Artist tied one beautiful knot every day of 2016

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Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/01/25/artist-tied-one-beautiful-knot.html

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gasp

I’ve been obsessed with knots/lashings/etc ever since Boy Scouts. I even later taught the Pioneering merit badge at summer camp.

New book is in my Amazon cart.

edit

Holy cow! The book is 57 dollars new!!!

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Amongst sailors, this skill set is referred to as “marlinspike seamanship.” A venerable and fun way to spend a bit of time. Who knew it made us artists?

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Well, if you don’t already have it, The Ashley Book of Knots really is still a great book to have and remains my favorite knot and rigging book even though it is a bit dated, perhaps because it is a bit dated. It is really the classic book on knots. The price is sort of outrageous, though.

I can also recommend The Ultimate Book of Decorative Knots by Lindsey Philpott. A great book that is also expensive as a hardcover, but you can get it for $16 as an ebook.

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All those frayed, unwhipped ends hurt my heart. Those poor ropes!

That aside, nice project.

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Yeah, that is kind of bugging me. It’s as if the artist doesn’t actually get the marlinspike seamanship that is so thoroughly described in Ashley’s book and is just superficially mimicking the form.

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Ooh, what a rope burn.

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Afraid knot.

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I think it’s just that the teased-out ends look better to her. I’m prepared to concede that the aesthetic appeal takes precedence over the practical, since it’s not my project. It’s not as if the ends are long enough to do anything with, and they aren’t likely to be exposed to a force 10 gale.

There are plenty of good sites online. This is one of my favourites:

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You guys are going to drag this out to the bitter end, aren’t you?

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Could be, but to me it makes all of the work seem amateur and unfinished, as the place people start rather than the place they should end up. Having seen a number of very elaborate knot boards in various maritime museums, these unfinished knots as art trigger my subclinical OCD and make me want to finish those ends! But, as you say, it’s their project and their aesthetic.

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I’m all bight.

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Going to drag out the puns to the bitter end, are we?

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One round turn deserves another.

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Jinx! But I’m prepared to cut you some slack this time.

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sips _frap_puccino

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I have nothing meaningful to contribute, I’m just hitching along for the ride.

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Make with the funny or you’ll get a good lashing!

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…trying to figure out how to use “cockscombing” as a pun without crossing the line…

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