A giant yarn mural honoring Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg now graces the front of the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library in Dallas, thanks to the efforts of 150 crochet artists.
Los Angeles-based crochet artist London Kaye and 150 members of the Love Across The USA crochet art group created and installed the 31-by-27-foot mural.
The mural is comprised of 2-by-2-foot crochet squares joined together to form a portrait of Ginsberg and includes her quote, “There is still work to be done.”
Kaye has been crocheting since she was 13.
“Right from the start, I always looked at crochet as a way to do something maybe a little different than others look at it,” Kaye told The Dallas Morning News.
The Love Across The USA group was initially created by the Polish artist Olek, who Kaye met in New York City in 2013. Kaye was inspired by a chance meeting with Olek and began yarn bombing, a type of graffiti covering structures with knitted or crocheted art made from yarn instead of the typical paint or chalk.
Seven years after Kaye met the Polish artist, Olek contacted Kaye to see if she wanted to take over the organization after having a dream that Kaye would be her perfect replacement.
Kaye and the members of Love Across The USA have created several crocheted murals which focus on powerful women, such as Harriet Tubman, which hangs in Auburn, New York, and singer Nina Simone, located in Raleigh, North Carolina.
For the 1,200 members of the crocheting club, these projects are a chance to be a part of something bigger, literally. Kaye sends out the information on the pattern, and crocheters sign up on a first-come, first-served basis. The list for the Bader-Ginsberg mural filled up within an hour.
“It’s really for everybody in the crochet community to do something important and different with the craft that we all love so much,” Kaye emphasizes.
Dallas Public Library Director Jo Giudice immediately responded when Kaye reached out to Dallas to coordinate space for the piece.
“Honoring powerful women is always a good thing in my book,” Giudice said.
“Our country can be so divided, and I felt like Dallas really has been at the center of a lot of the political climate when it comes to so many things going on right now,” Kaye said.
The mural will be on display at the Dallas Central Library until September before Love Across The USA takes it down, and the artwork will remain with the library.
Gina Owen is a member of a local crochet group, Dallas Yarn Bombers. The Ginsberg project was her second with Kaye; she also worked on a Kamala Harris installation in Washington, D.C. Owen contributed the curved part of the letter “D” to the Ginsberg mural’s message.
“Putting it all together gave us goosebumps,” said Owen. “To be able to do that and to share the women who have impacted history in such a way, and to put it on display in Dallas, is just really special to me.”
Just like the mural says, “there is still work to be done,” and Kaye and her fellow crocheters will continue to bring the art of crochet to every corner of the country. She has published a book called Crochet with London Kaye and has her own brand of yarn.
Kaye says she does not currently have any murals in the queue to create but promises there will be more to come.
