5-foot mitten knitting starts in Lambertville art gallery window

LAMBERTVILLE — Jeffrey Meier worked in advertising for 17 years, so he knows getting attention is essential.

That's why he arranged for "performance art" at his new art gallery on Church Street here. Judith Jones is knitting what Meier hopes will be the world's largest pair of mittens. Jones, of Doylestown, Pa., sits knitting right inside a gallery window each Saturday and Sunday.

People who were in town on Saturday for the art gallery "crawl" during the start of the Lambertville-New Hope Winter Festival, saw her start her task, which is to be completed March 1. "Knitting for Goliath" is the name of the project.

Realizing that January and February are often cold and quiet months for shopkeepers, Meier decided to come up with a stunt “to try to attract traffic to the gallery.”

The best asset of his gallery space, he said, is “two giant windows” which he “wanted to use in a really interesting way. What if I was to hire a knitter, and have her knit a huge pair of mittens?”

That “works nicely with the winter and snow. It works off the fact that it’s been very, very cold,” he said. “And it appeals to all ages. It’s a wonderful display of craftsmanship, which is part of the DNA of the artists I want to show and work with.”

Meier was the co-executive creative director at a global ad agency, the Arnell Group, until deciding to leave that business for art last year. He lives on a farm in Carversville, Pa. that he owns with friends.

Once he got the monstrous mitten idea, he started calling around and looking online for leads to a person who could make them. From a store in Bucks County that sells knitting supplies, he learned of Jones.

“I called her, made my pitch and figured ‘either you’re going to love it, or think I’m crazy,’” and Jones loved it. Her work is to continue each Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., through March 1, when Meier plans a party to celebrate her accomplishment.

The mittens will be about 5 feet long. Once they’re done, Meier expects to stuff them with paper so they’ll stand up nicely, then display them on custom-made stands in the front window.

“I’m hoping to do one performing art piece each season,’ he said. “In spring, we’ll launch the spring show.” No word yet on what the live act will be.

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