Wool and Water Workshop: Data Art for Fiber Lovers

Join Michale Glennon, AWI Senior Research Scientist and organizer of the Wool and Water Project currently on view in the Folklife Gallery, to learn how to create knitting and crochet projects that represent scientific data in beautiful and approachable ways. Wool and Water blends fiber art with science to tell the stories of our waterways in the Adirondacks and beyond and to provide inspiration for their protection. After a brief overview of the project, Michale will use examples from the project and from other artists to explore various ways to visualize data with yarn crafts. She will also touch on where to find data and how to get involved with Wool and Water as a crafter. 

This program will be a combination of lecture, show and tell, and active making, and is geared towards current knitters, crocheters, and other “yarn and fiber nerds” who want to learn how to design projects around visualizing data. After some background, we will engage in a hands-on activity to represent data from the region while learning about watershed science. Participants will work collaboratively on a large project, and – if time permits – we’ll also have the option to create a small individual project to take home. No previous experience or knowledge required! All materials are provided. 

Later that evening, a Gallery Talk and Artist Reception will take place from 5-7 PM in the Folklife Gallery.

For more information about the project and the science behind it we recommend attending the gallery reception or browsing the Wool and Water website. 

The Folklife Center at Crandall Public Library is an award-winning program created in 1993, charged with the mission to research and present the cultural traditions of the upper Hudson Valley and southern Adirondacks of upstate New York. Its core programs–Special Collections, Exhibitions, and Cultural Events–are largely supported by grants, and have attracted a large, diverse regional audience to its gallery, research room, and cultural programs. Programs are funded in part by a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts supported by the Governor's Office and the New York State Legislature.