This is such a shame.
The artwork pre-destruction. Image via Mary Goldsby’s Facebook page.
An International Yarn Bombing Day installation on a park trellis in the Heights was partially torn down Saturday after it was only up for a week, since June 8.
The project was headed by Heights resident Mary Goldsby, who was helped by 24 volunteers, including the Heights Knit Chicks.
It was to be up for a month, and Goldsby had obtained a permit for the yarn to be up at the 1600 block of Heights Blvd., between 16th and 17th Street.Houston Crime Stoppers is offering up to $5,000 in cash rewards for any information that leads to an arrest in the vandalization of the yarn bombing exhibit. If the information leads to felony charges, or a felony arrest, callers will be eligible for the Crime Stoppers reward.
According to officials, approximately $10,000 in damage was caused by the vandal.
KTRK and The Leader have more on this. From the former:
Where the yarn bomb installation was is now a reward poster for information on a woman seen ripping and cutting the installation apart early Saturday evening, just as David Milner was walking by.
“I said to the woman, ‘What happened?’ I thought she was part of the group. I thought it was going to be up for another month,” Milner said. “And she wouldn’t comment. She wouldn’t talk to me.”
It might not seem high crime, but what happened here matters. The destruction of what was intended to be a touch of whimsy in a world that needs it means a lot to the people and the community that helped create it, not to mention the person who organized it all — Mary Goldsby.
“It’s been overwhelmingly positive. And that’s what makes this all the more puzzling,” she said. “Absolutely, it’s a mystery.”
According to The Leader, the vandal is described as “a woman between 40-50 years old who seemed ‘angry'”. I have no idea what would motivate someone to destroy something that you’d think would make most people smile, but there it is. The Heights Life adds on:
- Something is afoot regarding the Yarn Bomb that was installed on Heights Blvd in honor of International Yarn Bomb day. I’m not exactly sure what it is but I know it will have yarn and pictures and your help is needed to pull it off! Due to the overwhelmingly positive response to the project, the knitters just can’t let it end on a gloomy note because of one crazy person. Help them resurrect the Yarnbomb on the Boulevard in a “new format.”
- “Did you see the Yarnbomb before it was vandalized? Did you take a picture?? Please email your photos, ESPECIALLY if they include people, pets, or anything in front of the yarnbomb. Quirky and fun is dandy. With everyone’s help, we’ll be creating a new project at the site that will bring smiles back, instead of scowls and head shaking.”
- Email your photos to: urbanyarnage@gmail.com by Sunday, June 23, 4 p.m.
- There is still a reward for finding out who went so nuts they had to rip this art apart!
If you know anything about this, please call Crime Stoppers at (713) 222-TIPS (8477). Marty Hajovsky has more.