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MAD Museum & a Felted Shell

MAD Museum & a Felted Shell

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Back in March Mark announced that he fancied taking up a new hobby and was thinking of having a go at making automata or possibly creating “gravity art”. He’d been looking at examples online of incredible, complex rolling ball creations by a guy who goes by the name of Copper Gravity. I love anything like this so did a bit of my own googling and discovered there’s a place in Stratford on Avon called The MAD (Mechanical Art & Design) Museum that showcases this type of art. If you look at their website you might get the impression that it’s geared for children, and maybe it is, but on the day I visited there wasn’t a kiddie in sight…..it was all adults having a great time marvelling at the exhibits!
Stratford isn’t exactly on the doorstep but I knew I would be down that way mid March to run a workshop so decided to plan my visit around that. On arriving in the town the first hurdle was to find the entrance which is very discreet. Even with Google maps telling me I was in the right place I walked past the museums narrow open door a couple of times before spotting it! On the positive side, having walked in the wrong direction to begin with, I did get to see Shakespeare’s birthplace.

The museum exhibits range from very simple to incredibly complex with everything in between and in front of each exhibit is a button which you wave your hand over to start the automata working. If I tell you the vibe is a mix of Wallis and Gromit, Heath Robinson and Scrapheap Challenge you’ll get the idea.
Some of the pieces are behind glass, which made it difficult to video them, but hopefully you can get the gist of this one. Keep your eyes on the tank and the rabbit!

There were several clocks on display but I thought this one, Gold Clock by Gordon Bradt, was particularly beautiful…..

The majority of pieces were displayed on open shelving. This submarine and its wonderfully weird operatives has to be my favourite! There is so much going on here and it’s quite hypnotic the way those little characters move. I would love Mark to make something like this, but I’m not holding my breath!

The “Platform Lift” by Keith Newstead was amusing and this was very “Wallace and Gromit”…..


Some of the exhibits are wall hanging and I loved this one by Chris & Angela Margett. It has three cheeky gremlins defacing a portrait of Shakespeare, Stratford on Avons most recognised figure!

Although the museum is small it’s jam packed with exhibits as well as having a small cinematic area playing a fascinating video and there’s a small shop selling automata kits and souvenirs. I must have spent over two hours in there and absolutely loved it!

The following day I was at Stitching Kitchen in Brackley to teach my Wet Felted Chickens. This was my second visit to this venue run by a lovely lady called Hannah Thompson. I had six students which meant plenty of one to one time and they all worked really hard to get their birds finished in the time allowed. What was all the more impressive was that two of the ladies had never wet felted before!

I’ve done very little felting since my last post but I have been collecting images of shells and thinking about how I can interpret those as “Structures” for Waltham Textile Groups next exhibition. This image inspired my first wet felted Conch shell.

The Conch is a medium to large sea snail which inhabits the Indo-West Pacific. This is my wet felted version of the Conch made from Corriedale, Merino, sari silk and paint. It’s approximately 25cm x 12cm. 



Hopefully I will have a few more shells to share next time…..or maybe I’ll have gone off at a tangent and be doing something completely different, who knows!

Keeping out of mischief!

Keeping out of mischief!

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Between exhibitions and challenges, I have been busy for the past few months – at least it kept me out of trouble. I thought I might present some of the pieces to you here.

Just by way of background, I am a member of a small group of feltmakers. At any time, there are a maximum of 10 in the group and the group is called Unperfect 10. I recently learned the reason for the name.  It is in recognition that all members are very ambitious but far from perfect.  I like the name even more now that I know its history.  We meet online every six weeks and we agree a theme for a challenge, the result of which we present at our next get together. Although the theme changes each time, the weight stays the same. The piece we present should weigh 10 grams. It’s not always that easy to weigh in at exactly 10 grams (perhaps that is another reason why our group is called the Unperfect 10!)

So far, we have met three times this year. The theme for our January meeting was ‘Home’. Members’ interpretations were very personal. For me, home revolves around the kitchen. It is the place for gatherings, happiness and informality. This I represented in a cup of tea. Unfortunately I cannot find my original resist but I have drawn one here to give you an idea what it looked like. I laid out the orange fibre on the cup, the handle and just inside the rim and the laid the white and light brown fibre on the upper dome to represent the tea. I then added the circles on the cup as decorations. I felted and fulled the cup, cutting a hole in the base of the cup to remove the resist. I turned the dome top to the inside of the cup, shaped and finished it off. Here are photos of the result.

  • rough sketch of the concept
  • View of the cup
  • I’ll have a half cup!
  • View inside my cup of tea!

