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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.

21) adjusting the Pink Sweatshirt the little pet combs are being used as carders as blend purles, pink and a bit of light grey and white
Part 2, Maureen Shared her vacation, which became A Little Needle Felted Landscape

Part 2, Maureen Shared her vacation, which became A Little Needle Felted Landscape

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Part 2 of Jan’s picture.

Now that i have sat and thought for a while, lets get back to felting fun!!

Monday, July 22nd: I have spent some time to consider, looked at my digitized progress felting, and have decided what to do next. The shadow is not deep enough in the sweatshirt, the spinning wheel needs more definition, and the suggestions of flowers, need more suggestions. Let’s see if I spot anything else I need to improve.

I had a short-staple small batt of yellow that had tiny nepps in it. I would not have had fun spinning it but a tiny pinch and a pair of embroidery scissors shortened the fibres even further and I got the nepps to look a bit more like yellow flowers.

adding the suggestion of yellow wildflowers17) adding the suggestion of yellow wildflowers

I had some carded top in white that I pulled off a staple length, then cut it into short bits about ¼ inch to maybe 1cm long. I then opened out the fibre creating more of a cobweb, that, was positioned where I wanted bits of white flowers to be.

Top cut with scissors 1/4 inch or about 1cm18)Top cut with scissors

That’s a bit better….

19) the wisps of short fibers of white, teased into loose cobwebs to suggest many little white flowers amongst the various greens19) the wisps of short fibers of white, teased into loose cobwebs to suggest many little white flowers amongst the various greens

The yellow is still a bit too intense…yellow can do that, I laid over a light spiders-web-whips of white. It’s getting better. Now let’s try to define the wheel a bit better.

20) I like the wheel, but let’s fix the pink top it had deeper shadows.20) I like the wheel, but let’s fix the pink top it had deeper shadows.

21) adjusting the Pink Sweatshirt the little pet combs are being used as carders as blend purles, pink and a bit of light grey and white21) adjusting the Pink Sweatshirt

Hum. No the edges are too strong but I like the tonal values, they are a little darker looking in the photo than the felt.

The angles are not quite right yet, let me fix that. There is something odd with the shorts too, they’re too short.

seeing more spots that need a bit more work 22) a few more spots that need work

Ah, looking at the angle of the back is not right. I think it was a wisps that extended themselves a bit wider when I wasn’t watching. The angle at the elbow is also a bit off…  I can fix that too.  This may be due to not putting a reference frame in as I was transferring the image and the image slipped a bit as I was using the Sharpie. I will remember to use pins and more reference points next time.

Oh now I have to do a bit of touch-up on Ann’s Sheep so I will get back to this later this week.

 

Wednesday, July 24th:

Marie is having another woolly Wednesday on YouTube, so while I wait for that to start I am continuing to fix the sweatshirt, I am almost done, I think…

nuged wool over a bit to fix the angle on the back and have lenthend the shorts. still fussing a bit with the hint of flowrs too.23) I have nudged the wool over a bit to fix the angle on the back and have lengthened the shorts. still fussing a bit with the hint of flowers too. the sweatshirt looks much better, I’m almost there.

Hum, still missing the highlights

fixed the highights on the sweatshert and i think i may have it to my likely. 24) fixed the highlights on the sweatshirt and I think I may have it to my liking.

That’s close I think I should look at the picture in a mat.

adding mat and frame floating felt by pressure so I can assess it. Yellow arrows show specks on the mat from the frame paint chips.25) adding mat and frame floating  the felt by pressure so I can assess it. Drat! bits of black flecks on mat!

The frame is lint-ing bits of black paint onto the mat, the Yellow arrows show specks on the mat from the frame paint chips. they were very obvious to me in person and they will annoy me if I leave them (13 years of picture framing coming back to haunt me!!!)  I will take it apart and clean it again.

Yes, I think that’s better let me think about it for a bit but I may be done!

took the frame apart and recleaned the mat, dusted the mat and wiped the frame. then put it together again.26) re-matted with a cleaner mat.

I will look into a better mat.  it’s a standard size so it should not cost the price of a full sheet of mat board for an 8×10 mat. I wonder if I can find a piece of acid-free 2py to go with it?

I am going to leave it in this mat and frame for a bit and see if it still feels finished.

