New Work

This is one of my latest pieces of wearable art. It is made from a very light weight china silk. I started with a 3 yard piece of fabric that was stretched on a frame. I then painted it with Setasilk textile paints.

The funny thing about this piece is that it all happen accidentally. I usually buy my spray bottles from Prochemical and Dye along with textile paints and dyes. The bottle I was familiar with was sold out. So I ordered something different. When I first started spraying, I was aghast that it was a dribbler!!

Nuno Felting with Sue McFarland

Two weekends ago Sue McFarland held a one day Nuno Felting workshop at the CherScapes Studio. I adore all the teaching I have been doing since opening the studio this past January. But I also love being able to take workshops here as well.

Sue is a great teacher. Her explanation as to how the process of felting actually happens was totally visual and easy to grasp. It was an aha moment as she held up two pine cones that had not yet opened. Explaining how a strand of wool was like the pine cone, and that during the felting process strands of wool would get entangled together, the same way the pine cones would attach to each other if their unopened seed pods were linked together.

Although I haven't quite figured out how the felting process will get incorporated into my wearable art collection, I do love it. It is such a sensory process. The wool and silk, the soap and the rhythm.

Here is a photo of the scarf I made. And even though it is an accessory to wear in colder weather, I guess I couldn't get spring and summer out of my palette choice.

I can envision this scarf as the front of a jacket. Whether the body of the jacket is felted or not, I can't say. But the images are definitely percolating in my brain.