 

Our meeting in February required a little more planning. The theme was ‘Carnival’ and each member had to make a prefelt for another member and post it on to them. This prefelt then was used as the main fabric for our creations. Once finished, the piece was posted back to the person who made the prefelt. After a lot of research, I decided to make a colourful version of the Venetian Moretta mask. While in its day, the Moretta mask had other connotations (think Dangerous Liaisons) I was attracted to the button or ball which was attached to the back of the mask as it stopped women from talking, something I felt was pertinent in many societies today. I included curls on the mask – this was a ‘nod’ to the Romans who are believed to have invented carnival, although it was a different affair back then. I used part of the prefelt I received, added some extra fibre, margillan silk and, of course, a button.

  • Front view of the carnival themed moretta mask.
  • Side view of the mask. The Curls are a reference to Roman sculptures.
  • The back of the mask. I added margillan silk and, of course the button!

We had our third meeting in early April. The theme this time was a little more challenging as we worked from a number of words. M.C. Escher; Optical Illusion; Tessellations; Black and White fibre; 3D Sculpture; Resist; Template; Stencil. All of which had to be completed in a 10g presentation! M.C. Escher was a Dutch Graphic artist and if you like you can find out more about his work here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._C._Escher

I found a section of an Escher piece that I liked and got to work. First, I made my pattern which comprised three identical diamond shapes that made up a cube. Then I made three different colour prefelts (Black/White/Grey) which I then cut out and made into 25 joined cubes (75 pieces). These were then felted together. Once dried and shaped, I stiffened the piece and mounted it on pins in a box frame. The optical illusion is the 3D effect, especially when it is viewed in the frame:

  • My inspiration: Portion of MC Escher’s artwork ‘Cycle’
  • Checking the diamond shapes
  • Checking the layout of the prefelts
  • prefelts are ready for felting!
  • Altogether Cubes weighed in at 9.65g
  • Another side view of the cubes. I removed the glass as it was causing too much shine!
  • Cubes front view. The shadowing can be seen here.
  • View 3: walking around the piece
  • Side view of the cubes. It is pinned into the backing

I also had two pieces in exhibitions during March. The first was a live exhibition which was run by my local felting guild, Feltmakers Ireland. The guild is very well run and there is always something happening in it. If you are based in Ireland, it is well worth joining. The theme of the exhibition was “Symbols of Ireland” and I chose the Irish dry stone wall which was recently formally recognized with its inclusion in UNESCO’s prestigious list of protected cultural heritage practices, and the native Galway breed sheep for my piece. Ireland’s dry stone walls have been around since the Neolithic period so I felt that it would fit the brief. The Galway sheep produce beautiful fleeces which are very versatile and can be used for spinning, weaving and of course felting.

I first had to design and build my wall on paper. Then I made lots of different shades of grey nuno prefelts which were cut to the shapes of the stone drawings. Once the wall was felted onto its background, I needle felted the sheep’s head so that it would add dimension to the piece. This was attached to the picture and then the main body was needle felted using Galway fibre. I made a variety of prefelts which I then cut into the shape of foliage and lichen. These were then needle felted onto the stones. Unfortunately I did not keep a record of my process but here is the result.

  • Irish dry stone wall with sheep
  • A close up of the 3D effect and nuno work
  • Another closeup showing 3D plants and lichen
  • The top of the wall with additions

My final piece was for the online exhibition of the International Feltmakers Association. The theme here was ‘Connections’ and I was not sure what I would do for this. One morning I woke up with the words ‘Chaos theory’ in my head. I knew I needed to investigate this. It led me to my chosen topic ‘The Butterfly Effect’. The butterfly effect suggests small actions can have massive, unpredictable consequences. In society, this idea highlights how individual decisions—like a single vote or a small act of kindness—can ripple through time, influencing social movements, global events, or personal lives, ultimately shaping broader cultural and political outcomes.

Lyn and Annie’s beautiful work with tree canopies provided me with the inspiration for the background of this piece. I have been looking up a lot more since reading their posts on the beauty of the tree canopy. My base was inspired by a photo I took in New Zealand some time ago. I then needle felted the butterfly and then wet felted it. I wanted to be able to manipulate its wings so I added a light wiring to the back of the wings. I then decided that the tree canopy deserved a different perspective – what did we do as kids when looking up at the sky? I remember spinning around. So my square picture became a circle. I attached the butterfly by needle felting it securely to the picture but I also secured it to the felt backing to give it added dimension:

  • My inspiration. Taken in Auckland NZ last year
  • The tree canopy is laid out
  • close up of the felted butterfly
  • Checking possibilities for butterfly placement
  • I decided to cut the background into a circle. This gave me freedom to hang at any angle!
  • Closeup of the 3D butterfly

I hope you enjoyed my little ‘retrospective’. I would love to hear about what you have been working on over the past few months.

