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Courtesy Dizzy Orbit
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Courtesy Dizzy Orbit
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Courtesy Dizzy Orbit
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Courtesy Dizzy Orbit
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Courtesy Dizzy Orbit
Don’t underestimate it, the act of crocheting is a powerful thing. Sure, it’s productive in the sense that one creates items useful in a utilitarian sense: blankets, beanies, scarfs, etc. But it’s also therapeutic, meditative, and one hell of a shot in the arm for the yarn industry. Those who partake in this addictive and surprisingly modern art form seem to have a leg up in the area of mindfulness.
Prolific artist Dizzy Orbit takes the art of crochet to a new level by creating ornate masks and partnering with local photographers to snap images of her work. For Dizzy, collaboration is a consistent factor in her process. In August of 2022, local music venue Tulips served as a venue for her work with photographers Q the Filmer and Viktor Villanueva. Titled “Human Statues on Break,” the Southside spot showcased the photographs on its walls. Then, in November, the newly formed group, Black Balloon Collective, held its premiere event in November at Smokestack 1948. As a veritable Orville Peck of the Fort Worth art scene, Dizzy Orbit conceals her true identity in photos under a rotating series of masks. In this month’s Take 6, she talks about how her recent collaborations and what she hopes to accomplish next.
FW: So, in your art making, is the art piece the mask or the photographs created with people wearing the masks?
Dizzy Orbit: Both. Definitely both. Because I could put the same mask on someone different, and it looks different. The mask is my style and color schemes. I feel like I resort to the same color schemes and personas, but whoever wears it brings a different vibe. I’ve photographed the same mask a bunch of different times, and they always look different. Each picture looks different. So, it's interesting and it's fun to play around and see what it looks like to someone.
FW: You’ve collaborated often with Viktor Villanueva and Q the Filmer — how did that start?
DO: At first, I would make the masks and Quique [Q the Filmer] was out and about taking photos, so, I said “Hey, if I give you a bunch of masks and you're hanging out and feel like shooting, will you put these on your skater chick friends?” He's like, yeah, totally. So, I dropped off 10 masks in a bin, and I sent him all these fabrics to lay in the background and all these things. I had all these grand ideas, but he really brought this cool street element to the work. I loved what he did with it. Then, I started working with Viktor when I had a residency in Dallas at TX Studio. They give you certain dates to work in the space, but they give you the whole day. So I had seven hours in the studio, and I invited people who said they would model for me. I don't want it to be just me. I get really camera shy. I asked Amira [Belmashkan] and Viktor to come out to model. One time Quique overslept so he was super late to the studio, and I was like, I guess I'm doing the photography, which is cool. I can do photography, too, but I don't have all the expensive gear that everybody else has. Then Viktor says, “Oh yeah, I brought a little bit.” So, I'm like, “Hook it up!” It turned into all these great photos, and he has a good vision. It's like a party with all the masks, and I bring clothes for everybody to try on. We have a vintage rack where we're styling it all up, and there are all different sizes and we’re playing around. It's fun. It's like playing dress-up or a movie montage.
FW: Where do you get the inspiration for your mask designs?
DO: It is usually free form. If I like an organic shape — for example, flowers — I crochet them and put 'em together, like little puzzle pieces. But I also have a graveyard of stuff that I abandoned. Like, if I had this idea that it was gonna work out and then it didn't. So, I just put it in that bin and then try to come back to it later. The masks are often made up of a bunch of mixed pieces that I started and then I came back to. I respond to the colors. I'm constantly buying yarn. I see a different orange, and I think, “I don’t have this color yet!” My husband's like, “Oh, my gosh, more yarn?” But every color is different, every material is different. There's cotton, there's acrylic, there's wool, polyester, there's all kinds of different stuff.
FW: What do you want to do next?
DO: The thing I would love to do is have an installation. I would love an immersive room where I can put anything I want up. I would love to do an installation and have a wall of heads, and I have these two crocheted little children, so I would make some more of those and make it more immersive. But then have the fine art photography section and an interactive section with big crocheted hands. I have so much work. I'm constantly crocheting something. I have that graveyard of stuff that I know that I can turn into this or that. I just don't necessarily have a reason yet.
FW: What do you like most about the Fort Worth art scene?
DO: I love the Fort Worth scene. It's just a community. Like they all support each other. There are so many people that you meet, and they're all positive and they want you to succeed. It's kind of like everybody in Fort Worth wants you to win. They're like,“Hey, you are an artist. I wanna give you a platform.” Then we go to each other's shows and stuff like that. I think it's a pretty active scene. Something about being an artist is, I always want to participate and not be an observer. There's always something going on where you're like,“Oh, I can try out for this.” Or there are the markets, like Wandering Roots. There’re ways to get your feet wet.
FW: What advice do you have for artists?
DO: You gotta try everything. I feel like finding your style is the hardest thing. You don't necessarily need to mimic anybody, but you try a lot of different things. That's something that was hard for me because you expect your art to look a certain way or you think the people you look up to or you wanna be really realistic. Also, go to shows. You never know who you're gonna meet. I think that's the key. Every show that I've been in, it is because I've met someone through being at another show. If you want to be in the art community, you have to be out in the community. You can't just watch. You have to actually go out and talk to people.
