Wildish

I am really happy with how my experiments have been turning out lately. These are bigger and thicker than the last structure brooches I made.

This first one is pretty and soft, it reminds me a bit of toy. This work has a core of light pink loops wrapped in hot pink ribbon. It is embellished with glass seed beads and a freshwater pearl. These structures remind me of cells, bones, roots and life, but this one reminds me most of the human body. It’s prettiness seems a bit cheeky since it references anatomy, which is often associated with the grotesque. I am a big fan of the human body and all our pretty parts. I have not sewn a pin back on this yet. I am on the fence since it is lovely on it’s own as an object.  It might be nice framed in a very small shadow box.

Here are some shots from my second experiment, I was  playing with some gold notions with long threads (you can see the pins in this shot).The core is a  gauzy golden ribbon. I think I am going to remake this guy as a mobile, I love the idea of a school of these little guys floating around my house. He is also cute sitting on with his multitude of golden flagellum on the desk.

The last one I finished yesterday is a cheeky golden number which I painstakingly stitched out of recycled notions. The process of transforming something that was considered disposable into something precious is really enjoyable . I like shaping objects into something new with my hands, ideas, time and intention. I embellished this one with pearls tucked inside the loops of looped ribbon.

 

The body is wise.

 

I’ve always loved quilts and I have a special fondness for hexagonal patterns such as “my grandmother’s flower garden”. Hexagons remind me of organic chemistry, biology and life in general; honey combs, bees, flowers, on to life and the abundance. They have a bit of a sci-fi aesthetic as well.

I am new to quilting so I really don’t have much experience finishing big pieces yet. I have quite a few hand sewn blocks (after many hours of sewing while watching star trek TNG), but I still need a few more to finish an actual quilt.

While procrastinating from that time consuming project I’ve created a lot of  small and interesting things by using the same techniques to explore tessellations and constructed forms in three dimensions. I’ll post some photos of these experiments shortly, once I get them off the removable drive.

I also welcome  custom orders!

More lace! Light as a feather and lovely to wear.  Here is a selection of little things, click through the images below for details.

 

In hyperbolic geometry a plane is hyperbolic if  it curves away from itself at every point. It is the opposite of a sphere which curves inward. The result is an exponentially growing lichenous form, something which I derive a lot of pleasure and mental stimulation.

I started crocheting them intuitively the first time I picked up a hook years ago.  Crocheting round and round, adding loops in different patterns to see what the end results would be. Wow, I thought, these remind me of the body,  coral and other things. I kept reading about space, extra dimensions, ripples in space time and these little forms helped me visualize our universe, which I imagined curving infinitly outwards. Later I found a great article by mathemetician Daina Tamina in Discover magazine.  It was a real eureka moment, I realized this was what I had been interested in all along! (I recommend reading the article with her in the links at the bottom of the post).

Here is a piece I had up at the Khyber called Colony and Entity.

Since then I notice them all over the place; in photos of frilly corals, flowers, lettuce and microscopic fallopian tubes (above). I’ve used them in both art and craft. I also love wearing them,  so naturally I made some brooches and hair pins for the  sale.  They are crocheted wool embellished with vintage fabrics and beads. The little pieces of fabric are stitched on by hand and lightly stuffed. These have a great handmade air and each is truly unique.

Psychedelic: This paisley pattern is really bright and wild. It is one of my all time favourites. As a shirt it was pretty garish, but it makes for a great touch of colour as an accessory. I like to use these in my hair instead of flowers sometimes. The hair pins are surprisingly light weight and sewn on to heavy duty bobby pins so they stay put. They are available in a variety of colours.

Vintage Florals: Pretty floral brooches and hair pins for spring.

Flower Pins: Poppies and other crocheted curvy blooms to adorn you hair.

Hyperbolic Gallery:

 

Recommended reading - Some Hyperbolic Crochet Links:

Crocheting the Hyperbolic Plane: An Interview with David Henderson and Daina Taimina

The Sydney Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef­­ Project

Institute for Figuring: Hyperbolic Coral Reef

Hyperbolic Geometry

Here is an excellent TED talk on the subject:

This weekend I participated in the Halifax Crafters Fair at the north street church here in Halifax. It was so much fun! The Halifax Crafters fair has been getting better and better every show as interest has increased. There were so many skilled crafts people with unique and funky stuff for sale. The people who came to check out the show really seemed to be enjoying it. A few people made a point to tell me that they had expected to see the same things they usually see at craft fairs and they were pleasantly surprised by the orignality and energy of our event.  All of the vendors were passionate about producing things that were unique, artful and homemade. There were also great buskers playing music and tasty homemade snacks for sale.  I can’t wait for the next show!

Here is some shots of the table we shared, along with a peak at a few of the things we had on sale, some of which I still have. If you are interested in anything or have any questions don’t hesitate to contact me at kellyday@kelly-day.com.