What a strange month we’ve just encountered – so sunny, but the coldest and driest April for donkey’s years! And now, as we enter May we seem to have had all of the April showers over the BH weekend – rain and more rain. No opportunities for gardening, but plenty of excuses to be creative indoors.
The good news is that I shall recommence workshops in my riverside studio in June for a minimum of 2 people and maximum of 4. If you don’t have someone to come with you I’ll pair you up with someone else who is in the same boat. Please drop me a mail with an idea of days / dates if you’re interested. As we ‘speak’, I’m having new shelves and work space built in my barn, to house more fibres and pieces of equipment – I’ll be off to IKEA very soon to buy storage boxes!
During April I continued learning – this time ‘raised surfaces’ – the photos show some of the samplers – all of which have been wet felted and all the structures are completely self-supporting. Wool is so magical! I’ll back each sampler and mount them all as a panel to inspire lots more creations from clothing to wall hangings – I can see forests appearing already!
The ‘Fab Felters’ Facebook group which I set up during our first lockdown still meets via zoom every couple of weeks and we set ourselves a challenge once a month.
Over the past year we have wet felted ‘faces’, ‘birds’, ‘landscapes’ amongst others and our latest challenge – ‘spirals’ was inspired after discussing the Fibonacci sequence. (You’d be amazed what we end up talking about!) I made this shell, using over 40 triangular resists, cut from plastic sheeting.
Mark making has always fascinated me, despite not being able to build up the courage sometimes to ‘make the first mark’ (especially in a beautiful notebook) or brush stroke on a piece of paper. But making marks on felt can just finish off a piece of work so I have started another online class for just that! The first couple of lessons involve collecting suitable materials for making brushes and then making a variety of mark making tools. I never return from a beach walk without collecting driftwood or other ‘treasures’ and having quite a stash of threads and textiles I was all set to make my mark makers! An afternoon of rain this weekend resulted in quite a collection – I think I’m addicted. I still haven’t made my first mark though – but will do very soon!
Please remember to let me know if you’d like to attend a workshop and, in the meantime, keep those little grey cells active by learning something new.