Yarn bombing at UW Green Bay arboretum has wacky signs of life popping up

GREEN BAY - Take a walk on the trails of the Cofrin Memorial Arboretum and you’re likely to spot some of the 245-plus animals that call its 290 acres home, but that huge purple dragon up in the tree looking down at you isn't one of them.

He's just visiting.

Amethystus the Dragon is among the whimsical flora and fauna that have popped up in the arboretum on the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay campus as part of a yarn bomb on Sept. 24 that will run through Oct. 10. You’ll also bump into Coffee the Cofrin Ness Monster, jellyfish, mushrooms, spider webs, flowering vines and a red snake — all made of yarn and each the creation of a local knitter or crocheter.

If you hit a snag at the phrase "yarn bomb," Alison Gates, the UWGB professor of art and design who curated the exhibit, is happy to explain. She's been speaking about "yarn activism" for years.

Yarn bombing is a kind of street art in which people who knit and crochet beautify a public space by decorating it with their work. Think light poles, bike racks or tree trunks suddenly covered in brightly colored cozies. From its modest beginnings in the mid-2000s, it has become a global phenomenon thanks to social media. Entire city buses and statues have been yarn bombed.

"It functions to both beautify a space but also as a creative outlet, of course, and to kind of debunk that notion knitting and crochet is something really passive or something that only elderly women do because most of the yarn bombers who are operating are young and fit," she said.

"They operate somewhat like graffiti artists do. They come in the dark of night and wrap everything with knitting and crochet in bright colors and then, in the morning, there it is. Of course, it's more benign maybe than some graffiti because there's no gang affiliation and also it's real low impact. It's a way to temporarily transform a space without inherently damaging anyone's property."

In other words, it was perfect for celebrating the 20th anniversary of the university's Cofrin Center for Biodiversity and inspiring visitors to the arboretum to see their surroundings in a new way. When Vicki Medland, the center's associate director, approached Gates about a yarn bomb, she knew she wanted the theme to embrace biodiversity.

"It was easy to say let's just make fantastical creatures and strange plant life crop up next to the trail," Gates said.

All that knitting and crocheting started months ago. With students already gone for summer, Gates put out a call for artists at the end of May on a co-curricular Facebook page followed by alumni, community members and friends of the fiber studio on campus. In addition to herself, Heidi Fencl, Dierdra Stary, Ellen Rosewall, Emily Hansen, Brianna Fischer and Mary Ann Bentti also accepted the challenge to spend considerable time during their summer creating signs of life that seemingly sprouted up overnight.

"That's part of the smoke and mirrors of art, isn't it?" Gates said. "Nobody sees that we started in early June. It took a full summer for some of those things to manifest."

Everyone wanted to work with bright colors so their work would pop against the greens of nature. An unnatural color palette also unified the work and made it feel on purpose, Gates said, but there was one wild card. What if the leaves had already started to turn by the time the art was installed in late September?

"We had no idea, so we just thought, go gaudy and unrealistic," Gates said. "I think that's part of why the overall effect is so whimsical, because it's pretty wacky and ridiculous, some of the choices that people made, and it really does contrast quite seriously with the intense green that's still out in the arboretum."

Each woman worked independently but stayed connected through social media, where they would exchange ideas and share tips on local sales of "super fat yarn." Amethystus the Dragon became the centerpiece of the exhibit and also their motivator. Because he's so large, Stary made him in sections and then assembled him. She would post photos of her progress, each completed body part keeping the rest of the group on track.

The location of the exhibit might look random, but it was actually carefully selected to incorporate big trees as well as flatter areas of the prairie. There were other logistics to consider as well, like how to transport a large purple dragon from a vehicle to a tree. A site accessible from the road was crucial. It's also no accident that you can catch a glimpse of the dragon from South Circle Drive, just enough of a tease to lure in curious hikers.

As you might suspect, the yarn bombing has gotten people talking — and smiling.

"I’ve been at UWGB for 18 years teaching textiles, and it's funny to me that this is the project in all of my career that has gotten the most attention," Gates said. "I frankly think they make everyone feel good. It's unexpected and cozy at the same time. It's just that right mix of unexpected and familiar. Everyone is used to wearing sweaters around here, but you’re not used to seeing a sweater on a tree or a giant purple dragon peeking at you from an oak tree."

What the artists weren't banking on was going up against the wettest September on record in Green Bay. Mother Nature is doing her best to dampen spirits, but because the creatures are made with primarily acrylic and polyester yarns, they shouldn't disintegrate, melt or shrink, although the filling in some could absorb water, Gates said.

"The worst that can happen is drooping. That's my prediction. It might not look so fresh and perky after awhile, but I think everything should stay at least a little bit in place. Whatever comes of it is learning we’ll use for next time."

Contact Kendra Meinert at 920-431-8347 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @KendraMeinert.

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