"Homage to Grandmothers" artist Sarah Nell Morgan
About the artist: I have been working with materials from SCRAP (a creative reuse nonprofit and store in Portland, OR) since it opened fourteen or fifteen years ago. I have shopped, volunteered, and taken students on field trips. Reuse has been my passion both for the waste reduction and the way the materials inspire creativity. I try to make work, whether fiber arts, book arts, or printmaking, from materials from SCRAP. I started out making examples for students and the store. Now I love finding interesting materials and enjoy the creative challenge of working with them. Last summer, I bought a bag of plastic twine and have been thinking about how to use it. I love the bold, primary colors. It crochets up into a nice texture that is both soft and strong. Years ago I was a weaver and basket maker and I am enjoying revisiting fiber arts processes. My grandmother crocheted blankets. Fiber arts have been handed down to us from creative women throughout American history.
$25.00
About this piece: This is the third plastic twine crochet piece I have made. I did some research on how it was used and what it replaced. Haywire was used to bale hay. When we say something goes haywire, it refers to how haywire was reused to repair anything that broke on a farm. Sisal twine then replaced the wire and then the polypropylene twine was developed. In the 1970’s the plastic twine was perfected, so it became widely used. Both are still used today. A volunteer worked at a horse stable and brought the twine to SCRAP. She moved away, and it is no longer being saved for SCRAP. I finished it with plarn made from newspaper bags. Part of reuse is adapting to what is available.
- Size:
- 12″ x 12″
- Materials:
- Plastic twine which is used to tie up bales of hay.
