Hooked: An interactive crochet project.

In January the acoustic duo Mess Kit (www.myspace/messkitmusic.com) had the pleasure of hosting an intimate fireside performance at helga hizer's Seattle art studio. Her current costume design project at the time involved massive amounts of crochet and there were skeins of yarn and crochet hooks everywhere. The invited audience was curious and Helga and her band-mate Matthew offered to show them how to get started if they were interested in crocheting. It was contagious. Soon those that arrived early were showing the late comers how to crochet. Mess Kit began to play. Helga looked up from her ukulele to find group of 15 people sitting in a circle crocheting.

At that moment it made sense. 'This is it, this is exactly what we should do!' We want to create an interactive art experience that involves teaching people new crafts and bringing them together to work on a single project. Not just close friends, but people from all over the Pacific Northwest and, eventually, the whole nation.

At each venue we will provide supplies, namely crochet hooks, yarn, strips of fabric and pantyhose, including instructional booklets and hands on instruction of different crochet techniques. We’ve found that once a person learns how to crochet they are happy to show the others. When those that want to crochet are settled into their project Mess Kit will play music. We’ll ask for the name and email address of each person and label their piece of crochet. We’ll compile the pieces, and either on the road or upon our return, join them into one large soft sculpture. We’ll also display the work in progress at each venue. After the sculpture is complete, We’ll photograph it and send the image to each contributor who volunteered her or his contact information along with an invitation to the showing of the piece at a gallery to be determined.

The act of sharing and practicing a skill such as crocheting in a group setting not only adds to the sense of community of those involved, it also adds a new focus and delicacy to the act of listening to music. In a time and culture such as ours, where so many opportunities for community building and appreciation of artistic expression are lost, Mess Kit creates a refuge apart.

We hope to envelop the participants in warmth and welcoming with the music. Creating an atmosphere in which everyone feels comfortable and capable of contributing.

If you would like Mess Kit to bring Hooked to your venue please contact us at thehookedproject@gmail.com.