“Squid Row Yarn Bomb” celebrates the South Yuba River Watershed

“The Squid Row Yarn Bomb,” created by The Nevada County Yarn Bombers, a group of local artists interested in community and public art, is a celebration of the South Yuba River Watershed, salmon restoration, and recycling. The star of the installation is “Sal Weiwei,” a giant salmon crocheted by Nancy Nelson entirely from plastic Grocery Outlet bags, who sits astride a vintage bicycle.

The tableau is a nod to both Chinese dissident and artist Ai Weiwei’s “With Flowers,” daily bouquets of fresh flowers placed in a bicycle basket outside his compound to commemorate each day he is denied his passport, and the famous feminist quote, originally coined by Irina Dunn and then amplified by Gloria Steinem, “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.”

Sandra Scott, Mary Hall Ross, Roseanne Burke created the sea creatures. Moira McLaughlin helped direct the installation. Sheila Cameron, Cynthia Levesque, and Kathy Frey brainstormed and promoted it. And Reinette Senum, a passionate advocate for the homeless and the original visionary behind the boardwalk as a community meeting place and a car-free happiness zone, kept the project swimming forward with her enthusiasm, her boundless energy, and by knowing everybody in town.

“The Squid Row Project” will be live at the Commercial St. Boardwalk in Nevada City during the 12th Annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival, January 10-12, 2014.

Thank you: Corey Barstow of Café Mekka for being “Squid Row” HQ. Duane Strawser of Tour of Nevada City Bicycle Shop for fixing Sal’s bike. Ben Franklin Crafts and Frames, and Susan Clute for donating yarn. Black Bart Ornamental Ironworks for fixing the bike rack. Erin Thiem of the Outside Inn for your photographs and blog coverage.

By Nevada County Yarn Bombers

(Photo credit: Moira McLaughlin)