In 2005 I crocheted a cozy on a tree in front of City Hall as part of a public art project for Heights Arts in Cleveland Heights, Ohio (USA). I covered the tree – a natural object representing masculinity and strength – with a cozy – a handmade covering representing femininity and comfort. The cozy simultaneously caresses and encases the tree fluctuating between a comforting blanket and a confining cover-up. But to many, it’s simply a delight of beauty, color and crochet. “Tree Cozy” is one of the happiest projects I’ve ever done. It connected with people of every age, sex, ethnicity and economic level. The brightly colored crocheted cozy seemed to touch a place deep within that evoked memories of people, places and times when life was good and the future full of hope and promise. When Peggy Spaeth asked me to be Heights Arts’ artist in residence this summer, times were tough and the future wasn’t looking so bright. But, we reasoned, what better time to invigorate a neighborhood with art. The purpose of these public art projects – known as Knitscapes – is: • To demonstrate how art can visually unify the streetscape • To create a community around an art project and • To enliven daily life with unexpected art and After working on the Knitscape projects for six weeks, I can say with no reservations that we have met and far exceeded these goals. With the help of numerous volunteers, we have crocheted cozies for nearly 200 parking meters, 15 light poles, and 5 trees in Cleveland Heights and 44 trees in Larchmere. We used approximately 167,000 feet of macrame cord and spent around 1,300 hours on the projects. There is no doubt that we have energized these areas through art! Of more importance to me, however, are the hundreds of connections I and my fellow volunteers have formed with the people in these neighborhoods while working in the parking lots and streets for six weeks. I have been honored to be the recipient of a continuous flow of kindness, curiosity, humor, appreciation and joy from strangers. Every day was a delight thanks to community interaction. Of course, for me as the artist, the projects also have conceptual underpinnings; it’s still about comfort vs. confinement. On Lee Road, while it’s still true that we’re confined by the societal rules and regulations of parking meters, at least in this community we’re making that constraint the most comfortable possible. On Larchmere, the trees are cozily confined in their colorful coverings. With Knitscapes in place, parking in Cleveland Heights, walking down Lee Road or Larchmere Blvd, or living and working in these communities will swing away from confinement and toward comfort… our comfort. As one passerby told me, the energy has shifted in these neighborhoods. “Your projects have changed the entire energy in our neighborhoods; people are so much happier when they walk down our streets. Everyone is smiling.” People that had never even heard of public art not only helped create it but are now experiencing it, living in it.