Just a little reminder: Registration will open shortly for my wet felted hanging spiral workshop which will begin on 2nd May. Please feel free to click here if you would like to find out more.

Close up of Red Dress displayed at Pacific NW Quilt and Fiber Arts Museum.
The Red Dress Exhibition at The Pacific Northwest Quilt and Fiber Arts Museum

The Red Dress Exhibition at The Pacific Northwest Quilt and Fiber Arts Museum

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While I was in class last week in La Conner, Washington, I was able to see the exhibition of The Red Dress at the Pacific Northwest Quilt and Fiber Arts Museum which runs through March 2nd. I actually hadn’t heard about this project before my fellow students suggested that we go and see it. The project was started by British artist Kirstie Macleod and took over 14 years to complete.

Red Dress displayed at Pacific NW Quilt and Fiber Arts Museum.

According to the Red Dress website:

“The intention of The Red Dress

Initially the project sought to generate a dialogue of identity through embroidery, uniting people around the world across borders and boundaries. However, over the 14 years it was created, The Red Dress also become a platform for self-expression and an opportunity for, often marginalised, voices to be amplified and heard, initiating vital dialogues on important and frequently uncomfortable issues.”

Close up of Red Dress displayed at Pacific NW Quilt and Fiber Arts Museum.

The embroideries were created by 380 people from 51 countries all over the world.

Close up of Red Dress displayed at Pacific NW Quilt and Fiber Arts Museum.

Each contributor was encouraged to create a piece in their own style reflecting traditions of stitching from their own region/country.

Close up of Red Dress displayed at Pacific NW Quilt and Fiber Arts Museum.

It’s amazing to me that the embroidered pieces flow so well together. Imagine the work it took to put all the pieces together as there were 87 panels to combine.

Back View of Red Dress displayed at Pacific NW Quilt and Fiber Arts Museum.

It was wonderful to be able to see this in person and see the embroidery closely.

You can see more of the Red Dress project at their website.

Bodice of Red Dress displayed at Pacific NW Quilt and Fiber Arts Museum.

The Red Dress will be traveling to other locations and if you get the chance, it is well worth seeing in person. Here’s the schedule of the exhibitions. Scroll down to see the upcoming exhibitions.

There are more photos and information on the website. I hope you enjoyed this brief glimpse at a wonderful project.

A Knight’s Helmet

A Knight’s Helmet

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Along with the Ottawa Valley Weavers’ and Spinners’ Guilds 75th anniversary Show in Almonte that Jan told you about here https://wp.me/p1WEqk-hG9 we also had a smaller exhibition at our guild sale with the theme of Diamonds. I told you about making the diamonds here https://wp.me/p1WEqk-his   They needed something to make them more relivent so I enlisted Jan to make a dragon hand. I am sure she will tell you about it.  Then I thought I should make a bowl for everything. That seemed a little boring so I decided a Knight’s Helmet would be much more dramatic.

The helmet needed to be sturdy to hold the shape so I decided to use some Tyrollean wool batt I got before the pandemic, I think. It makes a nice sturdy felt. I think it is a type of Bergschaf. I am told bergschaf just means mountain sheep and not a particular breed. It would be a different breed in different places.

It had this helpful chart on the back.

It is a very nice grey, the batt is fairly consistent and I didn’t need to add many extra bits to thin spots. Most batts I have tried have been very inconsistent in thickness.

Next was laying out wool for the top, bottom and nose peice of the helmet.

At this point, I decided I didn’t want the nose piece attached. it was going to affect the shrinkage in the spot so I removed it and made it a separate piece along with the strapping that will go on later as well.

After that, it was a lot of rubbing and rolling and bashing until it was shrunk to the right size.

then it needed to dry in the right shape. I wanted it to be round. No idea why, it was just what I had in my head as the idea. I found a bowl the right size and stretched it into shape, fine-tuning the edges by using small tugs until the edge was “straight”  Sorry for the bad picture, it was on the dining room table and windows or glass fronted cabinets are the only options for backgrounds.

Next time I will show you the extra pieces being added and the finished piece.

Giant pigeon feet.
Public Art in New York, New York

Public Art in New York, New York

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I have had a busy past couple of months including going to my class in La Conner, WA, getting Covid (again) and traveling to New York City (NYC). I haven’t had much time for any fiber art. So today, I thought I would show you some of the public art in NYC. We go to NYC once a year since my parents had a time share there and they gave it to us. So I get a bit of big city experience and culture annually. Since we have been there many times, we have done most of the popular tourist activities and now we look for things that are free or less expensive to see. There are actually many free things to do in NYC, you just have to look for them and be prepared to do some walking. Google informed me after I got home, that I walked 19 miles the week we were in NYC. We actually walked a little less than usual as my sister caught a cold and wasn’t feeling well. Now on to the photos!

