I'm a textile artist most widely known for starting the yarn bombing movement.
我是纺织艺术家，因开创了毛线轰炸活动而为人熟知。
Yarn bombing is when you take knitted or crocheted material out into the urban environment, graffiti-style
毛线轰炸指的是当你将针织或钩编所用的材料，以涂鸦艺术用于城市环境中，
or, more specifically, without permission and unsanctioned.
然而，准确的说，这种行为并未得到允许和批准。
But when I started this over 10 years ago, I didn't have a word for it,
但是，当我10年前开始这个活动的时候，我没有想到什么词来形容它，
I didn't have any ambitious notions about it, I had no visions of grandeur.
我对它并没有任何野心，也没有伟大的幻想。
All I wanted to see was something warm and fuzzy and human-like on the cold, steel, gray facade that I looked at everyday.
我所想要看到的是一些温暖的、毛绒的、更人性的、我每天都能在冰冷的、钢铁般灰白色的表面上看到。
So I wrapped the door handle. I call this the Alpha Piece.
所以我包裹住了门把手。我称之为Alpha作品。
Little did I know that this tiny piece would change the course of my life.
我不知道这样的小物件会改变我的生活轨道。
So clearly the reaction was interesting. It intrigued me and I thought, "What else could I do?"
很明显，出现了有趣的反应。这促使我想，“我还能做些什么呢？”
Could I do something in the public domain that would get the same reaction?
我能在公共领域做哪些事情以达到同样的效果？
So I wrapped the stop sign pole near my house. The reaction was wild.
所以我包裹了我家附近停车指示牌的杆子。反应很热烈。
People would park their cars and get out of their cars and stare at it,
人们会停下车，走出来，盯着它看，
and scratch their heads and stare at it, and take pictures of it and take pictures next to it,
挠着他们的头，盯着它看，拍下它并且和它合照，
and all of that was really exciting to me and I wanted to do every stop sign pole in the neighborhood.
这些都让我感到惊喜，于是我想要把附近每个停车牌的杆子都包裹起来。
And the more that I did, the stronger the reaction.
我包裹的越多，人们的反应就越强烈。
So at this point I'm smitten. I'm hooked. This was all seductive.
因此在这时刻我着迷了。我乐在其中。这一切太具有吸引力。
I found my new passion and the urban environment was my playground.
我找到了我新的热情，城市是我的游乐园。
So this is some of my early work.
这些是我的早期作品。
I was very curious about this idea of enhancing the ordinary, the mundane, even the ugly,
我对这个的主意十分感兴趣：美化平凡，世俗，甚至是丑陋的事物，
and not taking away its identity or its functionality but just giving it a well-tailored suit out of knitting.
在不影响它的特征或是功能的情况下，给它裁剪一个优良的针织外套。
And this was fun for me. It was really fun to take inanimate objects and have them come to life.
这对我来说很有趣。将无生命的物件赋予生气，这实在有趣。
So ... I think we all see the humor in this, but...
于是...我想我们都理解这个笑点，但是...
I was at a point where I wanted to take it seriously.
我当时正处在想要严肃对待它的时期。
I wanted to analyze it. I wanted to know why I was letting this take over my life,
我想要分析它。我想要知道我为什么会让它主宰我的生活，
why I was passionate about it, why were other people reacting so strongly to it. And I realized something.
为什么我会乐在其中，为什么人们会对此产生如此强烈的回应。我意识到了。
We all live in this fast-paced, digital world, but we still crave and desire something that's relatable.
我们都生活在这个快节奏、数字化的世界，但我们仍然渴望并且期待疗伤治愈系的东西。
I think we've all become desensitized by our overdeveloped cities that we live in,
我想住在过度发展的城市里我们都已经变得麻木，
and billboards and advertisements, and giant parking lots, and we don't even complain about that stuff anymore.
那些布告板、广告牌、巨型停车场，我们甚至不再抱怨这些东西。
So when you stumble upon a stop sign pole that's wrapped in knitting and it seems so out of place and then gradually
当你偶遇一个杆子被针织物包裹的停车牌杆时，它看起来这么不协调，然后渐渐地，
weirdly -- you find a connection to it, that is the moment.
奇怪的，你发现自己和它产生了某种连结，就是那个时刻。

That is the moment I love and that is the moment I love to share with others.
那是我爱的时刻，那是我想要与他人分享的时刻。
So at this point, my curiosity grew.
