There is no doubt that macramé has come a long way since the 1970s. Then it was a quirky string and knot hobby. You could personalize your jeans and carry your shopping around in a re-usable bag.
These days, macramé has grown up and is fast becoming a major art form. Have a look at the blogs of some leading wall décor businesses to see how macramé and weaving and knitting are being merged to create incredible art. Is it macrame wall art? It is certainly is but the artists are just as comfortable ‘arm-knitting’ or ‘free-weaving’ as they are tying knots!
Where does large macramé wall hanging Australia-style fit? Have a look at Crossing Threads Lauren and Kass Hernandez both live in Sydney. They are from Filipino stock but were born in Australia. Initially, they worked on their weaving and macramé wall art as a break from their nine-to-five jobs. As time has gone on, however, they have realized that this is their passion, and it shows in their work. Known for their large-scale pieces using innovative techniques. The two sisters use the Australian landscape to inform and guide their work.
For the last few years, Lauren and Kass have hardly been out of the news – the media love them. Crossing Threads now has upmarket private clients and corporate commissions. Who would have thought that macramé would become so rock-and-roll?
Elsewhere macramé is big news. Natalie Miller – an architect and macramé artist made the World’s largest knotted-rope chandeliers. They were commissioned to celebrate the Chinese New Year at a shopping mall in Hong Kong. They weighed in at three tonnes for the pair and used ten kilometers of rope.
A common thread (pun intended!) in all of this is scale. Macramé lends itself to large, tactile pieces. Macramé wall art tends to be big and bold.
Where to Next for Macramé?
Covid-19 and its knock-on effects mean that predictions about the future of anything are tricky. There are likely to be fewer offices in the future as people work from home so corporate projects may be harder to come by. The other side to this is that workers wanting to create a more pleasant home-working environment may look for more home decor items. They are likely to spend more on their personal space.
Large macramé wall hanging Australia may be able to survive the current turbulence. There are always high-end products that are immune to the hits that the bulk market suffers. The natural materials and inspiration from local scenery help with this. Artists like the Hernandez sisters at Crossing Threads are determined to create a brand. They want individuals and companies to buy into their values as well as their art.
Another trend that works in macramé’s interest is the awareness of using waste, upcycled, or recycled materials in creating art. There are several artists using old fishing nets to produce macramé wall art. The nets are an interesting material but working with it also highlights the damage that humans are doing to the environment.
Macramé is here to stay – combining it with weaving and knitting and other fiber-arts adds to its luster. It is remarkable that an art-form seen in carvings from nearly 4,000 years ago should still be at the forefront of creative development.