The view out of an airplane window with a moon and moon's reflection.

We had a red eye flight to NYC and I saw this double moon image out my window as we were about to arrive at 6:20 am. It’s a reflection of the moon in the window but it looks like two moons.

Dennis sitting in an indoor POPS in NYC.

Since we got to NYC so early, we weren’t able to check in to our time share. I was concerned in October that the weather might be cold or rainy and so I looked up public places to hang out. It turns out that NYC has a bunch of these called Privately Owned Public Spaces. This is a program where businesses get a tax break if they build a space inside or outside their building that can be open to the public. There are more than 550 of these throughout the city and you can look up where they are here. So Dennis and I spent a couple of hours hanging out in this lovely public space. We would have liked there to be couches, as we were quite tired, but we survived.

Statue covered with pigeons on Columbus Circle by Central Park.

On to the art, this is a statue/memorial at Columbus Circle by Central Park. I took the photo because of the pigeons. They are everywhere in NYC. Keep that idea in mind for a future piece of art.

Mural on the side wall of 'ritas restaurant in NYC.

Our first dinner was at ‘ritas and they have this fabulous mural on the side of their building. They also have great food and we ended up there during happy hour and got a great deal on tacos and nachos, yum.

The next day we went down to 14th Street at Union Square. We went to a farmer’s market (I have loads of photos from this but decided I had enough to post about with just looking at public art) and then on down 14 Street. These are three buildings along the way.

The reason we were on 14th Street was to see Art in Odd Places. This is an annual event and combines visual art, activism and performance art. These are a couple of the ones that we saw but apparently we missed many more. Most of the art moves around on 14th Street and interacts with people walking on the sidewalk.

One wonderful thing that happened was we ran into these elephants from The Great Elephant Migration. They are created from the size and shapes of real individual elephants and made from lantana camara which is a noxious weed. You can read more about the project on their website. While I was looking at the website, I realized that these elephants are coming to the Blackfoot Indian Reservation in June of 2025. That is only about 2 hours from me so I hope to see them again.

Another great place to see public art is on the Highline. It’s an elevated walkway on the west side of Manhattan from Hudson Yards down to Chelsea Market. If you click on the link you can read more about it. The newest addition to the art is ‘Dinosaur’ by by Ivan Argote. It’s a 16 foot tall pigeon and is really cool. In ode to all the pigeons (see the first photo) in NYC.

Times Square is also home to revolving public art. Here’s two that I saw this time.

There is all kinds of mosaic art in the subways. You can see it at many stations and it’s fun to watch it pass by as you leave the station or as you walk up to the NYC streets. I have many photos of all the different stations from year’s past. After looking at the link above, I have many more to see!

Macrame art at a coffee shop in NYC.

You can even see art in a coffee shop!

Mosaic art in St. Patrick's Cathedral in NYC depicting a tree.

This mosaic is in St. Patrick’s Cathedral. I needed a photo since it is a tree.

There are museums for everything in NYC. We have been to many of the art museums but decided to try the AKC Museum of the Dog this time. It is not a very big museum and was a bit tricky to find, but it was fun. The last photo is of a dog on the subway that I had to include.

We had never been to the NY Public Library either. We had walked by numerous times but hadn’t gone inside. I was enticed this time by the Line + Thread exhibition. It was about print, textiles, and stitch. The little psalms book with the embroidered cover was my favorite with raised work and metal threads, it’s gorgeous.

Copper, bronze and nickel screen by Harry Bertoia located on the upper floor of The NorthFace store in NYC.

We happened upon this piece in the NorthFace store. It’s by Harry Bertoia who was commissioned to make it in the 1950’s. It was taken down when the building was renovated but it was brought back to the same building recently.

Grafitti on a building in NYC.

And here’s the other type of art that you see in NYC, street art/graffitti. I hope you enjoyed all the art. If you ever get to NYC, keep your eyes open as you will see many works of public art worth taking the time to find or perhaps just happen upon.

Finishing and Displaying the Shepherdess and Sheep.

Finishing and Displaying the Shepherdess and Sheep.

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It is time to finish and get it all together.

You may remember I had to redo the Shepherdess’ cloak. I didn’t like the way the hood on the one peice cloak fit, so I made another one making the body and hood separately.

