It’s an interesting revelation after working on marine related fiber art for eight or nine years, that I have been slowly investigating the different ecosystems of the ocean as I create my different pieces and facilitate the PNW Community Coral Reef.
Being subsumed by coral reefs for three years + has allowed me to learn so much about coral reef ecosystems and the intricacies of their inhabitants. I do make good faith efforts to be biologically accurate in my work and I will do deep dive research before starting a new creature or form. It made the switch to the kelp forest an interesting adventure as I wrapped up our first coral reef installation and started in on Little Otter. I knew I wanted to speak about the kelp forests but it wasn’t until I saw the call for art from the Elakha Alliance that I considered putting a sea otter into the piece and donating it for their fundraiser this fall.
As someone who knows I will never be able to financially support all the causes for ocean conservation, restoration and preservation that I care about, choosing an organization to help with each of my pieces makes me feel a little more useful in this world.
After doing a deep dive into the kelp forests, I am now heading to the deepest of depths with my Deep Sea Triptych. This is something that I have talked about before and I purchased the three huge canvases three years ago at the beginning of the PNW Community Coral Reef Project. It has been started, delayed, and denied until now. Even with our next installation for the coral reef looming in a few weeks, I managed to finally start the first of the three canvases last weekend. This has not only thrown me into searching out fingering weight yarns for an 18 feet x 5 feet space but also delving into the anatomy of a giant squid and sperm whale, the ecosystem of the deepest ocean, and thrilling imaginings of two colossal creatures doing battle miles below the surface. I have been learning about the threats to the deep ocean environment and again, I have been upset and saddened at the human threat to these darkest regions. I have also been ruminating on the very notion of struggle.
This piece will be enormous. This piece will take many more years to complete. And this piece will narrate the story of a colossal struggle, a fight to the finish, that no human eyes will have witnessed in real time. I have a feeling that I am talking about a squid, a whale, and so much more.
