The Ocean Pathways Cowls offers two options for knitting up this design: as a tubular cowl or as a regular one.
The first thing that jumps out at you when you look at this cowl are the colors. The color choices and inspiration for the Ocean Pathways Cowl design come from colors used for the city of Atlantis in the 2018 movie Aquaman, starring Jason Momoa.
Collaborating with geeky Gamer Crafting and asking for an Aquaman inspired color palette for the yarn then was a no-brainer. The neon hues of purple, pink and blue of Atlantis were so visually stunning on the big screen, I just had to replicate it as a point of reference in my cowl and Gamer Crafting came through with her interpretation. Thank you! The colors were important to articulate because they also represent healing.
The theme of Aquaman for me is one of healing from disconnection. In his journey to reclaiming his birthright, Aquaman’s son Arthur Curry works through feelings of inferiority as well as imposter syndrome. For many living in diaspora, Arthur’s story pulls at the heartstrings.
As I was working on finding a way to communicate disconnection and reclamation in this piece, I came across the work of Kirsten Lyttle, a Māori-Australian artist, who describes the Aramoana motif as especially poignant for her as Māori diaspora. Her words were the answer I was looking for. Aramoana, or Ocean Pathways is the basis of the motif in this design.
I also included elements of the Pātikitiki (flounder fish) and nihoniho (teeth) motif to communicate a story of hope, resilience and strength. As Taika Waititi proclaimed during his 2020 Oscar acceptance speech, “We are the original storytellers". That we are.
The story I wish to share through the motif in this design is that while we may be separated by oceans, it is our diverse experiences and knowledge that can tie us together. This design is for those healing from disconnection and navigating the waters back to home.