Sunday 17 February 2013

Not Weeping but Warm Angels Here



A friend sent me these photos of a yarn bombing and news of a special tour that will take place on Sunday, February 17, 2013, at The Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York (http://www.showclix.com/event/3744104) This yarn bombing is slightly different as it was done with permission in advance from the cemetery. Click on the photos for larger images.




I am mentioning it here as the cemetery is of great historical interest in many different ways, three of them being that it is an outstanding example of the 19th century American rural cemetery movement, the resting place of many internationally famous people and prominent local citizens, and features the work of many interesting artists. The selected statues and monuments for this exercise, almost all of them from the mid to late 19th century, were, of course, treated with great respect. They were also very carefully chosen, condition being the primary factor. In spite of being made of various kinds of hard and durable materials, they are, in fact quite fragile. The weight of a lacy knitted cloak on a pair of broken, jagged wings, let alone wings that are still in their full glory, had to be assessed. Would flapping or soggy garments put pressure on weatherbeaten hands, arms and heads? “Dressed” figures all received garments and accessories that were two or three sizes too big for them as stone hair does not crush down under a knitted cap nor can stone hands bend and flex to put on mittens. How best to dress or decorate the non or semi-freestanding figures, who are too high up in various ways (“Don’t climb on the statues and monuments!”), or who had only doors to a mausoleum to decorate and absolutely had to be included? There was lots and lots of planning, discussion, and evaluation, much of it outside in the very cold and changeable winter weather, and then, of course, there was all of the knitted, crocheted and woven hats, mittens, cloaks, cosy, flags, garlands, and scarves.

So here are a few more of the results. This canon sits on a lookout point. The Manhattan skyline can be seen from here today as was the city and its northern approach in Revolutionary times.




The graves of three little children who perished in a winter ice accident. Their shared tombstone has a lily, rose,  and violets over each of their names, hence the choice of colours for the mittens.




I have no doubt that more photographs of the rest of this yarn bombing will soon appear on the website of the cemetery and elsewhere on the internet.






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