There are always hints that can be picked up by an astute observer when someone becomes truly excellent at what they do. It can seem granular, the distinction between very good and world class if you don’t know much about a thing. But one of those signs is when, let's say, an artist has to create their own tools. That is, they have gotten so good that the off-the-shelf stuff just doesn’t cut it. There are other clues with micro knitter Althea Crome, such as the many one-inch-to-two-inch-tall pieces of overwhelmingly intricate knitwear that she creates. It’s like nothing you have ever seen; that is a pretty good hint right there.
In order to knit so small, she makes her own knitting needles out of surgical steel; cutting, grinding, and polishing them down to a quarter of a millimeter in diameter. My guess is that’s the easy bit. The hard part, no doubt, is the months of intricate knitting and purling she uses to create startlingly accurate reproductions of famous paintings, or tiny gloves that fit comfortably on a fingertip.
We talk to Crome about the painstaking works of art she creates, her project knitting clothes for the stop-motion film Coraline, and a little bit about the 14th century Italian Mannerist painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo.
Questions (and answers) about spring at the IU Cinema
We check in with the one and only Alicia Kozma, director of the IU Cinema, about the who, what, when, and where, of the IU Cinema’s spring season.
Steve’s Book-O-Rama
In spite of its name denoting “a display, event, or phenomenon of considerable size or impact,” Steve’s Book-O-Rama is a calm, quiet shop just northeast of the square in downtown Bloomington. It’s full of used books, DVDs, LPs, and other objects of the sort we now think of as “physical media.” Producer Audrey Ouillette visited the store recently and got to speak with Steve himself.
Steve’s Book-O-Rama is at 118 E. 6th St in Bloomington. It’s open daily, 4pm-7pm.
Bethany Habegger’s Self-Portraits Through Objects
Bethany Habegger was looking at a ceiling fan when it started to evoke a strange sense of nostalgia. So they painted with, with the popcorn ceiling behind it. Their paiting of objects are often about nostalgia and memory. They also feel, to Bethany, like self-portraits. Producer Karl Templeton spoke with Bethany.
Credits
This episode was produced and edited by Alex Chambers. We get production help from Danny William, Holly Wilkerson, Karl Templeton, Leo Paes, Jillian Blackburn and Jonah Ballard.
Our theme music was composed and performed by Alan Davis. Additional music from Universal Production Music. The executive producer is Eric Bolstridge.