I sewed the hood to the cloak and it looked much better but, naturally, I did not take a picture of that. I immediately moved on the decorating the cloak. I thought if she had multicoloured sheep she would want to show that off on her cloak and so I decided to add some nice fuzz to her cloak to help her show it off and keep warm.

 

Next, the shepherdess needed some hair, up to now she has been bald. It’s a look that works for some but I thought she would be cold or might get sunburn so she needed some hair.

Very quickly she became a lovely brunette with some naturally coloured Teeswater.

trying on her new cloak (ignore the messy background, there is no time for housework when cloaks must be made.)

Time to be put together. Off to the guild studio for a photoshoot.

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And lastly, they got installed at the gallery for the guild show. Jan will have more pictures on Saturday. I stole these from a guild post she made because I haven’t made it to the show yet. Thanks to Lianne for giving them some grass to stand on.

You may think this is the end but there is more. Someone’s Dragon raided my flock

She says he is just lonely but he looks a little hungry to me.

Shepherdess and Sheep

Shepherdess and Sheep

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I spent some time working on the flock of sheep. Maybe not the most elegant sheep transport and sounds a bit like a horror show when you say a bag of sheep and sheep parts but it’s a bit of a production line when working on a flock of them.

As you can see I was being supervised in my Dr Franinstien endeavours. In this picture, she is wearing her first shirt and coat. You can see the sleeves are too big around and I didn’t like the way the hood worked on this one.

 

Last time I had finished the clothing, or so I thought. I ended up doing the shirt 4 times to get it the way I wanted it. The third one would have worked but I cut the neck hole too big.

I did get them finished and she had a dress fitting. I added a blanket stitch to the neckline and a blue star to her dress. I think this kind of dress is called a pinafore. You can see some of her flock in the background.

I took her to the Almont Fiberfest that Jan told you about and she supervised while I got her sheep some wool. This is the opposite of the way sheep, wool and shepherdesses usually work.

And another unshearing.

Next post there will be hair, a new coat and more colourful sheep. And a picture of them on display at the museum.

Happy Thanksgiving to all our Canadian followers. I hope you had a great Turkey Day!

Mer's in project bags on table
The Mer’s Preparing for the 75th Anniversary Exhibition Part 2

The Mer’s Preparing for the 75th Anniversary Exhibition Part 2

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In my last post, I showed you Mr. Mers’ new fishy northern pike spots (in silk!) and his son’s fancy new hair, eyes and jewellery. now let’s look at Mrs. Mer.

Mrs. Mer

I have been questing for the perfect Red for her Kohaku Butterfly Koi body.  Koi-red comes in a range of red-nesses from an orange-red to a deep intense red and in various intensities of those reds. I had found a small project bag of reds in various fibre types and preparations. I had picked up a very promising red with silk top and locks to match but it had too much pink in nature light, I had another set that had too much yellowness to the red, making for more of an orange colour. The locks I found to go with it were fabulous and if I do a mermaid that is part goldfish it would be perfect.

Mrs. Mer perused my offerings and we both agreed on the deep red bat from  Alpaca Tracks T(h)read Lightly and the lustrous long locks from Monica at Olive Sparrow. So dark red it is!

Alpaca tracks small bats of red wool Held by Mrs. Mer's Hand3.1 Alpaca tracks small bats of red wool

Odd I was sure I had a shot of Monika’s locks, let me look a bit more…oh I have a shot from the Olive Sparrow booth at the Almonte Fiberfest on Sept 7-8th.  The bat and locks go together perfectly!!

top row way to the left is right red Mer hair I was looking for. The are lots of different colours of  locks in 2 lengths.3.2 The top row way to the left is right red Mer hair I was looking for. The are lots of different colours of locks in 2 lengths.

Ok, I have the colour of fibres I was looking for! Next where to put the fiber. Great more fun research!! (really, I do enjoy the quest. research is fun!!!)

After a lot of previous browsing about koi and butterfly koi, I decided on Kohaku (the white fish with red spots) if you are curious you can check out a brief overview here.  https://nextdaykoi.com/koi-fish-facts/many-faces-kohaku/

After looking over the options of head and body patterns, and reading up on scale types,  we decided that Yondan or Godan would likely be best. If you count the red hair as a spot she would be a Godan pattern but if the hair is not counted as a spot she has the Yondan pattern. Since go is 5 in Japaneses, I bet you can guess how many spots a Yondan koi has! (4)

Head and scale diagram of Red and white Koi fish Body paterns for red and white koi fish3.3 this is a helpful chart showing Kohaku (red and white Koi)

I found the batt of “Canadian Wool” was an interesting springy, crimpy wool, not coarse but not as soft as merino or even corriedale. It is not a long staple and it needle felted wonderfully. I think it was the T38-333 I was using to add the red wool. (if you were curious about the needle used)

When I had started to block in the fishy parts of Mrs. Mer, Ann suggested it looked like the fish was eating her. I kept that in mind as I started to work on the spots making sure the red spot at her waist/hips were integrated with both her human and fish parts. Thinking of non-fishy parts I finally got around to adding her ears.

