THE BAW Baw Shire Council has asked those responsible for yarn bombing a handrail in Drouin to remove the work after complaints were received.
Pictured: yarn bombing at the West Gippsland Arts Centre.
In a message on social media a council spokesperson said the wool had made the handrails outside a Drouin bakery harder to use.
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“We have had some complaints that the elderly and other people who rely on the handrails near the corner of Main South Road and Princes Way feel inhibited in their use of the rails now that they’ve been knitted,” the spokesperson said.
“We don’t want to just go down and unravel all your handiwork, but would ask that you please move it to where it won’t impede people who rely on the handrails for stability and confidence.”
Yarn bombing is a street art movement which involves covering objects with wool.
The spokesperson praised the work of “the nutty knitters or the crazy crocheters”, saying “the knitting looks amazing!”
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Public yarn bombing works have sometimes divided the community. One respondent to the council’s message said the wool looked “trashy”.
“They look terrible, especially the ones as you go past the train station in Warragul around the corner,” they said.
“Very dangerous as it’s a distraction.”
But another response strongly praised the work of Baw Baw’s guerilla knitters.
“I really love the colour they give to the town! Keep up the great work knitters!”
Another person said “I’ve enjoyed the yarn bombing around. Good safety point though.”
What do you think of yarn bombing in Baw Baw? Let us know using the comments box below.
Drouin has the chance to be characterised and known as an arts and culture town with a sense of positive fun and pride. Yarn bombing is a wonderful example of those sentiments. Fair call on the handrail situation for elderly folk or those with disabilities but certainly not a reason to ban it. Street art should be strongly encouraged. It helps to support local business by acting as a draw card and a creates an enjoyable place for the local community. Good on the Yarn Bombers for taking the lead 🙂
The joy of art is that it appears where you least expect it and challenges thinking. It gives a town soul and gets us talking, connecting and expressing opinions. Don’t listen to the knockers and the spoilers. Give me musical flash mobs, guerrilla gardeners and yarn bombers rather than boredom and hatred any day.
You reckon that’s bad news but the Neerim Bower project is good? Far out.
It’s Graffiti and not really all that pleasant to look at when it’s faded and frayed.
The stuff around the Railway Bridge in Warragul is an eyesore already.
I think the wool and talent would be better used by knitting the elderly and needy / homeless blankets or clothes or scarves to keep them warm over the colder monthis, seriously how many light posts actually feel the cold , they are wrapped in large knee size blankets
Thanks
Agreed Amy. Put that wool to good use rather than waste it.
I think any ‘art’ around our towns is a great idea but strongly agree that the area around the Warragul train station now looks terrible& probably should have been removed a couple of weeks ago!
Love the art, and the “surprise” element is very special. In regards to the overpass at Warragul train station… it only looked bad AFTER people started pulling it apart. My daughter left her own knitted kitten in the mouse-hole at WGAC and we only found it a week later. I love it that on-the-whole, the art is respected and left for all to enjoy.
The knitted crap around town is an eye sore. What gives them the right to deface our town. Come on wool covered bikes on our handrails not only is it a safety issue it is an eyesore. If that was our teenage kids doing it, it would be vandalism. also I’m sure the wool will rot and stink after a short time.
Yarn bombers are anti-social and irresponsible crochetty grannies who waste unwanted yarn and give our Beautiful Streetscapes a bad name. With eyebrows knitted, they creep out after dark to weave their garish webs designed to distract motorists, annoy shopkeepers, and bewilder the elderly. Bad, bad Grannies!
Yarn bombers have trashed the area, total rubbish, not art, who will remove it as it rots.
I was more impressed by the witty artist who put up the bike covered in alfoil with the accompanying sign which read, “chrome wasn’t built in a day.”
Yarn bombing has a limited life span and those who put it up should have the respect to come back and take it down one it begins to fade and look like an eye sore.
I couldn’t agree more about blankets for the homeless and needy! 🙂 Blankets, scarves, jumpers. The list goes on and on and on.
Susan, where was the ‘chromes wasn’t built in a day’ bike?
Looks like some people need a life complaining all the time about the yarn bombing. I myself have a little smile when I see new ones put up but I do realise it does fade and needs pulling down after awhile but in the meantime people give a thought to all the hard work these people have put in and enjoy something unique just like all those cows in Shepparton.
