Wool & Water
What is Wool and Water?
Wool and Water is a data art project that blends fiber art with scientific data to create visual representations of changing water quality conditions in the Adirondacks and Lake Champlain Basin. In association with the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, the Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute has embarked on a collaborative fiber arts project supported by the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership to showcase the legacy of protecting clean water in the Lake Champlain Basin and beyond. The physical collection was created by Michale Glennon, who serves as the Science Director for AWI. She has conducted ecological research in the Adirondack Park for more than two decades and has been knitting for almost four.
The idea is to represent water-related information and trends using fiber art. Each piece incorporates a concept or a dataset and we invite you to explore them, in person or virtually. Many were improvised but based on existing patterns and tools readily available. The exhibit is traveling around the region and interested participants are creating their own pieces. Watch our events page for opportunities to see it and to attend an event.
What issues are you highlighting?
The aim of the project is to celebrate clean water and to highlight issues that impact the quality of our waterways. You will see a number of water-related concepts and stressors represented ranging from the basics of lake stratification and turnover to the impacts of pollutants on aquatic life. Several pieces highlight some of the major research and monitoring subjects of AWI and the Lake Champlain Basin Program including road salt contamination, aquatic invasive species, and climate change.
Join our Winter Make-a-Long!
In collaboration with our partners at the Finger Lakes Institute at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, we are hoping you'll participate in our WinterWhirl Blanket Collective! We're going to track some simple data each day - did it snow or not - and incorporate the data into blanket squares. In the end we'll combine everyone's squares for a collaborative piece and perhaps learn something interesting about the snow patterns in places far and wide. To learn more, click on the link above or click on the Ideas Folder button below!
Wool & Water Virtual Exhibit
Are you a scientist? Or someone with an interesting dataset you would like to see represented? Please get in touch! We’d be happy to make a piece with your data.
Where can I learn more?
The videos below give an explanation of each piece in the exhibit and a live Zoom Q&A about the project hosted by TAUNY. You can listen to or read more about the project from North Country Public Radio. If you want to view more photos and detailed descriptions you can visit the Wool & Water page on Ravelry.
How do I get involved?
There are no rules! We’d love to have you. The easiest way to get started is to click on the button below and complete the form so we can help guide you in the right direction. Answer as many questions as you can and Michale will follow up with information to help you get started. You are also welcome to browse the Ideas folder here for some inspiration. And if you want to join a community of creators check out our Facebook group.
If you are a fiber producer in the region, we would love to celebrate our regional producers by making a piece with your fiber.
What do I do with the piece when it’s finished?
That’s up to you! Your piece is yours to use however you might like. However, we plan to do a number of events around Wool and Water in the future and especially during Adirondack Water Week in August. If you are in the vicinity of an event, we would love you to consider joining and displaying your piece. If not, at the very least we would like to create a collection of photos and/or videos of finished items to share here and on social media. If you are interested, we would love for you to share your finished creations with us.
Wait, what if I can’t knit or crochet but I’m still interested?
Can you weave? Simple weaving with a DIY loom could work in lots of ways.
Do you want to learn to knit or crochet? We might be able to help there too, let us know. There are abundant resources for learning online also.
Are you a teacher? We have some ideas for simple projects kids could do that do not require knitting or crochet skills.
What’s the best way to get in touch?
Start by emailing Michale at mglennon@paulsmiths.edu or by filling out the form above.