Mr. President

I thought it would be fitting to post my recently completed Barack Obama intarsia pattern on President's Day. This was my first time knitting an intarsia design and it took about 3 months to finish.  As I mentioned previously, it was challenging since it was so time-consuming.  However, it was well worth the effort because I think it turned out beautifully. I plan to frame it and hang it in our living room.

As I was working on this project, based on Shepard Fairey's famous 2008 campaign poster, I wanted to know more about the artist and what inspired him. I found out that Fairey was born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1970 and currently works and resides in Los Angeles, CA. He is known for his guerrilla-style artwork in which he places his posters and stickers on buildings and signs. 

As a way to show his endorsement of the Obama campaign through his art, Fairey used this April 2006 photo of Obama during his Senatorial campaign. The photo was taken by Mannie Garcia while on assignment for The Associated Press.

There has been a bit of controversy surrounding the artwork. In January 2009, The Associated Press claimed they own the photo and its use required permission. The AP has demanded payment from Fairey for the use of their photo.  However, The New York Times reported that the following month Fairley filed a lawsuit against the AP claiming protection under" the fair-use exceptions to copyright law, which allow limited use of copyrighted materials for purposes like criticism or comment."  Lawyers for both sides are in discussions seeking an agreement. It will be interesting to see what happens since this iconic image symbolized Obama's historic campaign.

I found a great website called Obamicon.me where you can create images similar to Shepard Fairey's poster using your webcam or uploading photos for free. Here is a picture of then Senator Obama converted using the site. You can place any text you choose at the bottom of the image.

Another great site is Knit Pro which converts your digital images to PDF graph charts which can be used for your needlepoint, knitting, and cross-stitch projects.