Billboards. Shop windows. Newspapers. Posters. We find written messages all over the place on the streets. Kendall Ross turns personal words into art and incorporates them into colorful knits.
Kendall Ross is a fiber artist from Oklahoma in the United States. Her work combines fine art and traditional craft. Like many, Kendall Ross entered the world of fiber crafts when she was a child, taught by her grandmother how to crochet and inspired by women around her. Today, she runs an indie knitwear label called I’d Knit That, where she sells wearable, artsy sweaters and patterns. Besides handknitting, she applies other fiber techniques like embroidery, handbeading, and crocheting.
Words as bold as the design
Kendall Ross wants to “take feminine things seriously.” Her original handknit texts evoke personal diaries or protest slogans with strong, intimate, and thought-provoking words. They reflect experiences and memories soaked with emotions. No feelings are censored, which makes her knits quite free and touching. Kendal Ross’s artistic knitwear is also infused with humor, irony, and authenticity. It will make you laugh and cry at the same time.
Often when we’re knitting alone, we’re in silence. But so many thoughts run through our minds. When knitting with friends, words flow like a river or a waterfall.
If you were to handknit or embroider a personal message, what would it say? How would you wish people saw it? In flashy pink, muted blues, or rainbow colors?
The passionate work of Kendall Ross is so inspiring and fresh. She is having an art show in Brooklyn, New York, on August 26. Drop by to see it for yourself, in case you’re lucky to be on that side of the globe.
