Painting with.... Fiber? Felted Tapestries!

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.

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.) 

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!

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...

Waiting for bead embellishment... 

Excellent! Stamping blanks from Nunn design are the right size and scale.

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.

Stay tuned for beads and framing next time! 

Stay tuned for next time: beading! Framing! Secrets exposed! (Or at least happily shared...)

Resources: 

Sarafina Fiber Art

Sarafina You Tube

Take a Walk on the Wet Side...

Take a walk on the wet side - wet felting that is... 

A month or so ago now... I know - its been that kind of summer - I decided to take a Sunday "off". My husband was at the beach and I stayed home, house to myself, heaven. What do I do with my time off? Make art of course! 

Joke's on me actually. I am a full time artist and part time art teacher, so while it WAS time off from production, custom work, replenishing inventory... it was still art/job/doing what I love. 

I took over the kitchen and made a mess:

Dive in, such rich colors... 

Sorry for the yellow kitchen lighting... first piece ready to begin! 

I had a plan to wet felt some ocean themed landscapes. The image above is the first one laid out. I "thought" it would shrink by a third... But I was using some lovely ivory batting from Sarafina Fiber Arts as my base 'canvas' for the first time and wanted to test it out. The landscape is built up with loose wispy layers of brightly dyed wool roving, and a few "curly locks". Here are the results of the first piece:

Can you see it? Beach, waves, ocean!

So it felted together wonderfully! The process involves soap, water, bubble wrap and much repetitive rolling of the piece on the counter. Roll it like 100 times, turn 1/4 turn, roll it 100 times... I used Sarafina's You Tube videos as my basic instruction manual. 

 

I love the way the colors blend as the fibers lock together. I am visually drawn to the curly locks simulating breakers in the waves; they need a little needle felting to secure them fully, but I like the accent of texture. And the shrinkage? Ummm. nope. The batting felted my top coat colors and did not shrink much at all. Hmm. This piece is rather large at  app. 12". Lets do another... 

Trying to go smaller: 2 before and after comparisons. 

My supply of wool  plays to my preferred palette, so I had a variety of teal and turquoise and not much for a light sky. I lone the purple stormy sky and the teal water together though. The second pictured here is a bit more abstracted, and I am pleased with that too. I WAS playing after all - experimenting with the materials, and not having any hard set expectations. The process is actually good for me - its nice to have some control at the start and then leave it up to the process and be pleasantly surprised at the end. 

Working most all of the day, I made 10 tapestries. The largest 12 x 12" and the smallest 4" square. My plan is to embellish them in some way, using beads and found treasures from the beach. I can't walk on the beach and slip at least a shell or 3 in my pocket... 

I imagine the long shell beaded on with 2 'ropes' of small seed beads... 

That saturated color thrills my eyes. 

Over the course of the afternoon I was able to size the pieces much better! I have some shadowbox frames I will use for the smallest pieces and fashion hangers/dowel rods of some sort for the larger pieces. I am not in a hurry - I did many and have time to play and experiment!

These 2 are the smallest at 4" - but they will fit into frames I have once they are completed. 

At the end of the day I threw a few more colors into the mix, breaking away from the landscape format... This was not planned, but after the felt dried, I saw the kelp... the polymer mermaid was made for my monthly goddess seed bead project, but was a little too large. I think she will settle comfortably here, don't you?

a few deep sea palettes? 

I'm sorry that they aren't finished yet for today's post - I have been teaching clay camp since mid June - and very much look forward to getting back to my work in the studio next week! Great kids, great times, great energy... but I have Bead Fest to prepare for.. 

Until then - I hope you get your toes in the sand! 

Art field trip: the ACC Show in Baltimore ( Part 1)

Each year, the ACC (American Crafts Council) show in Baltimore is a treat; a chance to meet and talk with leading artists working in clay, metal, wood, fabric... any and all mediums.  The ACC hosts shows across the nation (Atlanta, St Paul, San Francisco) and its an opportunity I try to take advantage of annually as I am so close geographically. 

My post this year does focus on jewelry artists. I was struck - and hugely inspired - by the artists combining materials in fresh innovative ways. I gravitate to the fusion of traditional jewelry techniques and non-traditional materials. (No gold and diamond bling for me!)  I like pieces that are made with content, intention, narrative. So let the work speak to you as it did to me... 

Claudia Fajardo: 

"Nature is my inspiration, every detail of it leads me to create unique pieces, where color and texture become the protagonists of my creations.

