Yarn-Bombing: Four Degrees of Separation

I've been so grateful over many, many years to have "Crochet-Sighting Agents" out there who know how obsessed I am with sightings of crochet in the media, especially where we least expect it. One of my all-time best and most dedicated agents was Josie Rafferty of New York City.

She came to the very first conference in 1994 to teach and was an avid CGOA supporter. She received reams and reams of magazines ad just like clockwork she would send me a packet of clippings of crochet she came upon. Josie died in 2014 and I truly miss her and her enthusiasm, even during a life of illness, for crochet!

A newer friend, Deb Watson, stepped up in a big way recently with a crochet find. She lives in Chicago land but is from Iowa. While visiting her mother during Thanksgiving, the Iowa Source had a front page story of "Yarn Bombing."

Carol Hummel on the campus of Augustana College

When I saw Deb during the first week of December in Chicago, she presented me with a surprise. To my delight, the cover photo of The Source that she gave me was of Carol Hummel, yarn-bomber extraordinaire! I included a chapter about Carol's artistic philosophies and colorful work in my book, The Fine Art of Crochet.

The Teaching Museum of Art at Augustana College, Rock Island has given new meaning to the phrase "fall colors.'" Known as the "Quad Cities," Carol Hummel reached out to  citizens for help to yarn bomb a tree on campus. "The result? New connections, unexpected friendships, and spectacular views on campus and beyond." Meredith Siemsen, from The Iowa Source, said that they came out in droves and not only were enough crocheted motifs collected to adorn a campus tree whose diameter is six feet, but also a number of trees in the plaza at the Figge Art Museum and several more on campus"

Carol under the finished tree

 Known as "YarnBombQC at Augustana, artist Carol Hummel has now led collaborative public art installations in Switzerland, Norway, India, Mexico and cities across the US.  She was one of the first yarn bombers in 2005 when she won a public art competition in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. When asked if she gets mad that others are now copying what she does, she replied, "Not at all, man! I'd like it to spread all over the world and have positivity everywhere...I mean, it's hard not to smile when you come upon a beautifully crocheted tree!"

My "eyes on the ground,"  Dr. Ann Perreau, who teaches at Augustana tells me that the trees are "cool. They picked a large tree and good location."

Close-Up Detail, courtesy Augustana College

“This project, like much of the art by Carol Hummel, drew diverse sectors of communities together in a positive, celebratory way to help create major pieces of art for the people, by the people,” said Claire Kovacs, director of the Augustana Teaching Museum of Art.

Get to know Carol better in this video!

To see more of Carol's work, check my FaceBook page: The Fine Art of Crochet