Visions for a second coral reef canvas started dancing in my head as my room sized installation started dragging me down. I believe it was when I started knitting my Sperm Whale that my freeform crochet finger started itching. Once one consistently creates outside of the rules, it is extremely hard to go back.
I bought a bigger canvas (36 x 48) and started anew.
My idea for this canvas is to move, as a viewer, through a coral reef canyon. I'm hoping to add perspective which will be a challenge since I physically lack depth perception.
I warped the canvas as before but wove the warp and weft strands together in order to establish a bit more stability. I also brought in several elements that I had created for the room sized installation.
The red barnacles were created from some lovely hand spun that didn't quite have the stamina to stand up to their barnacle-ness so I ended up felting them and connecting them into a single piece.
The background is freeform crochet and knitting which eventually gets covered up, for the most part. I did attempt to add coral pieces directly onto the warp and weft threads but it lacked stability. Yes, it is a lot of work to create a background that is mostly hidden but I did take a short cut for the bottom of the canvas. In an area that I knew would be completely covered, I simply crocheted straight rows and eventually made a small piece that would be the exposed canyon.
Hyperbolic shapes are my favorite to make. When I start to search the internet for coral reef photos and new ideas for critters on the reef, I can get utterly sidetracked just looking at all of the hyperbolic shapes that a coral can take.
When it comes to creating the critters on the reef, I usually search through online images, decide whether knitting or crochet would be the best medium, and figure out the best way to represent them in the world of the reef. Should they be swimming? Hiding? Acting like a boss (see Lionfish)? Just tootling along and minding their own business? A lot of personality can come out in where they are placed and what they are doing.
