Arlington Public Art

Ripple

Adria Arch & The Arlington Knitting Brigade

Knitted and crocheted acrylic yarn

ripple (noun or verb | rip-ple)

An exuberant or playful pattern of movement outward from its source, for example:

1. A ripple of water moving across Spy Pond
2. A rippled of color weaving through a knitted sweater.
3. A ripple of creativity and friendship connecting a community.
4. A temporary art installation by Adria Arch & the Arlington Knitting Brigade! 

Ripple was a large scale fiber installation – or knit bombing – created by Arlington artist and activist Adria Arch and the Arlington Knitting Brigade, a group of 57 community volunteers recruited for the project. These talented ‘craftivists’ developed their own designs using a shard palette – 7 colors of acrylic yarn selected by Arch – to knit or crochet their own individual panels, each intended for a specific tree. During final installation, some rearranging was necessary to fit everything in place and achieve a unified effect. Arch and curator Cecily Miller finalized the arrangement of the panels around the trunks of 10 trees along the Bikeway. Two arborists (using ropes to climb the trees, sometimes suspending upside down) installed the panels, wrapping each piece carefully around a tree trunk and pulling it tightly against the bark.

Transforming this part of the Bikeway with color, texture, and pattern, Ripple offers many messages. It shows how much a group of individuals can accomplish when they work together. It reveals how, using their imagination, each person can make something unique from the same materials. It urges us to care for and protect trees and the environment. And it celebrates the joy of creating art!

Arlington Knitting Brigade Members

Kirsi Allison-Ampe · Sumita Austen · Jo Barbiarz · Katrina Bernstein · Judi Bohn · Lucinda Brandt · Mary Brooks · Lisa Brown · Eliza Burden · Sybil Carey · Teri Carilli · Aurora Connor · Candice Cruz Dintino · Renee DeBlois · Mary Denton · Pam DiBona · Sue Doctrow · Jeanette Downing · Joyce Dwyer · Amy Ellentuck · Liz Fancher · Christina Foster · Becca Gerner · Susan Goldman · Amy Goldtein · Sharon Grossman · Kimberly Harding · Charlotte Heyden · Susan Larson · Heather Leavell · Karen Lefkowitz · Jennifer Lewis Forbes · Brenda Lovette · Elaine Lyte · Katharine MacPhail · Pinal Maniar · Nora Mann · Susan McCabe · Suzanne McLeod · Catherine Miller · Bonnie Payne · Janet Peluso · Ema Rodrigues · Holly Rossi · Karen Roth LoRusso · Kim Salazar · Carolyn Schneyer · Heidi Sheehan · Dava Silvia · Joy Spadafora · Sharon Stafford · Rebecca Steinitz · Marina Strauss · Hariet Vanderput · Michele Vitti · Sue Wood · Sara Young