Brenna Kesson is a yarnbomber who reached out to me through ishknits.com back in 2012. She sent me a video of her yarnbomb on a staircase railing promoting equality and love and I really respected her for having such strong passion (that turned into action) at her age. We stayed in contact and from there, she sent me a yarnbomb that she completed it in her high school. I mean how cool is that, to yarnbomb inside your high school?! That’s courageous! I have really enjoyed being able to stay in contact with Brenna and watch her grow as an artist. I absolutely love her message and I can’t wait to see what she does next.
1. What got you interested in yarnbombing? My sophomore year I wanted to be different. I wanted to be artsy and fun but I was so not creative. Then I saw a book on Amazon called Yarnbombing by Mandy Moore and Leanne Prain. That was exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to show off my creativity with yarn in a rebellious way! Then I was reading Teen Vogue and saw Ishknits in the magazine with a bicycle and flipped. So the book and Ishknits truly inspired me.
2. Are you interested in street art? What interests you about it? I LOVE street art! It’s a fun and rebellious way of expressing ones self. I always want to meet the person that spray paints something on the side of a building or puts up a sign and see what is going on through their head. I want to know the message they are trying to portray.
3. What is your favorite kind of Artwork to make? As of now I like making charms and friendship bracelets. I haven’t picked up a hook or needles since winter! I have seasonal crafting cycles. Right now I’m trying to get into making soaps and skincare. I love getting things like that from vendors in yellow springs but its so expensive!
4. What inspires you to make street art? What inspires me the most to do street art is sending a message. If I don’t have a message to send, my art isn’t very great. (*author’s note: Don’t ever say that!!!! I think you are very skilled at embroidery and made all your pieces come together well to spread your message!)
5. What message would you like to get across to others in your work? When I do make a tag or something it’s almost ALWAYS anti bullying related. That is a topic I and very passionate about as well as just spreading love.
6. What are you working on now? right now I’m not working on anything. I have lots of school but just answering these questions is inspiring me to do something!
Watch Her Video
Great message! This is what its all about! Nicely done! 🙂
nice work, brenna! i love that you’re tying the anti-bullying message into your work, and doing it at your high school – very smart and VERY important!
and it looks like a few of us have been influenced by the “yarnbombing” book, because didn’t you mention it too, jessie? i love that book!
p.s. i also discovered ishknits via the bike magazine ad. 🙂