“For Longing” Installation

From 2012 to 2015, Christen Mattix sat knitting a halfmile rope to Bellingham Bay from a former bus stop in Bellingham, WA. During the growing season, she knit every day for one hour, (holidays, weekends, and rainy days included) until the rope reached the Bay. Mattix considered it an "urban drawing" that embellished the sidewalk, calling attention to the overlooked. The most rewarding part of the project was knitting the community together. “I had a longing for face-to-face interaction with the neighbors, but I didn’t realize it.  It took this project to bring that about.” Mattix says.  “It's also about my desire to connect spiritually through a daily meditation practice… I achieved a goal that seemed impossible, by focusing on one stitch at a time.” Christen’s memoir, Skein, vividly recounts this one-of-a-kind journey into the heart of a neighborhood.