Felt. Fiber... Not my usual materials...but its so much fun!
I am always looking for ways to evolve my work, and creatively challenge myself. And as an artist/business person I am also thinking of ways to offer my pieces to consumers in a new and enticing format. These felted tapestries hit on all marks, in my opinion. My pendants are the star, yet showcased in a non jewelry fashion. I can satisfy my Muse's love of color and touch on my painting background - in a fast and immediately satisfying genre. Here - let me show you...
I often start with a shape cut from an up-cycled felted sweater. It's a great cost-friendly canvas. Here I am needle felting with wool roving, onto a navy sweater piece. I plan to pair this with my mermaid ceramic pendant... and a few curly locks were the right "splash" of accent color.
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| Felting, finishing edges, and embellishing... |
I also use "pre-felt" as a canvas. I like to use the focal as the starting point for the wool palette. Here the focal is a polymer and resin mixed media piece with a vintage Art Nouveau illustration.
(Please note: I am not going into the HOW of needle felting here. That could be a topic in the future. I will list resources below.)
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| Felting the tapestry, folding and felting the edges. |
The joy to me is adding beads! But hang on - lets get the focals in place... I use waxed linen and a tapestry needle. A few simple stitches and done. They disappear into the felt texture... Or you can leave the waxed linen ends on the front of the piece and embellish with a few beads there too!
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| Waxed linen to attach the piece to the felted tapestry. |
Here is this batch ready to go - but the larger rectangular pieces need something else...
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| Waiting for bead embellishment... |
Excellent! Stamping blanks from
Nunn design are the right size and scale.
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| A little word play... |
Alright - time to bead. I'm off. What no bead pictures? Here let me tide you over with this one until next time - when I will talk beaded embellishments and framing/presentation for these lovelies.
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| Stay tuned for beads and framing next time! |
Stay tuned for next time: beading! Framing! Secrets exposed! (Or at least happily shared...)
Resources:
Love this idea! I have pondered ways in which to showcase beaded pieces rather than jewelry. This seems like the perfect display.
ReplyDeleteooo I like!!! now I want some fibre stuff because I have cabochons :D
ReplyDeleteThis is why I want to learn how to needle felt.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see what you do next!
ReplyDeleteLots of loving work in these already! And I love seeing all those bead soups!
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