I support Susan Keirnan’s comment [15th July 2.21pm] wholeheartedly. I first saw yarn-bombing in Yallourn North and I loved the quirky nature of it. Why don’t others with negative comments get behind such ideas and help to remove old, tatty pieces…instead of just moaning? As for using the yarns wastefully…generally only acrylics are used, or scraps. For goodness sakes there are some colorless, humorless narks in this world. What would all of the naysayers do instead? How about you contribute to the visually creative look of your town yourselves then? Any good ideas that you could carry out?
Need a life? It doesn’t exactly take my whole day to drive past ans think ‘my gosh…what an eyesore?’
All of it should be removed immediately, and any person caught should be charged with littering and vandalism.
I love the yarn bombing and especially the work that was done at the railway station in Warragul. I drive past that site every day and my 3 year old always comments on the ‘lovely’ knitting. He was just upset when the bikes were taken down as he loved spotting them as we drove past. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and public art is there to prompt discussion so I guess it is doing its job!
I applaud people who actually do something for others… even yarn bombing! However, it does fade and look awful after a short time, as you would expect with wool that’s left to weather. I would love to see these lovely people knit squares for blankets for the homeless, baby bonnets for hospitals or woollen small rugs for the RSPCA or such. Our adopted kitten still clings to her knitted square given by the RSPCA for her carry boxed homeward journey, and my husband and I often mention how glad we are someone put their time and spare wool into such a thoughtful act of kindness. I feel that the knitters could get far more value in their work in other ways…
Better to use there talents to knit for homeless
It was just down the road from the original yarn bombing site at the Warragul station, opposite Soutars garage.
The rails at the Warragul station were so nice before they were defaced by colours!
Fair go fellow locals…get behind the art and colour that our yarnies bring to our twin towns.
I’m proud to live in an area where local folk decide to spend their precious time and effort, sharing colour with us all and livening up our streets.
Dan, Hymie and Miuck – suggest you lighten up & see yarn bombing art for what it is…FUN!
Yarnspinners are fun, and the grouches can go tie themselves up. As for “knitting for the homeless” – they need homes, not pathetic blankets – thoughtless people have no idea what is really needed – even the homeless can use a brighter world for a while!
How about we remove the handrails??? That’ll fix those graffiti grannies!!! No more Klingons for grannies….. I mean….oh you know what I mean 🙂
Actually, our customers have only had praise for our yarn bandits. We have so many people coming and commenting on how great Drouin looks, how much brighter it is, how it is putting smiles on dials………..STOP COMPLAINING and find something constructive to do instead of something destructive. The locals mostly love it and the tourists adore it……Go those sneaky Grannies……….we love ya 😀
I agree with Lisa, go the knitting grannys, and I also think we should encourage a lot of our local graffitti artists and give them an area to paint. Some of the art work is brilliant.
Yay I don’t care ….. I love it
Well said Paul. I love the unknown of where the next display will pop up and you can’t help but smile:) The knockers can go jump, keep it up grannies
Where is the support for kids with spray cans?
Here, here, Dan!
Cheap, acrylic yarn is not suitable for making baby clothes or blankets. If the need for such items is so desperate, we must all be compelled to learn to knit to head off this crisis.
Ironically, real wool suitable for making garments doesn’t fade in the weather like the cheap stuff.
Luv the knitting Nitro’s.. They’re amazing. Puts a smile on my face every time a new piece pops up..Seriously some people need to smell the roses. Life is pretty good if all you can find to complain about is some colourful knitting which for the most part brightens peoples lives. It’s great for business and yes I have met people who have traveled to Drouin and Warragul to see it.
What is the difference between littering yarn all over numerous towns and spraying nice, well thought out, complex, eye catching and beautiful lettering pieces onto walls (graffiti) apart from the chosen media in which the artists work.
As already stated above, if youths were caught yarn-bombing then they would no doubt face graffiti and vandalism charges.
Yarnbombing is just another form of graffiti and if you want to keep our streets clean but also colourful (in a way) allocate certain places for street artists, graffiti writers and yarn bombers to collaborate artwork.
In Drouin alone we have so many alley that a dull and boring, not to mention Warragul and surrounding areas.
If someone of power is reading this, PLEASE take action and give aspiring niche artists a place to work freely. I beg you.