Collaboration

It’s been 5 years since the original idea of creating a wire crochet butterfly installation crossed my mind. Part of a brainstorming session with my friend Tracy in San Diego about the “Rites of Passage” theme for a festival the next year.

Thus began the crochet chapter of my life. A couple tips from Sarah and then a Saturday class with another friend, Aine, learning flower forms and I was off, stitching hundreds of flowers!

Support from more friends such as Rachel, Daryll, Amanda, Janet, Kelly, and Patti kept me going. Their great advice and never ending patience as I made my first baby steps into the art world. 

Taking bigger steps with the Tokyo Art Byte Critique Group; more group shows as I honed my skills. Arthur, Lori, Ruri, Tanya, Dai, Lyle, Meg, et al Thank You! 

Daytime, Evening, and Yokohama Stitchers; Merja, Eva, Nao, Robin, Wendy, Chandra, Odile, Ellen, Akemi, Liz, and so many more. Everyone has been super supportive in providing constructive criticism, the push to get what needs to be done vs only the bits I want to do :)

All of them have listened patiently as I continually bounced ideas around for months, years! The gallery hopping, the owls, the tea and support from yet more friends; Michelle, Janice, Louise, and Barbara. 

My search for yarns the same colors as the flowers and butterflies of Far North Queensland for the Butterfly Rainforest installation led me to Kiki at Yarn vs Zombies, an indie yarn dyer out of Melbourne. Achieving the brilliant blues, greens, and subtle oranges of the butterflies was pivotal to making this piece work. 

Destashers also have become a part of this project. Any green yarn being given away found its way into my stash and has been utilized in the project in some way. 

Photography by Lori Ono has been essential for helping to present my ideas throughout various media outlets, from newspapers to brochures to websites. Her photos have captured the attention of Aussies and tourists alike to my work and the workshops. 

Lori is also skilled in the art of felting and at my request, made the basic body forms for each of the chrysalises within the installation. A wee bit of trimming, embroidery work, and a thin layer of watery matte medium and they fit perfectly into the Butterfly Rainforest. 

This is a solo exhibition. Yet, clearly, despite 99.99% of the fibre and wire crochet construction being done by me. This took a lot of coordinated effort on the part of so many. 

Thank You to all that have helped me get here!!