Unconditional Yes, 2010.

Presented at the Trustman Gallery at Simmons College, Boston, MA.

In this mixed-media installation undertaken in collaboration with the Simmons community, I sought answers to the question, “Have you ever made a decision with an unconditional yes?”

Combining my knitted and crocheted aphorisms with text, objects, and artwork contributed by faculty, staff, students, and alumnae, the exhibition was both and provocative and inclusive. In the Gallery’s centre, a temporary “living room” anchored the exhibition and provided a quiet space for periodic knit-togethers which I hosted during the course of the installation. A knitted trail pieced together from communal donations led visitors to the “living room.”

I wanted to encourage people to look a little deeper at some of their ideas about themselves.  If we consider why we make our choices, we can take responsibility for them, and that gives us a lot of freedom.  Also, the process of creating this exhibition together generated a renewed sense of community at Simmons.

Simmons Arts Administration majors collaborated with me on many aspects of the project, suggesting the knitted trail (inspired by my Knitted Mile), developing publicity, encouraging community participation, knitting, and creating and maintaining a blog and Facebook page. One Arts Administration student noted, “We wanted to have the trail be all different colors and textures, representing the diversity of Simmons as a whole.”