HUNTER DWORACZYK [email protected]
Alocal nonprofit said its recent beautification project has been vandalized.
Good Life Taylor hosted a yarn bombing event at Murphy Park Sunday, Nov. 12, where participants wrapped sewed and crocheted pieces around trees, stop signs and railings.
However, a Facebook post from Good Life said the yarn installations were cut and removed sometime from noon to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 28.
“We are disappointed in their behavior and callous disregard for the community volunteers who donated time and material for the installation,” the nonprofit said in the post. “The police have been notified of the vandalism.”
The Good Life Taylor post added that two women may have taken the piece with them.
Originally, the Good Life Taylor project sought to prove that beauty does not have to just be natural, but can be manmade.
“You don’t have to necessarily be able to paint a giant mural on the water tower, there’s other ways people can participate in art,” Julie Rydell of Good Life Taylor said. “Yarn bombing is a really achievable way for the community to come together and participate in public art.”
Rydell said the yarn bombing is artistic, bringing color and beauty to spaces that aren’t necessarily all that attractive otherwise. Yarn bombing is a nationwide trend, she said.
A team of four people put the donated materials up and sewed them together with yarn. Rydell said no nails or glue was used to place the art in Murphy Park.
While Rydell said the yarn bombing received positive responses while it was being put up, some residents have expressed concerns with how the yarn being left out in the park may affect animal safety.
Melanie Rathke, president of the Texas Critter Crusaders, a nonprofit group that seeks to help the Taylor Animal Shelter meet its needs, said she has concerns that animals might eventually ingest the yarn.
She fears that animals such as a cat, dog, duck, squirrel or bird may suffer injuries or death if they consume pieces of yarn that may have fallen off from deterioration.
“I think somebody made a comment that (animals) aren’t going to eat the yarn because that’s not what they are attracted to,” Rathke acase. We had a dog come into the animal shelter with so much plastic in his stomach that we had to do exploratory surgery to remove it all.”
Rathke said she is also concerned that an animal could get a wing stuck in a fallen crochet.
Meanwhile, Rydell said that the Taylor Parks and Recreation gave the group permission to place the yarn around Murphy Park.
Rydell said the pieces were donated by Taylor community members. She said Good Life Taylor received about 100 pieces of varying sizes, with most items being smaller than 12 inches long by 12 inches wide.
Parks and Rec has agreed to monitor the yarn to ensure that it is in good and safe condition, Rydell said. In addition, she said the artwork was intentionally placed in visible areas, where the department can monitor it every day.
“We care about our parks,” Rydell said. “We raise a lot of money for our parks. We would never do anything that would trash the parks or harm the parks or any of its inhabitants.”
She added that, as long as the pieces remain intact, they’re not likely to cause any harm to animals.
Good Life Taylor plans to offer crochet and knitting lessons in the coming year, but individuals who wish to participate or donate items can drop them off at the Taylor Chamber of Commerce.
Good Life Taylor is a nonprofit that raises money for community events and community projects, with a specific focus on the city’s parks department. The yarn bombing was a part of the group’s Art in the Park project.
