Friday, September 21, 2012

Hamilton Supercrawl 2012 Report



Tons of fun was had last weekend at what may have been my last summer hurrah before a deluge of autumn work at the Hamilton Supercrawl.  I went as a special assistant to pals Becky and Kalpna whose fabulous project, the Toronto Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef, was (and still is) installed at indie accessory and vintage shop White Elephant for the duration of weekend.



Becky and I rolled into Hamilton late on the first night of the Supercrawl.  Armed with a mickey of bourbon, we took to the streets and spotted some great stuff, among it DIY street haircutting, ornate steel quilts, a samosa vendor that had 10+ tantalizing varieties including vegetarian South African samosas, and the above collage work by art collective Group of Seven Billion, which in many cases reminded me of the punk art of Winston Smith and Crass artist Gee Vaucher.  The next night, I came away with three fabulous pieces for a whopping $12-- thanks guys!


After a night's rest, we pitched a tent and made some impromptu hyperbolic coral models and answered questions from passersby about the installation and the fine art of hyperbolic crochet.  Visitors to the tent marveled at Kalpna (whose hands are in the foreground) and her hybrid crochet-knitting overhand swoosh technique as well as Becky (gal with yellow tights) and her anus-themed pseudosphere...!  We also answered the question of the day exactly eleven million times: "How much are you selling these afghans for?"  Answer:  "They are not for sale-- they are only for decoration. Sorry."

My Saturday was spent slowly making what ended up being a rather wimpy crocheted pseudosphere.  I also got to see the fabulous Hamilton-born and bred proto-punk band Simply Saucer on an outdoor stage.  Later that day, we took down the tent, ate dinner, drank a few pints at The Brain, and caught the end of Owen Pallett's set before hunkering down for the night.


I'm ready to move to Hamilton!

No comments: