If you’re a mere mortal like me, tying knots is anything but exciting. Trying to secure a hammock on a hook. Fixing your child’s shoelaces. Unsuccessfully braiding a challah. Mundane stuff like that requires concentration, fine motor skills (which I tragically lack), and precision. And creativity? Never have I perceived knots as creative until I encountered the artwork of Bay Area artist Windy Chien.
Chien took the knot—an ancient object and a utilitarian process—and made it a language of her own, leading Design Milk to call her the Queen of Knots. She’s also an artist and a woman who has “record-store owner” and “Apple executive” on her résumé. Most recently, she’s the author of a book.
Chien’s The Year of Knots was released in September and documents her journey — a search for her creative truth — which began in 2016. She learned a new rope knot every day and captured her progress on social media. The process bloomed into art installations in San Francisco and beyond as well as a cult following; people thought they saw magic when they stared into Chien’s knots, which involve simple pieces of rope turned into aesthetically pleasing objects with great expertise. Recently, with Chien’s contribution, knots are appearing everywhere, from interior design to bondage to jewelry.
“For me, knotting is a fully formed culture. It is a form of communication, and it is the language through which my work speaks,” Chien told me. “Knots are incredibly rich cultural and historical objects. The vast majority of them were invented by sailors, and there are more than 4,000 already documented, with theoretically many more possible.”
While knots started off as an exclusively functional object in ancient history, today’s knots can take on new meanings — aesthetically or even sexually. For the former, there’s the DIY movement and its centerpiece — macrame. Re-emerging after having a moment in the 1970s, today’s macrame is more minimalist. In the form of wall hangings, plant holders, and other manifestations, it’s also inescapable (especially on Instagram). Macrame workshops are ubiquitous in the Bay Area, hosted by studios such as Jenny Lemons and workshop spaces such as Gather. Emily Katz, the woman behind the brand Modern Macrame, has written two books and built a flourishing career from the craft.
“I think we’re currently seeing a significant fiber-arts resurgence,” said Regan Baker, interior designer and founder of Regan Baker Design. Outfitting San Francisco homes on a daily basis, Baker has worked with Chien on numerous occasions, placing her original artwork in some of the most enviable houses in town.
“Windy’s work resonates because it is approachable, textured, and structured yet flowing, and is produced at such a large scale that it truly makes a statement,” she said. And as for the fact that we’re seeing more knots? “The handmade and crafting focus that grew around Etsy during the late 2000s paved the way for fine artists to revive mediums like macrame, weaving, and — more recently — punch needle,” said Baker. “What we’re seeing a lot of now are modern, elevated interpretations of some of these techniques.”
Ropes joining arms to create large-scale objects. Or looped around a wooden branch. Knots are the best of both worlds: bold yet cozy. “Fibers and textiles lend such a soft organic quality — quite different from the hard lines of a traditional framed piece,” Baker explained.
In a town called Felton near Santa Cruz, Edward Willey is capitalizing on knots in a different way. An expert in open-heart meditation, “a member of the kink community,” and a former Boy Scout with an affinity for ropes, Willey founded Knot Love, a studio that offers erotic workshops for a rope technique that is very much about knots and bondage, but also about love, trust, and connection.
Willey launched his unique mix of rope play and open-hearted meditation in 2012. He’s held numerous workshops at his home studio in Felton as well as at private residences and gathering spaces in San Francisco, Oakland, Grass Valley, and beyond. In recent years, he’s noticed an increase in clientele, as first-timers, curious singles, and couples ranging in age from their twenties to their seventies approach him, saying they feel stagnant in their relationships. People are looking for new ways to be intimate.
Willey also acknowledges the historic significance of knots: “Knots have a long history as an important tool for safety, security, and spirituality. Sailors’ lives depend on them. Japanese shrines frequently have some knot as a symbol of the divine spirit. Many people use various knots in a wide range of applications,” he said.
At his workshops, Willey teaches attendees “a new skill in the bedroom” as well as a “sense of presence and a deeper level of connection and intimacy with [one’s] partner.” Less intimidating and intense than some bondage gigs, according to Willey, Knot Love is focused on safety, consent, and other important and timely topics. “Knotting is a hands-on skill,” Willey explains, “and I think there’s more interest since the taboo around kinky play has been lifted a little bit. Maybe thanks to 50 Shades of Grey?”
Knots are also a symbol of connection; just ask Bay Area–based jewelry designer Ariel Gordon, whose best-selling Love Knot ring features a miniature knot. But as a bigger idea, knots carry promises of loftier comforts. In the current political climate, in the age of being glued to our devices (the only motor function being scrolling and tapping), the value of hands-on skills is growing. Why not engage more with that human being with whom you’re sharing a home and a Netflix account? There’s reliability in ritualistic repetitiveness. Does knot-tying qualify as self-care?
“People are telling me that my story of empowerment through a yearlong daily practice, and changing my life along the way, is what has totally inspired them,” said Chien. “For me, finding the expressive, artistic potential in humble knots while exploring the metaphor of the journey the line takes through the knot as being aligned with one’s journey through life is the unique point of view that I can offer the world.”
Are you curious yet? Go ahead — hang a macrame piece on your wall, and watch it come alive. Get tied up. Buy your partner a Love Knot ring. Or be like Chien, and start knotting. Zoning out on a single task for five minutes every day in the pursuit of creativity doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Follow the rope, and you may end up somewhere unexpected.
