JOE HAMMEL -- JO HAMILTON TAKES
HER GRANDMOTHER'S LESSONS AND
CHANNELS THEM INTO HER ART.
HAMILTON TURNED AN ACTIVITY
THAT'S OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH AN
OLDER GENERATION INTO A FUN,
HIP, COLORF ACTIVITY BY
PUTTING A FACE TO A BALL OF
YARN.
THIS IS JO HAMILTON'S STUDIO.
IT'S PARADISE IN HERE.
IT'S FILLED WITH YARN.
YARN OF EVERY COLOR YOU CAN
THINK OF.
♪♪
SHE USES ALL THIS YARN TO
CROCHET STUFF.
THAT'S WHAT SHE DOES.
CROCHETS, ALL DAY LONG.
HOW DID YOU LEARN TO DO THAT?
MYELOGRAM TAUGHT ME WHEN
MY GRAM TAUGHT ME WHEN I WAS
ABOUT SIX YEARS OLD.
THE FIRST THING I LEARNED TO
CROCHET IS A GRANNY SQUARE WHICH
I WOULD SAY IS THE MOST COMN
SEEN PATTERN IN CROCHET.
IF YOU KNOW HOW TO MAKE A GRANNY
SQUARE, THEN YOU CAN PRETTY MUCH
MAKE ANYTHING.
ONE DAY, JO GOT A BIG IDEA.
SHE TOOK SOME YARN AND HER HOOK
AND BEGAN TO CROCHET SOMETHING
THAT NO ONE HAD EVER TRIED
BEFORE.
SHE STARTED TO CROCHET A
LANDSCAPE OF PORTLAND.
♪♪
THIS BROWN STRIPE HERE
REPRESENTS BURNSIDE.
ALL THE BLUES ACROSS HERE
REPRESENTS THE RIVER.
THE BIG PINK, CITY HALL, THE
HAWTHORNE BRIDGE, BROADWAY, AS I
ENVISIONED IT.
STEEL BRIDGE.
THE CONVENTION CENTER.
ONE GRANNY SQUARE FROM MY GRAND,
WHICH I TURNED INTO A LITTLE
BUILDING.
AT THE TIME I WAS WORKING ON IT
WAS WHEN A LOT OF BUILDINGS WERE
GOING UP IN NORTHWEST PORTLAND
SO THERE WERE JUST CRANES
EVERYWHERE.
THE PIECES ARE MEANT TO BE MORE
OLD-SCHOOL.
ESTABLISHED PORTLAND, LOTS OF
TREES, VICTORIAN, KIND OF
WARMER, MORE NATURAL COLORS AS
OPPOSED TO THE KIND OF NEW BRASH
SIGHT OF PORTLAND AS IT'S BEING
BUILT.
I WAS WORKING IN A RESTAURANT,
AND MY C CORKERS, I HAD SHOWN
THEM WHAT I WAS DOING, THE START
OF THE CITYSCAPE WHEN IT WAS
STILL ONLY A COUPLE OF FEET, AND
THEY WERE GOOD-NATUREDLY MAKING
FUN OF ME FOR CROTCHETING
PORTLAND.
YOU'LL CROCHET ALL THE WAY TO --
THAT SORT OF THING.
AS A JOKE I SAID, SHUT UP OR
I'LL CROCHET YOU.
AND THAT'S JUST WHAT SHE DID.
BY NOW, JO KNEW SHE HAD CROSSED
THE LINE.
E WAS USING HER GRANDMA'S
TRADITIONAL CRAFT TO MAKE FINE
ART.
YOU KNOW, I BEGAN TO REALIZE
THAT REALLY I COULD PRETTY MUCH
CROCHET ANYTHING.
NO LIMITATIONS, AND I COULD GET
AMAZING LIKENESSES, NOT JUST
LIKENESSES OF PEOPLE BUT REALLY
CAPTURE PEOPLE'S SPIRIT IN YARN
IN A WAY THAT EVEN KIND OF STILL
AMAZES ME.
THIS IS THE AMISH TURK.K.
HE WAS A CHEF AT THE RESTAURANT
WHERE I WORKED.
THIS IS COREY HOPPER, ANOTHER
CHEF.
THIS IS MY FRIEND, BRIAN ADAMS
HARTFORD.
THIS IS SHREDDY, AKA ERIN, WHO
WAS DISHWASHER AT THE
RESTAURANT.
THIS IS JEVON WHO WAITED TABLES
WITH ME.
THIS IS A PORTRAIT OF GRANT WHO
WAS A WAITER.
HE WAS A REALLY GOOD SUBJECT.
I KIND OF REALLY LIKE THE
EXPRESSION ON THIS ONE.
LITTLE HALF SMILE.
AND HIS BLUE HAIR.
THIS IS LISA.
SHE WAS A OST AND SERVER.
SHE HAS A LOT OF HAIR.
THIS IS MY SELF-PORTRAIT.
IT ENDED UP BEING A REALLY
STRANGELY FAST PIECE THAT ONLY
TOOK A LITTLE OVER A WEEK.
WHENEVER I START A PORTRAIT, I
ALWAYS START WITH THE LEFT EYE.
I START RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF
THE LEFTYE WITH THE PUPIL
SURROUNDED BY THE IRIS.
AND THEN BUILD IT OUT FROM
THERE.
THE REASON IT WORKS REALLY WELL
WITH CROCHET IS BECAUSE I CAN
CHANGE DIRECTION ANYTIME I WANT.
AND IF YOU KNOW HOW TO CROCHET,
YOU CAN SEE WHAT I AM DOING BY
THE DIRECTION OF THE STITCHES.
SO ANYTIME YOU SEE A LINE IN
CROCHET, THAT IS THE DIRECTION
THAT I'M GOING IN.
I BASICALLY CIRCLE THE EYE, AND
THAT GIVES ME THE STRUCTURE OF
THE EYE SOCKET.
AND THEN BEL THAT, THE
CHEEKBONES, AND THEN USUALLY
I'LL DO THE OTHER EYE AND THEN
FIGURE OUT WHAT I NEED TO DO IN
THE MIDDLE TO JOIN THEM.
IT REALLY MAKES ME LAUGH
SOMETIMES WHEN I SEE THE GLINT
IN SOMEBODY'S EYE THAT I KNOW IS
THERE IN REAL LIFE.
OR SOMEBODY WHO IS SURLY, I'VE
GOT THEIR EXPRESSION.
I'M SURE A LOT OF CRAFTERS ARE
HORRIFIED BY WHAT I DO.
RULES ARE THERE TO BE BROKEN, AS
ANY ARTIST KNOWS.
I GET A LOT OF E-MAILS FROM
PEOPLE SAYING I'VE BEEN
CROTCHETING FOR 40 YEARS, AND
I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE
THIS, AND IT'S REALLY AMAZING
AND I'M REALLY INSPIRED, AND
THAT'S REALLY COOL THAT LITTLE
OLD LADIES ALL OVER THE WORLD
ARE TAKING THE TIME TO RIGHT TO
ME AND, YOU KNOW, THEY ARE
ENJOYING WHAT I DO.
TO SEE MORE, VISIT
JoHamiltonart.com.