May 25, 2010

felting fun!

A few of my girlfriends (including Vivien (who just posted about the subject too and with a very similar title...) and I, took a beginners wet felting workshop yesterday. It was so much fun! Not only did we get to commune as we girls do, but we got to learn a new and fun craft for all of us. We found our teacher by googling her and totally lucked out. Linda was an entertaining and creative teacher, and her two studios are just to die for... We started our felt experience in her wet studio, just check out her walls of inspiration.. Bits and pieces of artful felted things everywhere! We worked on three separate projects with varying levels of difficulty. The first was a very basic felt square just so we can grasp the concept. Then came the fun! This is start of my second piece where I found out that I can successfully trap plastic netting in felt. A revelation to make me quite happy! Here's a close up. And here's my finished square hanging out to dry. This is a table in Linda's wet studio with all the roving and yarns and glitz to add to your felt. These are all of our felting projects for the day drying. We had lunch upstairs in Linda's lovely home full of art. This is a detail of one of her 3D flower sculptures. An inspiring wall in her upstairs dry studio. And this is her Gratitude Rocks installation in the living room. The idea is to take a river rock and wrap it in yarn as you're imagining something you are grateful for... lovely. A close up of the large felt rocks. After lunch we made a felted vessel, and unbelievable how easy it was. This is how mine started out. Here it is freshly formed. Look inside....

Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway) - my head is full of ideas of how to incorporate my new found skill into my current work. I had already started using needle felting, and now wet felting just opened the doors wider. And to think this all started with a visit to the felt at exhibit at Cooper Hewitt a few months ago. Gotta go dig out my catalogue from that exhibit and look again...

6 comments:

Lynn Cohen said...

What fun is right! That 3D piece at the bottom is awesome! Do you wrap it around something to dry in that form? I see the possibilities here are endless for you. I look forward to the amazing art that you will produce this way.
Felted doorways and arches maybe?
;-)Houses you can go into?

sukipoet said...

wonderful fun and results felting fascinates me. when i was at Snow Farm, a felter was there giving a class. quite fun. though i have never done it. i certainly can see how this would be up your alley.

Kristin L said...

That all looks sooooo cool! I took two wet felting classes in germany and love, love, love all the possibilities! The spinal form in the first picture is intriguing me, and I am entranced by the rocks (I will email you something I'm working on -- you'll love the convergence). And you vessel is wonderful. I look forward to seeing where you go with this new skill.

Shirley Goodwin said...

I've done a class in this too, but haven't really incorporated it into my work. I also have a needle-felting machine....time to get more creative, i think!

Elizabeth said...

Oh you are going to have so much fun witht his technique!! I can see lots of fun things included in your felted layers!!! the yellow mesh looks fabulous felted in with the blues. I am anxious to create a vessel. please share pics of your vessel when it is finished!!
Art On !!

Vivien Zepf said...

What a fun, happy day! Your made lovely things and I'm excited to see where you go next with this. Thanks for organizing it!