Smithsonian Coral Reef Exhibition

My creations for the upcoming exhibit of the Smithsonian Community Reef http://www.mnh.si.edu/exhibits/hreef/communityreef.html in conjunction with the traveling exhibit of the Institute for Figuring coral reef project. http://crochetcoralreef.org/ .

This is my 'piece de resistance'.  The yellow is star coral in Bonaire Antilles and the spiral shapes are Christmas worms.

Bonaire star coral with Christmas worms

and this is my interpretation. 

This piece is called a pseudosphere. It is done in an ever increasing spiral form in a multi-color thread and finished with a gray mohair picot stitch.  It was the first piece that I made for the exhibit.

This one is meant to look like a bleached (dying) coral. 

And this one is made from multi color green, dark green, and glitter green threads.

A tall piece made to look like a dying coral.  I mixed a thin black mohair with a thick white yarn to get the effect.  A black pseudosphere sits on top.

Some free form shapes that I made to go into the bleached reef.  I used different textures of white yarn and thread, holding multiple threads behind the work so that I could vary the texture at random as I built the piece.  I love the little tammy on top of the tall one.