A feature of my work us a touch of color that is provived by glass beads of varying of sizes, which are used in combination with metal to create a unique design. The concept is focused on silver pieces with a contemporary look, 100% handmade artistry with a variety of goldsmith techniques that distinguish industrial processes.

I loved the integration of sead beads and metal. To add color in a piece via the seed beads AND to combine bead weaving and metal smithing. The pieces were stunning - with such attention to detail the back of many pieces were imprinted with leaf textures. 

all images: (c) Claudia Fajardo

Kirsten Denbow:
"I have studied, practiced, played and dreamed. My work is unique, wearable, sophisticated but approachable, and I always try to add an element of fun.
My current body of work, focusing on traditional metalwork and enameling techniques, is a reflection of my passion for metalworking and my love of nature."

You KNOW I am going to rave about a sugar skull... but Kirsten's enable work was so fine! The delicate swan silhouettes, riveted to backings... I was drawn to the detail and the layering in these pieces.

All images (c) Kirsten Denbow

Luana Coonen:
"..Realizing her strong affiliation with nature and organic growth patterns, she now finds even the smallest flower or blade of grass more precious than ever. She expresses her deep and abiding love of nature’s tiniest wonders through her artwork, finding ways within her work as a jeweler to amplify the beauty of simple natural objects and to bring attention to our emotions. This is reinforced by her passion to use found objects and renewable materials..."

Luana's work may have been my favorite of the day. The intricacy of the sawing, interaction with the piece as it concealed and revealed treasures to the viewer and the wearer. I was drawn to her use of natural - and sustainable - organic material. 

All images (c) Luana Coonen

Strongfelt:
"I am inspired by humanity’s age-old relationship with traditional craft materials and how these materials have been transformed over time and in different cultures. In particular, the renewable resources of plant and animal fiber, the community and time involved fiber processes of antiquity, the utilization of fabrics for sheltering and comforting the body and the historical predominance of women working these materials motivated my decision to obtain a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Fiber Arts. Over the past two decades pursuing these subjects, I have developed a keen interest in the use of natural dyes from minerals, plants and insects, the versatility of the felting process employed to create non-woven fabrics from animal fibers, the use of free-motion machine embroidery to “draw” on and manipulate the structure of the fabric and international travel in order to explore the diversity of textiles and the human experience. This primary use of natural fibers and dyes represents a fight for the threatened values of community responsibility, patience, physical activity, and an intimate relationship with our natural world."

These pictures do not do justice. hand dyed natural fibers. felted onto forms, enveloping objects. And then sewn, sculpted with stitches. Lightweight, layers, mysterious... Some neckpieces had sea glass stitched in, and were translucent when held to light. Exquisite!

All images (C) Strongfelt/Lisa Klakulak

And there is more! Stay tuned for Part 2 tomorrow. It was a great show this year - it made me think, and plan, and dream. I also like to share the work of other artists - done respectfully - I hope it informs and inspires!

Its all about the sequins.

Sequins transport me back to my Grandma's house. My maternal grandmother made many of her Christmas decorations. She had lived through the Depression, and was a consumate saver... but also a very crafty woman. My sisters and I all have a love of embroidery - passed down to us from our mother, from her mother. My older sister has chosen embroidery as her primary medium and has taken it to a whole new level. ( You can see her work here.) I think Grandma would be tickled.

Grandma loved sequins, but didnt really feel the need to follow any set directions. Her colors and patterns are exuberant to say the least. Between Grandma and Mom, my siblings and I all had handmade felt stockings to hang on the mantle, beaded and bedazzled and sequined.  I  have a few of her felt embroidered ornaments on my tree every year.

My Mom - also an extremely creative one! She loves embroidery and can sew a mean streak. As a kid this was our Christmas tree topper. He was a puppet, and carries jingle bells - very merry!

After my siblings and I grew up and set out to households of  our own, Mom made a stunning announcement. She was giving up the iconic Snowman in favor of a commercially purchased angel?!!??! Well - I am happy to say, the Snowman now tops MY tree every year!

The love of sequins has been passed down to me as well. Mom gave me this kit she was no longer interested in... and it was a labor of love, I must say. But it is now one of my favorite holiday decorations!

And I sequined and embroideed a stocking for my nephew before he was even here! So the tradition continues...

All these posts sure are stirring up the holiday excitement for me. Its Thanksgiving Day, glorious smells are wafting up from my sister's kitchen, my nephew is racing cars downstairs... So many things to be thanksful for.... I hope your holday is festive!

Thank you for stopping by our Holiday Open House! And please feel free to browse our shops. As the season starts today with Black Friday we have many sales and tempting treasures... You can find all the details at our Holiday Open House page.