News brief: Community Crochet Circle takes a stitch at making art valuable

In the midst of the opening of the University of Northern Iowa’s faculty art exhibit Nov. 2 at 7 p.m., art was created in the form of plastic.     

This “Community Crochet Circle,” as it has been self-titled, will be running through the month of November with goals to bring both interest in art and a classic form of weaving to the Cedar Valley community.

Erica Duffy-Voss is the woman heading this endeavor. She is currently an instructor of metalsmithing at the university.

According to Duffy-Voss, the premise to this art experiment is quite simple. People are welcome to join the circle and crochet long threads of plastic into whatever their imagination desires. At the end of the month, she will take all of the small pieces and connect them together into a final product.

Such focus on human communication and interpretation has been echoed throughout Duffy-Voss’s work.

“I want my artwork to be more than something people just look at, but something that people might learn from. I think that if people can come to the gallery and experience being involved with making artwork, they might see some kind of value in art. I think art is highly devalued in our society. A lot of people don’t see relevance in art for their everyday life, or they see art as pretty pictures that match their couch. That’s not how I see art. I see art as a powerful tool,” she said.

The Community Crochet Circle will meet many times throughout the month. No previous crochet experience is necessary to participate. Along with scheduled hours, supplies will be left for independent work during the UNI art gallery’s hours. For more information contact Erica Duffy-Voss at erica.duffy@uni.edu or call 319-273-2252.

 

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