I am a Senior Research Scientist for the Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute and this is one of several pieces made for a project called Wool and Water.

Wool and Water is a data art project that blends fiber art with scientific data to create visual representations of changing water quality conditions in the Adirondacks and Lake Champlain Basin. We began in 2022 in association with the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act. Support from the Lake Champlain Basin Program, the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership and others has enabled us to build an enduring project and to use fiber art to showcase the legacy of protecting clean water in the Lake Champlain Basin and beyond. Pieces here in Ravelry are my own but the project website has additional works made by many others as a part of this collaborative effort.

This is a crochet representation of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (C8F17SO3H), one of thousands of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) known as “forever chemicals.” These widely used synthetic chemicals have been in use for decades and are found in many commercial and industrial products. Unfortunately, they break down very slowly over time and have been found in water, air, fish and soil at locations all over the planet. Exposure to some PFAS has been linked to negative human and animal health impacts including cancer and immune, developmental, and reproductive effects. I used random 100% wool that I had and made and stuffed all of the balls first and then felted them, then subsequently joined them with crochet chains. When I show this to PFAS researchers, they know instantly what it is and want a photo with it

This piece was created in association with a short-term artist residency supported by the Institute for Human Health and the Environment at the University of Rochester in which we used Wool and Water to explore the connections between water and human health.