My Yarn Bombing at NIU campus

This was such a fun project! My mother had taught me how to knit when I was younger and just recently was introduced to "yarn bombings." Never heard of them? They're a new thing for knitters and artists alike. For my 3D Forms and Fibers class, I knitted up a tree right in between the student center and the visitor parking lot. It is also in front of one of the dorms.

Here is my artist statement:

For my self-diagnosed Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), I often resort to my own remedies of eating dark chocolate, swallowing extra Vitamin D pills, and turning up the heater in my home. But instead of focusing on myself, I decided to create a public art piece that displayed to other Northern Illinois University members with “winter blues,” colors to intrigue curiosity and a discovery of triumph over their depression. Therefore, I named this piece “Defeat the Sorrow” to prompt the viewer, even though they may not be aware of it, to forget their sorrows and depression during these shortest lighted days of the year and to accept that there are still bright, encouraging, and colorful objects in their surroundings. With gray and dull images spread throughout the NIU campus like dead grass, bare trees, and departing animals, it is encouraging to see one tree that still bears resemblance of life.

I chose a tree for the purpose that it already symbolizes life and growth, but also because it is constantly rotating through different states of being as the climate changes each season. This definitely correlates to how I and other NIU campus members change their moods depending on the seasons and weather. Knitting a cozy for this central-campus tree was important because of each tiny stitch. The process of knitting takes time and much effort, as do the efforts of relieving oneself from the pressures and darkness of winter depression. Time is also implied in the transition of colors as the yarn grows from dark to light to more brighter and interesting colors. Anyone who attends or visits NIU should experience a hope when their eyes meet the topmost and brightest colors, which would fulfill the purpose of this sorrow-fighting tree.