ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thanks to Lida Gordon for guiding my journey from craftsperson to artist. Thanks to Kathleen Loomis for helping me to say what I mean and mean what I say. Thanks to Brad Chaires for life support. iv ABSTRACT KNITTING AS ART Hand knitting is my chosen technique for making art. Because knitting is traditionally thought of as craft, my work must overcome several obstacles in order to be valued as art. First, objects made using craft techniques and materials are often functional;

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... n when it is not, we view them as such and value them less than art. Second, the materials and techniques used for knitting are not traditional fine art materials. This has changed; process and materials are what much contemporary art is about. Yet the bias against craft techniques and materials persists. Finally, knitting is viewed as woman's work and so is undervalued. I have resolved this in several, first by using materials which create work that is much larger than typical knitting and second by using a material that creates a fabric not easily identifiable as knitting. v