AJ Courtney- Sunflower Sea Star Blanket

Sunflower Stars used to be found all up and down the Pacific Ocean, but in 2013 the species hit a rapid decline due to a sudden onset of what scientists call Sea Star Wasting Disease. It was recently discovered that the cause is a bacteria which proliferates in warmer waters, a problem only worsened by warming oceans. Populations have cataclysmically declined, and Sunflower Stars are now designated as critically endangered. 

Don't be deceived by their squishy exterior, these guys are exceptionally skilled killers. They use their many arms (each containing one eye!) to crawl along the sea floor and prey on invertebrates like clams, sea snails, and urchins. Without the sea stars to keep the invertebrate populations in check, kelp forests have been absolutely decimated, and in some places there has been a complete habitat loss in which the forests disappear and are replaced with urchin barrens. This particular homage to the Sunflower Sea Star has 14 legs, but they can have as few as 5 and as many as 24. The color palette was brought together by chance, the collision of dozens of materials acquired from secondhand stores and therefore rescued from the likely fate of the garbage heap. The pulsating pattern of this blanket evokes the Sunflower Sea Star's far reaching effects, as well as the slow and steady crawl they make on the ocean floor. 

Care instructions: hand wash and let air dry. Materials are 100% acrylic. Do not expose to excessive heat.

70"x70"

50% of the proceeds of this piece will be donated to the Coral Reef Alliance to support their conservation efforts. To Learn more about their work please visit www.coral.org

To see more of AJ's work be sure to follow on Instagram @wilderandweave