This is only one of three pieces I finished
during my 2-week residency in Black Rock Desert. It is a circular cowl that doubles as
a cyanometer. I have talked a bit about cyanometers on the blog with my
Lakeview scarf, but here is a quick rundown of it. A cyanometer is an
instrument for measuring the blueness of the sky. It was invented in 1789 by
scientist Horace-Bénédict de Saussure who correctly surmised that blueness was
dependent on the amount of water vapor suspended in the atmosphere. In the
Great Basin of the American West, the dry desert air makes the sky rest firmly
in the bluest area of the cyanometer.
Cyanometers have been on my mind recently because
my work as a curator of education at an art museum. We are opening an
exhibition this week from the National Museum Wales on British Landscapes. I
was able to curate a companion hands-on exhibition of
Utah landscapes that teaches how artists construct landscapes.
Within the exhibition, I designed a cyanometer
that people can take with them around the museum to compare the sky in the art
to the colors on the instrument. We will also be making our own out of
watercolor for a family activity.
Because I have been planning all these
cyanometer activities last year, the blue sky in the desert inspired me to
create my own knitted version. It was very fun to knit and satisfying seeing
the ombre effect grow.
The pattern will be coming soon when I release
all the patterns from my artist in residency at Black Rock Desert.
This is beyond beautiful.
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