I wonder if Maureen will recognize the picture! I am so glad she posted it! You never know where you will see an image or idea that inspire you.

top of landscape sowing sky sea and rocks with cut outs from the oican
Maureen Shared her vacation, which became A Little Needle Felted Landscape

Maureen Shared her vacation, which became A Little Needle Felted Landscape

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I know some of us are very lucky to live near an active guild.  Many fibre arts people don’t have that source of fibre friends and inspiration. One of our guild members was on a road trip. She kindly brought us along vicariously through her posted shots.  Some were of the spots where she had stopped and spun yarn. One of the shots she shared with the guild particularly caught my eye.  It was a good composition, but the tilt of the horizon bothered me.  I could fix that…..

the original photo of Maureen’s Vacation spinning picture “spinning in front to the Arches at Arches Provincial Park”. not the odd tilt of the horizen. 1) Maureen’s Vacation spinning picture “spinning in front to the Arches at Arches Provincial Park”

Tuesday, July 09th: I was at the Kanata Games Club on Tuesday night, Glenn was busy and I had wool, a nametag size piece of green wool, needles, and scissors, now where is my felting mat and the fine Sharpie I thought I had?  Ok give me a minute, I know where the dollar store is, just down the hill from the gaming. It’s a bit too far to go with the walker, but really close by car. I was back with a garden foam kneeling pad and 3 fine sharps (and snacks) by 6:30 pm.

one print out of the photo to use as a template and another few to use as reference. i have croped the picknick table and some of the width mostly trees2) 6:30-ish pm at the Kanata Games Club.

The piece of green I had grabbed was a bit shorter in length than I wanted. It was also not as rectangular as I would have liked. It’s wool, So not a problem!!! I just added more wool fibre to make it the size I needed.  A bit of work with the Clover multie-needle tool and I had a solid felt base the size I wanted.

I am again using the template method of image transfer and a bit of divine editing of the angle of the horizon.

template method; cutting out the sky then using the remaining image to mark the sky, i have flatened the horizen so the picture is now on a slight angle. i did not add reference marks since the image fit over the felt i was working on. that will come back to hont me later.3) Cutting off the sky and then straightening the Horizon.

sky and horizen in, fixing not squaire felt base 4) Straitened the horizon, and squared up the short corner of felt.

cutting the next section of the photo out and then adding the sea5) cutting the next section out and then adding the sea

Cutting out the rock and the next section of ocean.6) Cutting out the rock and the next section of the ocean.

Continuing to cut away a section of the photo, draw in the new edge then felt in the open area7) Continuing to cut away a section of the photo, draw in the new edge then felt in the open area

I am not the fastest of feltres, this is about 3.5 hours.  Glenn has just finished his gaming and it is time for me to pack up and head home. I am pleased with the progress so far.

 

Wednesday, July 10th:

Resumed felting, ……time for a break, I got over-focused on felting.  Where did I put the camera? On drat, I missed a big chunk of time,  I had better stop for a photo break.

Continuing to cut out a section, then use sharpie to denote the edge, then add wool. replacing the remaining picture to check angles.8.1-8.2) Continuing to cut out a section, then use a sharpie to denote the edge, then add wool.

Laying over the un-felted space with the remains of the reference photo, to see how the image is coming along. You can also see that I have stuck the wool mat in a heavy freezer zip-lock bag. It has not entirely kept the fiber from transferring but the migration has been reduced drastically. This is the third name tag/ picture I have been working with the green base wool on this wool pad. I have been using the same side of the pad but now have rotated the plastic bag. I should last till the end of this picture then I will likely change it for another freezer bag. If you are curious let me know and we can investigate this further, looking into ways to reduce wool transfer to your work surface.

9) My Reference image is now on the computer, note zip lock baggie with all pieces that have been cut out so far.9) My Reference image is now on the computer, note the zip lock baggie with all the pieces that have been cut out so far. it’s above the Right corner of the felting.

I now have my reference image up on the computer, as I am working while waiting for Marie, from Texas, to start Wooly Wednesday on YouTube. You can see the parts of the image I have already cut off in a zip lock baggie so I can refer to them if I need to. (such as the area at the top left where I still need to add a tree in front of the water I have already felted.

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 10.1-10.2) This felting experience was enhanced by the nibbling of blackberries,  just make sure your fingers are clean before getting back to the wool. note the Sharpie it’s double ended (Fine and Extra fine tip)

I am now adding the outline for the right arm. In addition, note the double-ended sharpie (Fine/Extra Fine), and the heavy zip lock bag over my wool felting mat is reducing the amount of wool wanting to transfer into the pad. Blackberries are also very inspirational but don’t let them change the colour of your fingers and then your wool.

the arm is in11) Arm is in

adding shorts12) adding shorts

this is about at 10.5 hours13) This is about 10.5 hours

I still have a lot of detail work to do adding all the flowers a bit more edge defining and tree extensions. But I am quite pleased so far. Time for bed.

