Sculpture # 241

Wood, crocheted wool, cotton, lettraset

Once in awhile there seems to be a work that develops "a tale" along it's path to being formed. This work certainly is one of those . . 

Last evening while crocheting, the needle (below) split into two pieces. I have probably crocheted well over 100 of the works using this needle. It is rare that a metal needle breaks this way. 

I decided to take the work in progress with me to the studio today.

This morning while walking through Beacon Hill Park on my way into town. I decided to take a shortcut through the foot path in the park . . past a few trees and into the clearing up the hill, walking along at a steady pace when all of a sudden I am stopped short with a tension at my backpack and look behind me to see that the work had been unravelling for at least a quarter of a mile, somehow a branch had found its way into my backpack and caught one of the 3 ply of wools in the work and continued to unravel as I walked without me knowing or sensing anything until it ran to its end. I started back along the path  (rewinding the ball of wool) thinking it must be a few feet, . . then seeing the sun hit the line I could see it was all the way back to the very point I entered the park. I felt as if I was in some puzzling performance work. I couldn't help but laugh at the strangeness of the moment. I was determined that today would see the completion of this sculpture. 

The typographic component came about at the last moment as I was completing the edging. I decided to do some free form placement of the letters without any preconcieved notion to form words, interesting that when finished I handed it to a studio mate who immediately said that he could see the word "PUZZLING".

And so it goes . . . lets see what's in store for # 242