New Exhibit: Crochet Mandalas and Stories of the Heart, by Lisa Daehlin

New Exhibit: Crochet Mandalas and Stories of the Heart, by Lisa Daehlin

Offit Gallery

"Crochet Mandalas and Stories of the Heart contains pieces, some made with yarn from my own collection; some incorporating yarn and stories from other people I have met as the thread of life weaves itself along life’s way. It is my hope to include a mandala for each of the “communities” in my life: the Chinatown knitting classes that I teach, yarn shop where I work, Teachers College knitting community, Minnesota knitting group, Norway (land of my ancestors) knitting groups, etc. An extended idea is to travel this exhibition to some of those locations at a future date.

These Mandalas are a developing body of work. Originally (20 years or so ago), I had made a couple of them as teaching samples for my classes in the fiber arts (at Cooper Union). Designed to show the math of a flat circle, the imagery of one was purely geometric, and the other, more organic. These crochet samples have followed along in my teaching materials for years. In February of 2021, as I sat in the window of an NYC yarn shop doing a #LovePeopleBeKind Knitting Residency, I began a new generation of my mandalas which used the naturally increasing factor of the heart shape as a design and math element. Playing with those geometric and organic lines, the imagery is changing and growing. Hearts and Roots and now some Flowers seem to be winnowing their way through my hook and hands.

Some of the mandalas use the interplay of two colors in their imagery. An extended idea that is developing shows similar imagery (hearts and sinews and various shapes, bursting out from a central point), but now on a field of concentric rings of color. Each of these bands/rings of color is made of yarn from, and represents, a different person and a glimpse of their story. This “yarn with a story” is donated by various users of yarn (those who knit, crochet, weave, etc). For these versions of the mandala, I take a photo of them handing to me the gift of the yarn to tell the 'story' of the yarn."
- Artist Statement


Lisa Daehlin is an artist, educator, performer, and alumna of Teachers College (Music and Music Education, MA 2012). Since 2007 Lisa has served as Academic Secretary in International and Transcultural Studies at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Resources:

https://lisadaehlin.wordpress.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Artist/Lisa-Daehlin-Artist-231292376923366/

 

This exhibit is designed by the Gottesman Libraries in collaboration with the artist.

Where: Offit Gallery

When: April 7 - May 31

 

Program:

Art Talk and Reception: Thursday, 4/20, 4:30-6pm

Art Workshops: Crochet and Color Mandalas, Thursday, 4/27; 5/4; and 5/25, 4-6pm

 

230403_ExhibitR_219x365.jpg

Poster Image: Mandalas, Courtesy of Lisa Daehlin

Back to skip to quick links