Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art director of education Katie Bush is photographed with a cart decorated with knitted panels and filled with items used for knitting, in front of the MCMA in Marietta.
Staff/Emily Barnes

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Bush shows off her knitting skills.

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Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art director of education Katie Bush's cart decorated with knitted panels is filled with knitting needles and yarn, at the MCMA in Marietta.

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Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art director of education Katie Bush's cart decorated with knitted panels is filled with knitting needles and yarn, at the MCMA in Marietta.

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Knit one, purl two and then donate your creation to the Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art. MCMA is preparing a yarn installation that will be temporarily installed on the façade of the museum.

The museum, located at 30 Atlanta St. in Marietta off the downtown Marietta Square, is accepting hand-knit and hand-crocheted pieces of textile.

“We are looking for any type of knit, hand-crocheted swatch. It doesn’t have to have a definitive shape,” said Katie Bush, director of education at MCMA.

The swatches will become part of a larger piece of artwork. “We will stitch all the pieces together and create an installation with them. We are going to attach it to the front column,” said Bush, a Mableton native.

Bush said the idea for installation came from a trend called “guerilla knitting” where people sneak around in the middle of the night and cover something, such as a lamppost or sculpture, with knitting pieces.

The project is a way to reach out to different people in the community.

“The installation is a good way to get the community involved because not only does it reach out to older people who spent a lot of time knitting and crocheting but also to teenagers and anybody in between who enjoy knitting as a crafting hobby,” said Bush who earned a BFA from Georgia State University and Masters of Art Education from University of Georgia.

“I think it’s a good way to draw a new crowd to the museum. It’s a good way to get people to take notice of the museum. We’re trying to reach out to more people who might not know we were here and to get the community involved as well,” she said.

The project is a way to fulfill MCMA’s mission of developing community through art.

“Developing community through art is the entire point of art making. What’s the point of looking at a piece of art if you can’t discuss it with somebody or share it with somebody? It’s the very foundation of art,” Bush said.

MCMA is also holding its first free knit/crochet workshop for the community on Feb. 7. Because of popular demand, a second workshop has been added on March 14 from 6 to 8 p.m. To learn more or make a reservation, visit www.mariettacobbartmuseum.org. Call (770) 528-1444.