gooseflesh

The Rubbish Vortex Debut, New York

The opening reception was held Sunday afternoon in the spectacular Winter Garden, World Financial Centre.

There was a good crowd, including my dear brother, Sam. He flew in from Austin, Texas, to spend the weekend with me.

The Rubbish Vortex was in good company, namely, The Chicago Reef from the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum and The New York Reef made by members of the New York Crochet Guild and the Harlem Knitting Circle. Also Inga Hamilton's spectacular "jellies" and coral mounds.

There are also four glass vitrines which I haven't taken photos of yet.........next post.

L to R: Inga Hamilton, me, Christine Wertheim and Margaret Wertheim. Looking very serious. The curatorial strain beginning to show. The Rubbish Vortex in the background.

A sister reef was exhibited at the Broadway Windows, NYU. Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development.
The podia were made of stainless steel and the tops covered in black sand. My pieces are scattered in between the fluffy corals. Many women contributed to these reefs.

The Bleached Reef.

Say no more!!!!!!

The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef,
Winter Garden, World Financial Centre, New York City. April 7 - May 18.

The Sister Reef, NYU Broadway Windows
Located at Broadway and East 10th Street, April 6 - May 18.

The Coral Garden Hat

Some photos of the Coral Garden Hat which I wore to the opening reception at the Winter Garden, WFC on Sunday....... it was a hit. I sat sewing and crocheting in my hotel room that morning, trying to finish it in time.

More photos of the show coming.............

Miniature Coral Garden

Mini Coral Garden, approx. 10cm (H)x 15cm (W)

Made entirely from pre-loved materials.

Coral Garden Progress

The coral garden so far. I'm hoping to finish it in the next week or so. This one will be a hanging piece (I think).

Coral Garden Progress

These little shapes are very addictive.

For some reason I return to the same shapes again and again and have been for years. Perhaps it's a combination of staring down a microscope in a previous career and genetic hard-wiring. We have learnt the meaning of organic shapes, textures and colours occuring in Nature, for survival. Evolution?
Some years ago I was regenerating a swampy area surrounding a sewerage treatment plant in a neighbouring suburb. I was walking through a grassy area when I became conscious of a shape in the corner of my eye. As I turned to get a better look, my pulse instantaneously started racing. There was a glossy black and red coloured shape hovering above the grass about two metres away. It was a very, very large Red-belly black snake, wondering why I was encroaching on it's frog smorgasbord. I'm ashamed to say that I ran away. I had no control over my reaction. A classic flight or fight situation. Red and black............... DANGER!

Barnacles, crocheted tapestry wool. Photographed amongst eroded anchorage roots of Sea Tulips.

The coral shape experiments are developing coloured tips and are becoming more complex.

I'm discovering new colour combinations, shapes and textures. There's enough inspiration in Nature to keep me satisfied for life.

aaahhhh........no words!

Soooooo busy making............. I can't find the right words. I sit to write and can't find the words to describe what I'm doing and yet so keen to show and tell.

Last night I went to sleep thinking about the Rubbish Vortex........ I came up with some new refinements of the design and I can't wait to start. Feel like a goose getting so excited about making things and yet know if I didn't make things I'd go mad (madder). One day I will be found fused to and part of one of my objects. Blissfully lost in a cloud of creating, smelling the flowers and desparately trying to keep up with the real world.
I look around me and see inspiration everywhere........ life is good!

I see connections in branching patterns everywhere. My circulatory sytem too!

The making of these woolly gems is similar to sketching. I experiment with colour combinations and shapes. These discoveries can be used in the Crochet Sea Creatures series.

What can I say?

I found some words.

Coral Garden Progress

The Coral Garden is slowly expanding. Some pieces are finished and others are still in the experimental stage. They have been photographed sitting on a disc from a whale's spine. Unfortunately, the magnificent beast perished and landed on the reef. I tried to get some ribs too but they were too large and heavy to carry home.

Cunjevoi

Gorgonian Experiment

Coral Pieces. Fulled. Also pink plastic yarn experiment.

Brain Coral Experiment. Crocheted on a filet 9-square grid. Photographed on a cow's pelvic bone.

All the pieces have been made from my re-used tapestry wool stash.

Bullion stitch

I'm hooked on the bullion stitch (pardon the pun). It can be modified and manipulated to make interesting shapes.

Cunjevoi

Polyps

I'm using wool from my Op-shop tapestry wool collection to do these crochet doodles. There are many unfinished tapestry kits donated but they come predominantly in "Bambi in the Woods" colours.

Crochet finger dance

I love to make these shapes.

Crochet, crochet, crochet madly. It's a bit like doodling with tapestry wool and a hook. These polyps and tentacle shapes keep recurring. I hate to think what Freud would make of them.

Coral and bubble weed

The round shape was discovered in an old crochet book and is used to make buttons for garments. It probably has a name.............. similar to the bullion stitch used in embroidery.

Coral pieces

When a stitch becomes familiar, my hands move without conscious direction. I can see my fingers and hands moving very quickly and imagine making a short film about this little crochet dance. If the wool and hook could be removed digitally by computer and just the fingers moved....... Mmmmmmmm.

Coral Garden Progress

I've been rummaging around in my studio looking into all the piles of fabrics, wool and papers etc., to find little bits of experiments for the Coral Garden. My studio is a complete disaster area, so much crap......I wish I had an archivist gene in my genome.
Anyway I did find some little things I've been making during the last few months. They are made from tapestry wool found in my local Op-shops. The wool is from unfinished kits and usually comes in pretty colour combinations. It's cut into lengths but is fine for small projects...cheap as chips!

Diatom
Size variable (10cm long). Made from tapestry wool.

Barnacles
Size 2cm Diameter. Made from tapestry wool.

Porky Anemone
Size 5cm Diameter. Made from tapestry wool.

Starfish
Size 8cm Diameter

Brittle Star
Size 12cm Diameter. Made from tapestry wool.

Various tentacles.

The tapestry wool collection.