THANKS ALL who participated!!
Frequently Asked Questions. All things BARNACLE TIME!
Q: What is a barnacle!? Is it as cool as it sounds!?!?
A: That is a very good question, a very important one, in fact. AND YES! It is way cooler than it sounds! A barnacle is a type of animal (anthropod, to be specific, family of crabs & lobsters), and they live specifically in the saltwater. They live in clusters, or alone. They love to cling onto surfaces, like backs of whales, turtles, buoys, rocks, concrete, docks, etc. Apparently, according to the lovely wiki there are currently around 1,220 known barnacle species here on earth.
Q: I have never made barnacles before. Can I still come to the gatherings!?
A: Yes, of course! No barnacle making experience necessary!! We will be hand-stitching pieces of felt together to make barnacles. The stitching we will use is called blanket stitching. If you haven't stitched before, it is very straight forward. I will be able to show you! Once you learn it and get a hang of it, you will find it very relaxing, as it will be a lot of repetitive motion!
Q: Mine doesn't quite look even, and it looks lopsided!! Should I bother contributing!?!?
A: Every barnacle is different, and that is the beauty of it! Everyone has his/her own hand, and and I appreciate the unique personalities. Of course, after repetition, your barnacle may look different, and that is good too! Anything is something and there is no quality control, as I am not looking for 'perfection'. Imperfections are perfect.
Q: I am a boy and I have never stitched before, but very interested in this gathering. Can I come!?
A: First of all, everyone is welcome to the gathering, regardless of sex, age, race, gender, what not. Scratch that concern off the list, pretty please!! I will teach whatever needed to know about barnacle making, and it will be fun!!
Q: What are you going to do with the barnacles that the participants make!? Do we have to reach a certain number of barnacles being made!?!?
A: I will be stitching and connecting these individual pieces of barnacles that the community has made, and creating a community barnacle cluster installation. The first destination will be at the URBAN AQUARIUM exhibit at the Contemporary Art Center of Peoria for a little over a month in July/August, and then after that, I would like to keep having more barnacle gatherings to have traveling barnacle clusters, using cumulative clusters to create installations, similar to the idea of crochet coral reef project! It will be my mission to exhibit them in as many public spaces as possible, as I feel like the cumulative cluster belongs to everyone involved!!
There is no specific number or goal of how many barnacles we are hoping or expecting, as this whole process is still experimental. I think that is also the nature of work like this. That being said, i think the more the merrier!!! Wouldn't it be awesome if these clusters kept getting bigger and bigger!?!?!?!?
Q: Why make barnacles!? What is so special about them!? Why would you want to hand-stitch them ... that seems like such tedious process.
A: They are very intriguing animals both visually and just the way they live. The way the cluster and how they are dependent on their surface really fascinates me. On a philosophical / symbolic note, I feel like I am very influenced and supported by the surroundings that I live and the people around me. To me, creating community clusters mean so many things on so many different levels. And that is why it they are special and making community barnacle cluster is special. Hand-stitching them means that not one is the same, made by many different real hands. It may not be your cup-o-tea to those who are into mass-producing objects with 3d printer, but it means a whole lot about time, gathering, connecting, love of hand-made things, labor of love, and community.
Q: I missed your BARNACLE TIME gathering last weekend! BUMMER TO THE MAX!! Are there any others scheduled!?!?
A: No worries!! My next BARNACLE TIME gathering will be this Saturday, June 20 4-6pm at Public Space One.
Upcoming BARNACLE TIME gathering times are:
Saturday, June 20 4-6pm at Public Space One
Tuesday, June 23, 6-8pm at Home Ec Workshop
Tuesday, June 30 6-8pm at Public Space One
Friday, July 10, 6-8pm at Contemporary Art Center of Peoria
hope to see you!
THANK YOU and Happy Barnacle Time!
-sayuri
