Happy New Year to everyone! We all hope that you have a creative and fiber filled year in 2018. And on to the challenge…

This year, our main theme for the Quarterly Challenges is surface design. We aren’t limiting this to felt and it can include any kind of surface design. So I hope that you will join in this year and complete a challenge once a quarter. Then you can post results over on the forum and show everyone your challenge entry. So whatever kind of creative work that you do, give it a go!

The first quarter challenge is all about mixed media. What can you add to the surface of your design that is from a different media? Take a look at other medias that you haven’t tried before and see if there is an idea from the way that media works that would add a different design to your work.

Look online or go to your local library and look up another media such as metalwork, wood working, ceramics, jewelry making, painting, photography, collage, printmaking, glass and the list could go on. Take a look at methods of surface design in your chosen medium. How could you use that technique or idea to add a design to your work? It doesn’t necessarily have to be a specific process but looking at an idea from a new angle could lead to creative ideas that you haven’t tried before in your own work.

I use a lot of different media on felt and also in paper. It is always exciting to try a new technique and then figure out how I could use it in felt. Experimenting and creating your own processes makes your work unique and that is always a challenge.

So what other media interests you? How would you add that media to your work or how would you use a technique from that media to change the way you create your work? Put your thinking caps on and jump in!

A shameless plug here: If you want to learn some of the methods that I use to create surface design on felt with other media, you can still sign up for January online classes. 

Nuno Felting with Paper Fabric Lamination

Experimental Screen Printing on Felt

Print, Stencil, Play with Thickened Dye on Felt

Free Motion Machine Stitching on Felt