Tuesday, November 29, 2011

off the cuff



Here is a selection of Christmas gallery works that I have made most recently... the first are felted bracelets which were inspired by Anita Larkin, and are made over copper wire so that they are adjustable and flexible.. Anita Larkin is a wonderful feltmaker in Australia, and does a lot of sculptural work...she was very generous in sharing her process and I have had much fun making these/
The next photo is of work inspired by a wonderful Canadian feltmaker, Marjolein  and I have been making these pod type pieces for quite awhile and just recently making them into neckpieces. 
They are so organic and rich that I wanted to be able to wear them so the neckpieces came to me late summer and I moved on the idea, extending what I had already learned...
The third pic is of cuffs made with silk that was dyed in multi colours and then lightly felted with wool on the inside.  I have made a large selection of these and they are lightweight and very organic looking, I do prefer nuno with the silk side out, as I have stated before, so these are really a way to
utilize that process and make them very appealing to me. 
I have just returned from the Christmas Faire here on the island where I live, and the cuffs were really well received and the neckpieces, in fact considering the power went out and we had to close two hours early, I did quite well, and so many people love felt.. It is really taking off these days.
I always remember when I first started felting with my good friend and mentor Alma Schofield, that there were about 5 or 6 felting books on the market and it was not very well known by the general public, now the story is quite different and there are so many wonderful felters in the world.  It has been fun watching the resurgence of the craft of felting and seeing how things come full circle on so many of the arts and crafts movement.  Wonder what will be next....
for me  the next week-end is a two day event on a neighbouring island, and hopefully the sun will shine and the power will stay on ....in the meantime, mushroom dyeing is on the table, and have done some cuffs with the mushroom dyes, and with the eucalyptus, which is the plant that truly "keeps on giving:" lol