February 19, 2015

Yarn Bombing

In Week 2 we tried Graffiti Wrting or “Bombing with Paint.” But you could “bomb” with lots of things. And one of the most popular in recent years has been with Yarn or Fiber. In many ways “Paint Bombing” and “Yarn Bombing” are pretty similar, but they’re also pretty different. A lot of Yarn Bombing is done with knitting or crochet, but you could try it with any sort of fiber.

The CSULB SOA is lucky to have an outstanding Fiber Arts program and program head Carol Shaw-Sutton. You can check out their Facebook page to learn a bit more.

Your Project

To get yourself inspired, give yourself a brief walking tour of the CSULB SOA Fiber Arts facilities on the 2nd Floor of FA2. Take a photo of something interesting there.
Then think about what you’d like to do. It wouldn’t be that hard to try knitting or crochet. A simple YouTube search and you’d be on it in minutes! That’d be awesome if you’d like to give it a try. There could even be some EC if you document your experience nicely. But I’m not asking anyone to learn knitting or crochet. We can do a sort of improvised or hacked yarn bombing. Maybe cut up an old t-shirt into strips you can tie on trees. Maybe try to find some fiber around the house and make a sculptural configuration with it. Play with fiber!

We have to be very respectful of the other Students & Departments on the CSULB campus. It’s a BIG campus! No matter how cool our ideas are, and no matter how much the university should encourage experimentation, we have to share this space with so many people. If you want to Yarn Bomb inside your dorm room, that’s great. But we should probably avoid bombing, even “just” with yarn, other parts of the campus.

You have a bit of a creative oasis in the space from FA1 to FA2 to FA3 to FA4. You can work in this space. But even here, be sure not to damage people, facilities, or plants. And be sure not to create any dangerous obstructions, tripping hazards, or other things that can pose a risk to the many thousands of people who move through these spaces every day.

Your Blog Post

At least 2 pix: one from your visit to the 2nd Floor of FA2, and one of your creation. More pix would be awesome.
Talk about your experience: was it easy? Hard? Fun? Surprising?
How did your Yarn Bombing experience compare to your Graffiti Writing experience?
Compare & contrast Yarn Bombing and Graffiti Writing. Is there anything masculine or aggressive about bombing with paint? Is there anything feminine or nurturing about bombing with yarn? Or are those just invalid gender stereotypes? Historically, Painting in Art has been heroic while some may have considered Fiber Arts “Women’s Work.” Is Painting “Art” and Fiber “Craft”? Or are they the same? Does our culture value the things men do more than the things women do?