 

Thursday;  Finished writing my blog post for the 14th and started writing this one. Ok, I am as slow at writing, as I am at felting. (I did wind up writing about Ann’s Name tag before getting back to finish this one.)

 

Monday, July 15h: I brought the little landscape in to get Ann’s opinion. She said it looked like Maureen’s hair was curly I will try to fix that. I also consulted on the sheep name tag I was making for her.

picture in zip lock bagie, held on to shelf by a magnaet.14) Waiting for a consultation with Ann and I was working on her sheep name tag

I worked a little bit on Wednesday and got the tree in the top left corner blocked in. as you will see when I got back to work at the social. I like to be able to put a piece down and think about what I want to do next, decide on my options and then look at it again with fresh eyes and Reassess.

 

Monday, July 22nd:

By this point, it’s getting down to details and finishing touches. You can’t tell but in person, the straw yellow is not as embedded and solid as it looks in the photo.

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15.1-15.2) Assessing the progress I have made so far.

I have added a bit of a suggestion of wildflowers and fussed with the green undertones but something is not yet right.

Helping your brain to not just look, but see what it’s looking at can be challenging.

When you are working and get to the point you are unsure, it may be that your eye and your brain are arguing.

The eye says “this is what I am looking at” and the brain says “I know what a tree looks like! I don’t have to look at another tree” There are a few ways to help the brain pay attention and actually see what it is looking at. Here are a few I learned while painting but can be applied to felting too (which is painting with wool).

  • Use a mirror to look at your felt image. By reversing the image, it gives a fresh perspective and often you can see a proportion or angle that is not quite right.
  • Photography (camera, cell phone, iPad); look at the felt image as a digital image. You often will spot something off in the photo you did not notice in the work. You can also digitize the image you are working from. It lets you scroll in close to part of the painting to see details,
    • see the image in black and white or
    • oversaturate the image with colour to see hidden colours.
  • rotate your image and reference until it’s upside down (inverted). It becomes easier to see negative space and spatial relationships when the image is not looked at in the usual way.
  • Set your work and image look at it sitting vertically (on an easel or propped up against something so you are not looking down at it) Step back and look at the work.
  • Take a break, go do something else. Come back with “Fresh eyes”.

16) ways to help your brain see what you are looking at 16) ways to help your brain see what you are looking at

Remember that it’s your image, it doesn’t have to be exactly the same unless you want it to be. You can be the god of your landscape and move a tree, make a shrub shorter or fuller or remove it. Do you feel the image needs more sky? Then add it. As long as the image makes sense  (no double points of light sources unless you are on an alien planet with 2 suns) it will be believable. You are unlikely to hang the photo reference beside your finished piece, so move a tree if it offends you. If you are working on a portrait, you have to be a bit more accurate. Then use the above suggestions to help get as close as you can to the original.

I have put my piece aside, so I can think about it and see the image with fresh eyes before I finish the fine details. So I have switched to work on another little project for Ann. (which you  have seen; https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/2024/07/24/name-tag-sneaky/ .) Next time i will show you what i find and how i fix it. Have fun and keep felting!!

 

sheep name tag with no name yet
Name Tag: Sneaky

Name Tag: Sneaky

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Someone mentioned that her name tag was really old and missing. I can’t seem to narrow down what I want to do, so let me look at replacing the missing tag for Ann. Now I hope I can finish it before she finds her old name tag!

Hum, what might Ann like? Sheep!  Ok, off to Google Image to see if I can find an interesting sheep. What kind of sheep might she like? The Sheep Ann has are mostly mixed with Rideau Arcott (developed at the Animal Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada), but I have heard her say she likes black sheep. Ok, let’s look for “black sheep”, “Sheep in barn door”, and  “sheep and wall”.

There was a profile photo of a Black Icelandic-looking sheep, which was very striking.

profile of Icelandic looking sheep with horn and nondescript background.4 seep in barn doorway, i sheep in old wooden doorway sheep in white painted doorway1.1) Icelandic sheep in profile. 1.2) sheep in barns

 It did not have as interesting background as I would have liked. Ann likes purples so maybe I could do a sort of purple sunset? After looking through many sheep, I narrowed it down to about 6 options but came back to the black Icelandic in profile.

