The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef

On my recent trip to Washington DC, I visited several museums in hopes of bringing back a little creative inspiration to kick start another long Maine winter. One in which I am hopefully going to generate lots of new art work.

First touring the American History Museum with my boys and husband, we some how ended up in the history of war section for a good 40 minutes. While yes, educational and interesting, and my boys were of course fascinated, it wasn’t quite what I had in mind. For me, a little lacking in artistic inspiration not to mention that “warm fuzzy feeling”. I separated from them and headed over to The Museum of Natural History and to my relief stumbled right into The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef exhibition. Here it was a “warm and fuzzy” woolly wonderland full of color, texture and fascinating shapes, what more could you want.

Then, upon further inspection I realized this project was about much more. The project first started in the living room of two sisters, Margaret and Christine Wertheim in 2005, as a response to the declining great barrier reef of Australia, it’s since branched out and became a collective and collaborative work involving mostly women from three continents. The project bridges marine biology, higher geometry (modeling hyperbolic space), environmental activism, community and art, all through women’s handiwork.