This knot is (my version of) very straight forward. Two unicursal knots with four-fold rotational symmetry intersect, interacting with one another as they do. In this way, each knot acts like a line since the lines making up the individual knots also have to weave in and out of one another.
The metal is thin steel. The two different colors of steel were achieved by heating until the desired color appeared and quenching in linseed oil. The pieces of one knot were first lightly oxidized, so that the rust was burnt into the metal.
The backing is solid maple rubbed with Danish oil and polished to a glass-like finish.
Limited edition serigraph prints of this design are available to order from my online store.