Ann had mentioned that she found the nametag pieces I had cut were too big. So I should stiffen the background and then reduce the size.  To firm up the odd green felt I added more white wool (Corriedale). When I cut the nametag down, you can see the path of the needle, as it pushes the white fibre into the green felt.

wool base with white wool added then cut in half showing insertion of white wool into the green felt. 2) Showing the wool being pushed through the felt

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3.1) adding more white wool to hide the cut (front View) 3.2) Adding a bit more wool to heal the cut edge (Back view).

two sizes of sheep image compared ageist size of name tag4) Now to decide the scale of the image, to the size of the tag.

As usual, I am working from the background towards the front. In this image, there are only 2 plains, the background and the sheep! Again, I am using the template technique, which you have seen me use before.

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5.1-5.2) Starting to add a background. background blocked in.

background blocked in, used sharpie to outline face (and shadow under chin)6) Background sort of blocked in, using a sharpie to outline the face and position the eye,  let’s see if can make a sheep

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7.1-7.3) Adding the sheep starting with the head, and horn and then adding the body.

Not sure about the shadow under the chin, but let’s block in the horn, and come back to the shadow. As i worked i kept asking Ann for her input. She didn’t seem to suspect i was making this for her.

As you have likely noticed, I often have issues with keeping 2D flat….. so I am making an ear…..a sheep needs an ear!

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8.1) making a black ear 8.2) ear attached

Oh drat,  good ear-age makes the horn look flat…. Got to fix that. I need to add more wool to create a more substantial horn to go with the ear. And the head is getting lost in the body…. Lest sift it lighter.

3D ear and horn9)  Now we have a 3-D ear and Horn that looks better.

I added a magnet to the back so she didn’t need to have a safety pin or sew-on pin.

adding magnet disk behind small pice of comertal wool10)  Adding a magnet by sewing a small pocket of commercial felt to the tag.  The second magnet is in the background.

I went back, added a bit more detail, and got rid of the shadow that had been under his chin.  now he might be looking back towards you, rather than ahead.

changed the sheep body to a lighter colour11) that looks better, no chin shadow, lighter coat

OH NO! Ann Found her old name tag but said it was looking a bit ratty and needed to make another one!! I need to felt faster!!!  she has seen what I am working on but doesn’t seem to have guessed I am trying to make a name tag for her!

Ann's old name tag 12) Ann’s old name tag had been found

I could not find a yarn that worked. But Ann offered a bit of her handspun yarn. Now What font?  “Ann” in Harrington font might work, it has a nice Art Neuvoue feel.

"Ann" in Harrington Font13) Ann in Harrington font which feels very Art Neuvoue

It’s hard to fit letters when the tag is smaller but let’s see if I can fit all of them. I had a few guild members wander over to see what I was felting but had my hand over part of the name. Maybe I am going with Jan with 2 N’s? Good thing we share letters!!

added Name "Ann"14) Ann’s Name tag done!

I hope I have not spoiled her fun by making her own name tag.

Ann trying out her new name tag15) She did seem to be surprised. I hope she will like it.

I was trying to complete this before Ann found her lost, older name tag, and felted much faster than I usually do.  I usually pause, and debate options as I am working. I can already see a few tweaks I would like to do. I wonder if I can borrow it, for a quick touch-up?

Up Date 07/22/2024:

Ann’s name tag, before getting back to work.16) Ann’s name tag, before getting back to work.

I borrowed Ann’s Name tag when she arrived at the guild social and got back to work.

First I edged part of Ann’s letters in white, to help subtly pop the name. I checked in with Ann again and she wanted me to change the angle on the “A” crossbar. I can do that!

“A” crossbar re-angled at Left baser and added white edging shadow.17) “A” crossbar re-angled at Left baser and added white edging shadow.

Now,  I need to add a bit more 3d-ness to face, and add a bit more shadowing on the horn.

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18.1) – edging on letters added, nest to build up forehead, bridge of nose and nose. 18.2) adding dimension to forehead, losing ear, will fix that shortly.  18.3) – ear fixed head showing more depth.  18.4) added fiber to forehead, front edge of the sheep face and nose. then added a bit of dark to the horn as well as make it a bit firmer. I also straitened the horizon.

There that looks a bit better! Time to check with Ann,

Ann inspecting updated name tag 19.1) She Likes It!!!

Ann inspects 3D sheep head19.2)  Much more 3D!

