Weekend Diversion: The World’s Oldest Street Artist
At 104 years old, Grace Brett’s “yarn-bombing” of numerous towns in Scotland is a sight the whole world should see.
“Some people become vandals because they want to make the world a better looking place.” –Banksy
Cities are interesting dichotomies. On one hand, they’re places where people live in great numbers, where intellectual, cultural, commercial and musical endeavors thrive, and yet on the other hand they’re often laden down with pollution, crime and just plain devoid-of-nature ugliness. But there’s plenty to see and do all the time, as The Mammals sing in their song, City Never Sleeps.
But part of what makes a city so vibrant is its ever-changing inhabitants, and the little glimpses of joy, life and artistry they bring along with them.
Little projects like this are known as street art, and they can take any form, from sculptures to drawings to — in this case — yarn bombings, as the self-proclaimed “yarnstormers” known as the Souter Stormers did recently in Borders county, Scotland.
The spokeperson for the group, Kay Ross, had the following to say:
The yarnstormers, a group of mixed age range, have been inspired by Grace [Brett] to use their creative and artistic skills to transform the Selkirk landscape. Grace has confirmed that age is no barrier to participating in a contemporary project.
Oh, did I not tell you? Because Grace Brett is 104 years old!
According to the Press and Journal, who interviewed her, she had the following to say:
I thought it was a really good idea to decorate the town and enjoyed having my crochet included. I liked seeing my work showing with everyone else and thought the town looked lovely.
According to her daughter Daphne, Grace thinks it’s quite funny to be considered a street artist, which isn’t a surprise considering she was born 39 years before the invention of spray paint.
The yarnstormers showcased their work by “yarn bombing” 46 landmarks in the town of Selkirk, including a telephone booth, a statue of Sir Walter Scott and The WilloW Brasserie.
They were also awesome enough to post an interview with her, so you can see exactly how delightful she finds all of this. She’s been knitting for over 70 years — she used to do it on the train ride to work as a telephone operator — and continues up through the present day.
There are many more pictures of the Selkirk yarn-bomb available at the Penelope Textiles Limited facebook page, some of which are showcased below.
What an incredible, fun display, and I hope it added a little brightness to your day as well!
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