因此在这时，我更加好奇。
It went from the fire hydrants and the stop sign poles to what else can I do with this material.
从消防栓和停车牌杆，到别的我能用针织改造的物件。
Can I do something big and large-scale and insurmountable?
我能做大型的、难以超越的物件吗？
So that's when the bus happened. This was a real game changer for me.
于是这个大巴就这样出现了。这对我来说是一个真正的游戏规则改变者。
I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for this one.
我永远都在心中为这件作品留有柔软的位置。
At this point, people were recognizing my work but there wasn't much out there that was wrapped in knitting that was large-scale,
那时起，人们开始认识到我的作品，但是巨型的、被针织物包裹的这样的作品并不多，
and this definitely was the first city bus to be wrapped in knitting.
这就是第一个被织针物品包裹起来的城市里大巴车。
So at this point, I'm experiencing, or I'm witnessing something interesting.
那时，我开始试验，我开始见证一些有趣的事。
I may have started yarn bombing but I certainly don't own it anymore.
我也许是那个开启毛线轰炸活动的人，但很明显那活动已不属于我。
It had reached global status. People from all over the world were doing this.
毛线轰炸成为了全球化的活动。全世界的人们都在做这样的活动。
And I know this because I would travel to certain parts of the world that I'd never been to,
我知道这个是因为我去了世界上的一些地方去旅行，我以前从没去过那里，
and I'd stumble upon a stop sign pole and I knew I didn't wrap it.
我会偶遇一个停车牌的杆子，我知道不是我把它包裹起来的。
So as I pursued my own goals with my art -- this is a lot of my recent work -- so was yarn bombing.
因此当我开始追求自己的艺术目标--这些是一些我最近的作品--当然是毛线轰炸。
Yarn bombing was also growing. And that experience showed me the hidden power of this craft
毛线轰炸仍在增长。这样的经验展示了工艺作品的潜在能量，
and showed me that there was this common language I had with the rest of the world.
并告诉我，我和世界其他地区有着这样的通用语言。
It was through this granny hobby -- this unassuming hobby
通过这个老年女性的兴趣活动--这个不装腔作势谦逊活动，
that I found commonality with people that I never thought I'd have a connection with.
我找到了和那些我从未想过可能有关系的人群之间的连结。
So as I tell my story today, I'd also like to convey to you that hidden power can be found in the most unassuming places,
今天我讲了我的故事，我也想传达给你们一个信息，潜在的力量往往出现在最谦逊平凡的地方，
and we all possess skills that are just waiting to be discovered.
我们都拥有这些本领等待着被发掘。
If you think about our hands, these tools that are connected to us, and what they're capable of doing
如果你思考我们的双手，这双与我们连接在一起的工具，他们能做什么，
building houses and furniture, and painting giant murals -- and most of the time we hold a controller or a cell phone.
建造房屋和制造家具，绘制巨型的壁画--在绝大部分时间里我们握着遥控器或是手机。
And I'm totally guilty of this as well.
我同样对此感到非常愧疚。
But if you think about it, what would happen if you put those things down?
但是如果你们想，当你放下这些东西的时候会发生什么？
What would you make? What would you create with your own hands?
你会制作些什么？你会用你的双手创造些什么？
A lot of people think that I am a master knitter but I actually couldn't knit a sweater to save my life.
很多人认为我是技艺精湛的编织大师，事实上，我甚至无法为自己织一件毛衣来御寒。
But I did something interesting with knitting that had never been done before.
但我用针织做了一些有趣的事情，那些我之前从未做过的事情。
I also wasn't "supposed to be" an artist in the sense that I wasn't formally trained to do this -- I'm a math major actually.
我也不是“想要”要成为艺术家的人，在这个意义上我从未接受过正式的艺术类训练--事实上，我的专业是数学。
So I didn't think this was in the cards for me, but I also know that I didn't stumble upon this.
我从未想过这是我手中的牌，但我也知道我并非偶然发现它。
And when this happened to me, I held on tight, I fought for it and I'm proud to say that I am a working artist today.
当机会出现的时候，我将它紧紧握住，我为此努力并且我很骄傲地说，今天我是艺术家。
So as we ponder the future, know that your future might not be so seamless.
当我们思考未来，知道你的未来或许不是一帆风顺的。
And one day, you might be as bored as I was and knit a door handle to change your world forever. Thank you.
某一天，你也许会和我一样感到疲倦，织一个门把手套，就此改变你们的世界。谢谢。