Inspiration and Aspiration /  by CHRISTINA HARKNESS

This morning I wanted to talk about sources of inspiration that I go to online when I am considering what to do next in creating corals for the PNW Community Coral Reef. The Institute for Figuring , the originators of the idea of a fiber art coral reef, have just opened another satellite reef in Baden Baden Germany and over 40,000 coral pieces were created for the installation. I follow several accounts and hashtags on Instagram that post photos of the various satellite reefs by following #satellitereef #crochetcoralreef #hyperboliccrochetcoralreef #christinewertheim and the account crochetcoralreef. Additionally, I follow non profit groups on Instagram that are alligned with coral and marine conservation and preservation, such as The Ocean Agency. Often times, I will be inspired to create corals from what I see in their photos of actual reefs. Following #coralreef #reef #coralbleaching and #coral will also pull up these images for me. One source of inspiration that might not be so evident are home aquarium accounts. By looking at clean, up close photos of corals in saltwater aquariums, it is easier to see how the corals are structured and thus, easier to figure out how to create them. You can find these accounts through #aquarium #aquariumhobby and #saltwateraquarium.

Finally, think about other artists and artistic disciplines that may create corals. Staying in the world of fiber, Vanessa Barragao’s installations are incredibly inspiring and Mulyana will always be my personal favorite. I have also fallen in love with Courtney Mattison’s ceramic corals.

Hopefully that will give you some eye candy to inspire your next creation!

Making Corals From Recycled and Plastic Materials /  by CHRISTINA HARKNESS

One of the topics that I hope to emphasize in the PNW Community Coral Reef is the issue of plastics in the ocean. I have been able to make one hyperbolic shape from plastic lacing that I found in a resale shop and this morning I made two anemones from sturdy bubble wrap packing materials that I got in a shipment a few weeks ago and I crocheted their tentacles out of jelly yarn, something that I also used to make a ghost net for the display.

For the anemones, I simply made a cone of the bubble wrap and taped the side shut with clear packing tape. I then took my smallest, sharpest crochet hook and poked holes around the top far enough apart to prevent the plastic ripping and crocheted the jelly yarn into the plastic wrap, making tentacles with double crochet and leaving three crochet stitches between each tentacle. They are a little top heavy so I have stuffed them with additional packing material to make them a little more sturdy.

I also want to emphasize making corals with recycled materials. Last year I got a new sofa that was wrapped in this white fabric. I saved it and recently cut it up into strips and crocheted it with a huge hook into a hyperbolic shape for the bleached area of the reef.

Another thought that I have had but haven’t had a chance to do yet is to take something plastic, like a milk jug or Styrofoam like a mini cooler, and cover it with bleached corals as if someone has thrown it into the ocean and nature is trying to cope but not succeeding.

So, if you are thinking of making a statement piece for the PNW Community Coral Reef, I would encourage you to look around your environment and use something at hand.

52 Weeks of PNW Community Coral Reef Patterns and Ideas-Week 1 /  by CHRISTINA HARKNESS

What better time than January 1st to begin digging into the PNW Community Coral Reef Project! My goal for this year is to post weekly with pattern ideas for people interested in creating corals and creatures for the reef.

Today I thought I would talk about seaweed, Bladderwrack, Sea Moss, Channell Wrack…whatever you want to make. These “dangling bits” will be used in the reef to add punches of color and texture and will drape and dangle all around the installation. It’s a freeform sort of simple piece that you can do, even as a beginning crocheter or knitter. The drawing below provides a pretty good roadmap for what you will want to create.

Crocheters can choose their favorite color and simply make a single crochet chain for as long as you desire. Keep in mind that the wandering nature of this piece can make it deceptively time consuming. You can easily get a substantial piece of seaweed from a 12 inch chain.

Once you get to the end of your chain, turn and start coming back. Wherever you want a dangling element, simply single crochet a chain “off the beaten track”.

