Art to knitted therapy

The well-known giant knitting sculpture by Yallingup Steiner School students will reach an even broader audience when it is displayed at Elizabeth Quay next month during Mental Health Week.

The project has already garnered much attention, having made its first appearance at Sculpture By The Bay in Dunsborough in March, where it was on display for thousands and picked up the Happs Winery Emerging Artist award.

It also had its moment of internet fame after a video uploaded to social media by school administrator Kerri Naughton attracted about 50,000 views.

Next stop for the artwork is a Perth Mental Health Week event on October 9, when it will be put on display at Elizabeth Quay and offered as one of several free activities encouraging people to challenge themselves.

Ms Naughton said knitting tied in well with Mental Health Week because the activity’s therapeutic benefits were widely recognised.

The sculpture is made of 240m of dyed muslin and takes seven students from Years 4 and 5 several hours to piece together.

Principal Konrad Korobacz said the sculpture reflected the school’s philosophy of “head, heart and hands”, and was one of many hands-on activities undertaken by students as part of the school curriculum.

“We do weaving, knitting, crocheting, woodwork, felting, craft, cross stitch — all sorts of things,” Dr Korobacz said.

“We’re about educating the whole human being.”

Mental Health Week will not mark the end of the sculpture’s time in the sun.

Dr Korobacz said it had piqued the interest of a textile magazine and a local winery.

“There’s still a lot of interest coming in,” he said.

Mental Health Week is acknowledged in WA from October 8-15.