Kent, OH – Kent State University welcomed Thijs Verhaar and Lyske Gais to the Kent Campus on Wednesday, March 20 in Rockwell Hall. Sponsored by the Thomas Schroth Visiting Artist Series, Verhaar and Gais gave an engaging presentation and workshop about “Revolutionizing The Way of Knitwear Development.”
Thijs Verhaar, founder of Knitwear Lab, a knit design lab and consultancy, also designs for his own label, Thijs Verhaar Knitwear. With over 30 years in industrial knitting, his creations are inspired by the vibrant colors and geometric patterns found in European culture and design. Lyske Gais, Head of Virtual Knitting at Knitwear Lab, navigates between the analog and digital realms. With a diverse skill set spanning spatial design, graphic design, and 3D visualizations, she works with Virtual Knitting—an innovative approach to digital knitting programming and design, technology and craftsmanship.
The Thomas Schroth Visiting Artist Series
The Thomas Schroth Visiting Artist Series has presented guest artists respected in the field of theatre, dance, visual arts, music and architecture. Now in its 14th year, The Thomas Schroth Visiting Artist Series has brought such noted artists as Tony award-winners Stephen Schwartz, composer of Wicked, Into the Woods, and more; Next to Normal actress Alice Ripley; Grammy-winning Emerson String Quartet; postmodern minimalist artist Richard Tuttle; artists and fashion designers Ruben and Isabel Toledo; and internationally-acclaimed dance company, Ballet Florida, and actor, dancer and arts advocate Ben Vereen and the Limon Dance Group, just to name a few.
The Schroth series was established in 2001 by Cecile Draime and her late husband Max of Warren, Ohio, to honor their dear friend, Thomas Schroth (1922-1997). A noted regional architect, Schroth designed the Butler Institute of Art’s Trumbull museum in Howland, as well as numerous other award-winning projects. Thomas Schroth spent his life in Niles, Ohio, as a prominent architect and inveterate collaborator in the artistic life of the Mahoning Valley and Northeast Ohio. A world traveler, he saw human creativity as a window framing human experience. The Thomas Schroth Visiting Artist Series brings diverse views through that window to the Kent campus and community. The events are always free and open to the public.