Hyperbolic Crochet and Coral Reefs in Unexpected Places

Remember when I showed you this scarf in its beginning stages?  I can finally tell you what prompted me to make such a wonky scarf!  I have been running around, talking to people and drumming up interest in a Satellite Crochet Coral Reef.  I will be partnering with a local arts organization to bring the Lake Bonneville Crochet Coral Reef to Utah!  I cannot express how thrilled I am to be working on this project.  I haven't felt this passionate about any activity for a very long time; it is so good to have a focus and something concrete to work towards.

You may have heard in the news about the exhibit that is currently at the Smithsonian in Washington DC.  Margaret and Christine Wertheim of the Institute for Figuring in Los Angeles created the original Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef project in 2005 as a “celebration of the intersection of higher geometry and feminine handicraft, and a testimony to the disappearing wonders of the marine world.”  Over four years they created a woolen reef in an attempt to bring attention to how the Great Barrier Reef in Australia is being affected by global warming and pollutants.

Our reef will be in partnership with the IFF, but created by the local community.  We will be connecting our reef to the ecology of the Great Salt Lake, which is a remnant of prehistoric Lake Bonneville.  The coral reefs of this ancient lake are now layers of limestone in our Wasatch Mountains.

If you are a crocheter in Utah and would like to participate in this project, please shoot me an email!  We need all the crochet hooks hooking that we can find:)  Also, if you happen to have a yarn stash you no longer want and would like to donate to the reef, by all means let me know;)  We have lots of wonderful ideas for this project, and I'll keep you informed as the project evolves.  

We did get hit by that snowstorm yesterday and it is COLD out there!  15 degrees!  Brrrr!  I'm going to go wrap my hyperbolic kelp scarf around my neck.  As narrow as it is, it keeps me quite warm.  That is the beauty of hyperbolic space and why it is so useful to organisms like coral, kelp, and the kale in your backyard garden; surface area is maximized in a limited volume.

I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow wherever you may be.  Even if tomorrow is only Thursday where you are, may it still be a delightful day full of gratitude, loved ones, and pumpkin pie:)

****PS.  If  you haven't signed up for my cardinal ornament giveaway, hop over there now and leave me a comment!