The long locks were the perfect colour and a lovely long wavy length. I found a small hair clip so she could wear her hair partly up.

Side vew of Mrs Mer admiring her new hair in a side vew3.4 Side view of Mrs Mer admiring her new hair in a side view.

Mrs. Mer Back view3.5 Mrs. Mer Back view

close up of Mrs. Mer admiring her new hair3.6 close up of Mrs. Mer admiring her new hair

I sent Ann a picture to get her suggestions.

Ann said, “Needs Eyebrows.”

Hummmm, ok, I can do that.

close up showing new eye brows and her new necklace (Red Agate, 2mm and shell)3.7 close up showing new eyebrows and her new necklace

I think both Mrs. Mer and Ann should like that! Did you notice her shell necklace? Those are very tiny stone beads (one strand of Red Agate, 2mm)

I got new project bags so Mr and Mrs Mer would not get over excited and mess up their hair! (I will have to consider a non-see-through project bag if I find them cuddling again!!!) I added Shark-boy and the Mer pets, Sharkette and Miss Manta, to another project bag. I printed out a copy of their entrance forms, for each of them, ready for pick up for the Almonte show.

Item #2  Ice Dragon

I had asked Glenn what else I should send, and he suggested either the Ice Dragon or chickadee I had made for him. I went with Ice Dragon since I would need the chickadee for a workshop in December.

Ice Dragon,  ¾ view, Wire armature and wool body and wings 4.1 Ice Dragon,  ¾ view

Ice Dragon,  Back View, wire armature and wool body and wings,4.2 Ice Dragon,  Back view

Ice Dragon, from the back ¾ view, Wire armature and wool body and wings 4.3 Ice Dragon, which I had made for Glenn ¾ view from the back

Item #3 Maureen’s Vacation

My third submission is Maureen’s Vacation which you saw earlier too. If you would like to get more information on this one look back to Summer 2024.

I chose it because it shows one of the guild members enjoying spinning outdoors. it seemed to make sense to include it in a show about the guild and its members!

Landscape of Maureen's vacation, woman sitting with spinning wheel infront of grasses, with rock with arches, trees and the ocian in the distance5 Landscape of Maureen’s vacation

I packed everything up, Glenn lugged it all out to the car, and off we went to the guild social on Monday. Ann got to check out the Mers and their new hair and spots!

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6.1-6.3 Ann Inspects the Mer’s at the studio

some of the items ready to go to the Almonte Textile Museum Bags and boxes on a table in the guild studio. in the back ground spinning and chatting are happening at a soical6.4 some of the items ready to go to the Almonte Textile Museum

There were quite a few pieces ready to go to the Almonte show, waiting on the table for pickup. The organizing team will get them after the social. I am sure we will let you know when the show is up and ready for viewing!

Now on to moose bags again! I have one more partly 3D moose bag underway and am starting a more 2D version of the picture too. I will keep you updated on these as they progress (I hope you are not getting bored with variations on a moose!!) (I am trying to inspire more Moose augmentation!!)

Until the next time we chat, Have fun and keep felting!

 

curved wall of mettle and glass, of Ottawa city hall gallery. the class panels are horizontal bands of clare and frosted glass, the clear giving hints of the exhibit inside.
Egils Rozenbergs Tapestry Exhibition (Ottawa, 2024)

Egils Rozenbergs Tapestry Exhibition (Ottawa, 2024)

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As I write this, I am just back from the private tour of the EGILS ROZENBERGS’ (Latvia) – Signs of the Time exhibition, arranged for the Ottawa Valley Weavers and Spinners guild. His work is monumental, and striking.  it is well worth the trip down to the New City Hall on Elgin St. (there is a parking Garage underneath the building. Use the Elgin Street entrance. As with much of Ottawa at the moment, there is construction and road work near the other entrance.) for those who find it a bit of a drive, let’s take a peek at the exhibit while it’s here! (Although you may want to come back for a second viewing when you have more time!)