When you are crocheting your new chain to dangle down, you can split this chain into as many “side tracks” as you desire. Each branch can branch again and again. It can be a very meditative “mystery tour”.

The longer you make each dangling bit, the more branches you can create and the more impact your seaweed will have. Making this in sparkly novelty yarn can be very fun!

There are written patterns for knitting Bladderwrack and Channelled Wrack.

For the piece below, I simply knit a three stitch I-Cord out of novelty wool for several inches (12? Maybe more?). I then cast off and picked up three stitches along the I-cord and started making another I-cord to dangle down. I continued in this manner until I had branched out on each I-cord as many times as I desired. You can see how to knit an I-cord here. When I was done, I threw it in the washer and felted it.

Here are some photos of how I have incorporated seaweed into my smaller pieces.

What are some other patterns and ideas that you would like to see this year? Let me know in the comments!

Grand Plans /  by CHRISTINA HARKNESS

I’m thrilled to announce that I have been awarded a Centrum artist-in-resident slot for November 2022 in Port Townsend, WA. Getting the residency was the first step in my grand plan to collaborate with the aquarium in the area as well as the fiber community to gain inspiration for my canvas work and to recruit more fiber folx to participate in the Community Coral Reef Project.

Back before Covid hit and I was still living in Wisconsin, I had applied to an artist-in-residency program at a lighthouse on the Great Lakes. My plan was to work on a fiber art shoreline landscape from the lighthouse and if course, it would have been glorious. The sun would have shone every day and I would have completed 18 months of work in seven days. (Or at least that’s how I felt once Covid shut everything down).

This time, I applied for the residency with my current idea of a triptych in mind. As I talked about earlier, I have been considering a Giant Squid and a Sperm Whale locked in battle in the extreme ocean depths. Now that I have received the three gigantic canvases (each are 72 x 60”) I am rethinking that design. Now that Coral Canyon is sold, I am considering making another coral reef but on a grand scale with the reef fading out to bleached on one end. The thing about Coral Canyon that I enjoyed the most was the immersive experience that it could provide even though it was only 40 x 48”. Imagine being able to walk along a fiber art reef that is 72” high and 108” long. Frankly, it has me very excited!

A Fond Farewell to a Favorite Friend /  by CHRISTINA HARKNESS

I learned this week that Coral Canyon was being purchased by Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital . It’s an interesting experience, selling a piece that you have invested so much physical and psychic energy into. I am very pleased that it will be on display to people at their most vulnerable times (I am hoping that it will go to the pediatric ward) but I can’t deny that I will miss having it around. As I am taking Deception Pass up to Canada next month and Hegira is currently hanging out at the Lincoln City Cultural Center, I find myself with only The Reef and my current canvas which is currently unnamed.

I did, however, invest in three stretched canvases 60 x 72, for my “squid and the Whale” triptych. I am moving next weekend to the apartment above where I currently live which will give me more room to have an actual studio space. As I work on my current landscape, I plan to start gathering the yarn for the triptych and then eventually giving myself 3-5 years to complete it. With every canvas, my goal is to challenge myself with some new aspect of creation or biological interpretation. Giant Squid and Sperm whales have battles thousands of feet below the waves in areas of the ocean inhabited by wondrous bioluminescent creatures. It will be a new experience to create a canvas filled with the darkness of the abyssal depths but still create the necessary canvas of colors to keep everything interesting. I am also considering using the occasional glow in the dark yarn as a secret “Easter egg” for the canvas.

My canvases have their own stories. Hejira was all about holding human kind responsible for the actions it takes, positive and negative, towards marine creatures and environments. My new triptych will showcase the powerful struggle of two creatures in their natural environment, miles below the surface, hidden from the gaze of human kind. It will take humanity out of the equation and it’s size will dwarf the human viewer. It will send the message to it’s human viewer that humanity is not on top of the food chain and in this instance, humanity is completely irrelevant.

As someone who seeks experiences that make me realize my fragility in the natural world, I am very excited about this project.