This project marries the past with the present by creating traditional granny squares out of untraditional materials - plastic bags. I learned to crochet from my mother over 30 years ago, who learned the skill from her mother 30 years before that!
Because of their light and aerodynamic qualities, plastic bags often find their way into the environment, disrupting natural ecosystems. Creating art from plastic bags diverts them from the waste stream and lessens their burden on the environment.
This piece was my first attempt at creating a structured silhouette in contrast to the free-form squares in “Ain’t Your Granny’s Square.” I made this piece on a beach and the soft colors of the bags remind me of the ocean. Plastic bags like these often end up in the ocean where sea animals like turtles confuse them for jellyfish and consume the toxic materials. Ocean plastics also block light that is critical for photosynthesis in phytoplankton to sequester carbon dioxide, therefore, plastics reduce the ocean’s ability to absorb this greenhouse gas.
For this piece I wanted to play with traditional weaving techniques using repurposed newspaper bags with natural materials. The risk that I’m taking here is that the sticks might decompose and compromise the structure of the piece, but the plastic will last for anywhere from 20 - 1000 years in its original form before breaking down into microplastics.