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1.1-1.3) City Hall Art Gallery – peeking through the windows and looking at the tapestries

The exhibit’s public Opening and artist tour is on Thursday, August 29, 5:30 to 7:30 pm the Tour begins at 6 pm. The exhibition runs from August 29 to November 24, 2024, at the City Hall Art Gallery (110 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, ON, Canada, Ontario)

The new City hall is actually an old building, the old teacher’s college (Normal School), built in 1875 and the expansion of a new wing in 1990. Besides city offices, there is civic space, including multiple gallery spaces.  We are heading to the gallery behind the grand piano in the atrium.

I arrived about half an hour early so have time to check out some of the architecture of Ottawa city hall.

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2.1-2.5) Looking around the atrium of City Hall before the gallery opened.

I wandered back to find 2 people waiting for the talk but didn’t recognize them. They were the Tapestry Artist himself and his Canadian weaver friend, who would help him as a translator. Moments later, the Latvian Ambassador and his assistant arrived!

The artist is on the Left and the Ambassador of Latvia is on the right. both are standing in front of the City Hall Art Gallery3.1) weighting for the Gallery to open for the talk. The artist is on the Left and the Ambassador of Latvia is on the right.

The rest of the tour group arrived, as well as the gallery manager and we all went into the gallery.

We had a good turnout for a mid-day, mid-week time. Besides the local guild members, there are a few people you might not recognize; The Latvian Ambassador and his assistant, the Gallery manager, the Artist and his friend, and a fellow weaver who was also his translator (he did a fabulous talk in English). You might also spot Michel, Director of the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum!

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries Exhibition Egils Rozenbergs' tapestrie book and 4.1-4.2) Stepping into the gallery you are greeted by the monumental tapestries, which were striking, even more so in person. / The show catalogue, the book on Egils Rozenbergs ($40.00) and the visitor book.

Egils Rozenbergs is an internationally known weaver. He gave an overview of his education and then a bit about the focus of his work. He told us how he started as a painter, then he switched from painting to the new department of Textiles, with a focus on large tapestries for exhibitions. Since his scholastic training,  he has worked as a Textile artist. He was selected to weave a tapestry for Queen Margrethe II of Denmark as a present from Latvia. He has also had 2 of his designs picked by the French Goblin Tapestry Studio.

He had selected tapestries representing some of his older series of work as well as his latest series. This new selection marks a shift in his source material (the type of “yarn” fibres he uses). His early work used Wool/ Linen and Copper, moving to Wool/Linen and Polyester, and now shifting to Polyester, Polypropylene, Nylon, and Acrylic.

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries with the tour listening to the artist Egils Rozenbergs in front of one of his new tapestries5.1-5.2)He said his opening remarks and overview of the exhibition in front of his newest tapestries (his Transfiguration series), then answered some of our questions. / his translator friend, on the far left, is also a weaver.

We asked him quite a few technical questions; details about his loom, his warps and even weaving techniques.

He had a large horizontal loom similar to our 100-inch loom but only uses 2 shafts. (I was able to find the full picture that was used in the show promotional material, showing the loom he uses here: https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.hk0UBNJtxNtcQhIuT3o3vwHaE8?w=302&h=202&c=7&r=0&o=5&dpr=1.3&pid=1.7 )

There were questions next about if he was using a flying shuttle to compensate for the wide weaving width (that needed a bit of translation). No, he is using a manual shuttle and a tapestry technique for the pattern weft. Occasionally he had a friend weave with him, like we do for the 100-inch loom. I was wondering about what EPI he had set the warp. He could tell us how many warps in 20 centimeters which Ann S. quickly did the math and told us that it converted to 5EPI. That led to a follow-up about the visual difference between the wool ground and the new work with VHS and cassette tape (he had an ingenious way of adding twist as he wound balls for his weft! But I should not give away his secret, you will have to ask him when the exhibit travels closer to you.)  the PPI was greater in the newer weaving one of which was woven in plain weave where you can see both the warp and weft. The other tapestries were all weft-faced. One of the tapestries had a gradient in the ground, we found out he is using multiple strands of yarn, in different colours. He is switching out and in colours, as he weaves.  There was a question if he used a cartoon under his warp. He said he makes detailed drawings about 12×15 inches of his designs then graphs the design directly to the warp, making marks (drawing) on it.  He mentioned he sometimes frames and sells his preliminary drawings, as well as the tapestries.

He took us around the exhibit telling us about pieces he had selected.  These are made mainly of wool, Linen and Copper. He had been able to find coated copper (so it would not tarnish, he pointed at a tapestry from 2004 which was still shiny copper). I tried to remember everything he was saying and take shots to show you and the guild members who could not attend today.

In the area to the Left of the entrance, there were representatives of 3 of his series themes. The first represented the signs found in the Latvian beach sands near his home. This series was called Signs in the Sand which he has returned to over many years. The work on the Left was Morning Light 2004 Wool Linen and Copper, and on the Right, Sparkling Sea, 2016  Wool Linen and Copper.

