The Bleached Reef at the Cooper-Hewitt

""The Bleached Reef" at the Chicago Cultural Center. Oct 2007," photo copyright The IFF by Margaret Wertheim, source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/84445194@N00/1806457035/

The Institute for Figuring's Bleached Reef is now on exhibit in New York at the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in the Why Design Now? National Design Triennial.

Similar to the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef, the Bleached Reef is a delicate creation designed to raise awareness of effects of climate change and ocean acidification upon coral reefs--the beauty of the handcrafted reef vividly embodies the impact of humanity upon a marine ecosystem that we can't normally visit.

And if you can't visit the exhibit in New York, stay tuned to Margaret Wertheim's photostream on Flickr where she often posts photos from reef exhibits.

Lost at sea : daring fiber artists delve into the deep

If you can't make it to New York to visit gallery hanahou to see Lost at sea, you can check out and even purchase items from the exhibit via their online shop. There's a wonderful variety of techniques and forms--embroidered ships, three-dimensional creatures (real and imaginary)--even plankton and mixed-media assemblages.

I heard of the exhibit from the blog of one of the participating artists, Jenny Hart, Embroidery as Art, which doesn't have a lot of maritime content, but is worth checking out if you're interested in, or intrigued by, embroidery as an art form.

And if you want to explore more works by the participating artists, at the exhibition website, you can scroll down (inside the frame) for links to artists' sites.

The Wailing Octopus

The Wailing Octopus by John Blaine, "A Rick Brant Science-Adventure Story," has recently been released by Project Gutenberg.

Some of the chapter titles are irresistible: "The Fancy Frogmen," "Wreck of the 'Maiden Hand,'" "How Sings the Gay Sardine?"

At the end of the eBook is a brief description of the hero:

Rick Brant is the boy who with his pal Scotty lives on an island called Spindrift and takes part in so many thrilling adventures and baffling mysteries involving science and electronics.

Science and electronics are definitely two important ingredients for maritime adventure!

Tom Crean—Sailor On Ice

Our friends group, Friends of the
San Francisco Maritime Museum Library, sends along this announcement:

Tom Crean—Sailor On Ice
Saturday, May 8, 2010, 6:00 p.m. In the Maritime Library. Donation: $5 (general public); $4 (Library Friends and SFMNPA members)

David Hirzel, author of the forthcoming book, Tom Crean—Sailor On Ice, will tell the story of the Antarctic adventures of Irish sailor and explorer Tom Crean. There are more famous names than Crean’s from the “heroic age” of Antarctic exploration, but there are few stories as compelling as his. Time and again he was one of three, at times the only one, whose courage in the face of insurmountable odds saved the lives of his companions. The three parts to the story of Crean’s adventures with Scott and Shackleton are told in the names the ships—Discovery, Terra Nova, Endurance.

Dave originally came to SF Maritime to do research for this book and became a volunteer. He now runs the Park's Living History program.

If you can't make it to San Francisco for the event, you can check out the audio drama & visual companion, or David Hirzel's other writings.