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Hyperbolic Crochet Workshop:
a celebration of feminine handicraft and higher geometry
and a homage to the disappearing wonder of coral reefs.

Saturday February 4
2-4 pm

at The Institute For Figuring – Special Collections
5015 Almaden Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90042

The Institute For Figuring invites you to a workshop on crocheting hyperbolic space. IFF co-directors Margaret and Christine Wertheim will introduce the discoveries of Dr Daina Taimina, a Cornell University mathematician who figured out how to make physical models of this aberrant geometry with the feminine art of crochet.

Using Dr. Taimina’s methods, the Institute has been exploring this unique intersection of abstraction and craft. We are now launching a project to crochet a “coral reef.” Sea slugs, nudibranches, kelps and corals often embody hyperbolic geometry in the frills and frothings of their crenellated forms, yet with global warming and pollution of our marine environment, coral reefs the world over are dying out – some scientists predict that in 20 years Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, the largest collection of coral anywhere, will have disappeared.

Come and contribute to this woolly incarnation of the watery deep – a collective celebration of women’s work and marine ecology. The reef is already started and we have much to show! Experienced crocheters and beginners alike are welcome – instruction will be given in crochet basics.