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries close up6.1 -6.3) Close-up of sparkling sea (R) from the Signs in the Sand series the copper seemed to move and shimmer like light on sand in clear ripples of water.

I was very impressed with both pieces (even if they are invoking water).

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries close up Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries clsoe up6.4 -6.5) Close up of  the left

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries7.1) this tapestry was from a series called Scars.  I don’t seem to have the proper title.  It had a lovely graphic rhythm. I think some of the symbols or marks were from ancient graves.

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries close up7.2)   this was a close up. you can see the multi strands of the pattern weft, and how he is changing strands within the group as he weaves. The background is a solid blue.

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries7.3) The other tapestry from this series was at the entrance to the exhibit. Signs of the Time, from the Series Scars, 2020. Wool, Linen and Polyester.

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries8.1)  This tapestry represented the series of Mexican masks it was very striking too. The copper grabbed the light and reflected it back, making it hard to get a truly representational shot. This also gives you a good idea of the size of the tapestry and a suggestion of the size of the loom.

There were two tapestries from the Paris series, one was Rhythms of Paris 2012,  Wool, Linen and Copper. On a blue background, suggestions of the Eiffel Tower.

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries9.2)  The second piece was based on shadows on the ground in a park in Paris. (the top of a metal gate)

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries10.1) This one is from a series of frames that support haystacks. I found it particularly mesmerizing.

Egils Rozenbergs is showing his book in front of one of his tapestries10.2)  At this point the Gallery manager reminded us that there was a book available of his work (it will go very nicely in the Biography section of the Guild library, once the guild pays for it.)

We wound up back in the main section with his newest series. It is based on the changing technology and Transfiguration. Are you seeing circuit boards?

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries close up11.1-11.2) This one had a plain woven background so you can see the warp showing through. Two Suns, from the series Transfiguration 2016 Wool Linen and Polyester.

Egils Rozenbergs' New tapestries12) these 3 are also part of the Transfiguration series. Notice the background on these 3,  old tapes that were joined together and twisted to create the ground weft.

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries13.1-13.3 ) This is a close up of the tapestry on the far Left in the last photo it was called the Old Lady who walked along the sea from Transfiguration 2017 Polyester, polypropylene and Nylon.

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries14.1-14.2) Nothing is like it was Before from the series Transfiguration 2017,  Polyester, Poly polypropylene, Nylon  and Acrylic

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries14.3  (on the left) This piece was hung further away from the wall so you could look behind it

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries14.4) behind the back of the tapestry

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries 15.1-15.2 Transformation Series the end of the tour

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries exhibition Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries electronic sign outside city hall gallery15.3-15.4)  A couple of last shots of the gallery space

Egils Rozxenbergs’ presentation and explanation of his work were inspiring. I want to go out and felt a landscape a really big one! His repurposing of tape to weft was very effective and the coated copper got me wondering where I put my bobbin of fine cotton….  I hope if this exhibit travels somewhere near you (or you are visiting Ottawa before it closes) that you will grasp the opportunity and go see it.

 

 

 

Shepherdess and sheep coming along.

Shepherdess and sheep coming along.

Comments 11 comments

The deadline is getting close and I need to get done. As Jan will tell you soon it was Fiberfest weekend in Almonte. a small town close to where we live. I was on the demo team for Sunday. So I planned to work on the shepherdess and sheep as my demo project. First I had to get the shepherdess some clothes. Not too hard you think or at least I thought.

 

I forgot to take starting pictures but here is the shirt and skirt ready for final fulling.

felt shirt and skirt ready for fulling

 

 

And this is the shrinkage after fullingfelt shirt on resist showing shrinkage felt skirt on resist showing shrinkage

The skirt was fine but the shirt was way too stiff. so I made another using a lot less wool and felted it along with the cloak.

For the cloak, I decided to use some prefelt I had. I cut the first side a little bigger than the resist then folded it around and basted it into place. This seemed like the best idea to keep everything in place.

grey prefelt stitched together at the seam

And here it is shrunk

cloak on resist showing shrinkage.

I liked it and it fit well except for the hood. I didn’t like it at all.  I thought for the hood I wanted, it would be best to do it separately. do more cutting and sewing. and shirt number 4. I don’t remember what was wrong with shirt 2 but shirt 3 would have been good if I hadn’t cut the neck too big.

And finally, all the parts of the clothing are dry and ready to move on to the next steps.

For the next post, I hope to have the shepherdess all done and a colourful flock of sheep for her to tend.