bonus and a way of demonstrating the involvement," says Feil.
The message behind the project is about the intrinsic value of art in all forms, and its ability to bring people together in a way they may never have interacted before, explains Feil.
"People will find themselves engaged in conversation over some knitting needles and yarn, and the next thing you know they're having coffee together," she says. "That's how you build community."
Participants completing squares of knitting for the installation are being asked to include some general information about themselves, such as their profession or their age. That information will be laminated and pinned to the final pieces.
The number of yarnbombing locations will depend on how much knitting is submitted for the project.
In order to maintain some control of the esthetic of the final installation, the arts council has chosen the material (the yarn) and colours used. The colours are the same as the colour bars on the arts council logo: orange, teal blue, dark blue and green.
Feil says the council would like to start yarn bombing during the week of June 9June 17, which happens to be International Knit In Public Week, also known as World Wide Knit In Public Day (a series of knitting days around the world).
Yarn bombing has been popular around the world for about five years, notes Feil, adding a lot of groups and individuals are using it to make statements.
In one city, a group covered a military tank on display with pink knitting as a way to soften its edges and send a message. "It's a phenomenon that's being used in a variety of ways," says Feil.
She says there seems to be a renewed interest in knitting, and the hobby that may have seemed old-fashioned to some has lost some of that stigma thanks to yarn bombing.
Yarn bombing has helped change the image of knitting and has given it a different context, she notes, adding people are no longer looking at knitting just to make baby booties.
"It's a different kind of graffiti," says Feil, adding, "It's really good for you mentally and physically."
The skill development is challenging, and that also seems to be attracting a number of people to knitting.
Feil says once the yarn bombing pieces are in place, the goal is to keep them up until it's time to hang the city's Christmas decorations. After that, any pieces that remain will be taken down, washed and used to make blankets for homeless people.
Tag . . . You're Knit! is a city-funded project, so the installations will only be distributed throughout North Vancouver city, but anyone can participate in the project.
Although Feil says there is nothing organizers can do to prevent the knitted pieces from getting wet once they are in place, she has learned a few tricks to keep them safe from other hazards. For example, if bombing a tree, make sure the knitting is high enough to hook over the branches so it doesn't stretch or fall.
More importantly: Don't bomb low because dogs will pee on it.
For more information about the Tag . . . You're Knit! project, visit the website at www. nvartscouncil.ca.