I hope Ann and her sheep will be happy and she can use it at socials, Demos and workshops!

Now that I have made a name tag for  Glenn and one for Ann do I have a better idea of one for me or will I pick on someone else next?

 

Travel Inspiration (& a little bit of felting)

Travel Inspiration (& a little bit of felting)

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For various reasons, I’ve not done much felt-making recently and I’m now in the very fortunate position of finding myself on holiday / vacation in California when this post is due. So, I’m going to talk about some of the creatively-inspiring things I’ve seen while I’ve been here, and then show you a little felting I’ve done as a result.

As I’ve been on holiday I’ve been looking at and mulling over some of the things around me that I find inspiring when I’m deciding what to felt. Visiting California, these have fallen broadly into three categories: coastal, botanical & textile.

COASTAL

For the first week, I was staying in Redono Beach, just south of Los Angeles, so there was an obvious coastal connection. As I walked along the beach each morning I looked at the ocean and things that were washed up at the water’s edge.

I found two “sand dollars” (actually skeletons of flat, burrowing sea urchins) which were beautifully patterned so popped them in my pocket for further consideration.

Left & bottom the 2 sand dollars I found

There was lots of interesting sea weed – I quite fancy wet felting some sea weed – though you’ll be glad to hear I didn’t pocket that.

Branched seaweed on a sandy beach
Seaweed that looks like a small tree with roots
A big pile of ribbon-like seaweed
A pile of seaweed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


And I found the usual bits of shell, pebble & sea creatures. Plus a nice view of a little egret

An empty piece of shellfish shell on a sandy beach
A piece of a shellfish or crab
A little egret walking along the shoreline with waves and surfers in the background
A little egret at Redondo beach

BOTANICALS

Around LA there were some lovely plants & trees. I found the bark of some trees and stems of cacti or succulents in Huntington Botanical Gardens especially intriguing. 

Close up of a cactus or succulent stem, bright green with lots of fin-shaped bumps

These could inspire some really interesting 3D felt pieces.

I also loved these bougainvillea at the Getty Center.  Metal rods support or encourage the plant to grow up inside their structure, then the stems, with their bright pink bracts & tiny white flowers, cascade out of the top looking like giant bunches of flowers. I think there’s a felted vase idea in there somewhere.

Bougainvillea at the Getty Center, LA

I gathered these in the garden of the next house we rented in the country near Solvang. I’ve wet felted seed pods, including eucalyptus, before. It was interesting to see the remains of the flowers on the tree on little green pods, then (I assume) the dried version, followed by the matured pods.

  • Close up of Eucalyptus flowers & seed heads on a tree
    Flowers & seed pods, eucalyptus

Maybe I’ll do some more eucalyptus pods some time.

TEXTILES

Also at the Getty Centre was this bust of a Sudanese man by Charles Cordier. This is a bit of a cheat in that it’s a representation of textiles but I marvelled at the way the artist had managed to make the hard marble-onyx look so much like softly draping fabric.

At The Broad modern art museum I found this enormous draped piece, “Red Block”, both extremely beautiful and very poignant. Created by Ghanaian-born, Nigeria-based artist El Anatsui, you can read the gallery’s text (below). Made primarily from reused gin bottle caps it is lovely in itself. As the text describes it, it also references traditional kente cloth, cultural appropriation and the damage caused by alcohol, colonialism & global markets, among other things. I also liked that the decision on exactly how to hang it is up to the exhibition’s curators. Presumably it would be different in every place it’s shown, reflecting the curators’ interpretation.


By artist El Anatsui

The Broad also had two textile pieces I found interesting. A large fibre-based work by Channing Hansen…..

Photos

8-Manifold, 2017, by Channing Hansen

….and a huge felt piece by Robert Morris

On to the Museum of Contemporary Art, I found this work, “African-American Flag” thought-provoking.

African American Flag, 1990 by David Hammons

As was this huge wool tapestry by Goshka Macuga.

Goshka Macuga
Death of Marxism, Women of All Lands Unite, 2013

Visitors to The Broad were encouraged to stand quite close to these giant canvases by Rothko, which positively vibrated with colour.

I thought these could provide a good stepping-off point for wet felting, given how layered the colours are. Though it would take a lot of wool, space and elbow grease to achieve anything like the experience of standing in front of the Rothkos.

I had hoped to find some unspun wool while I was out and about and maybe get in a little recreational felt-making but it wasn’t easy to find.  Lots of yarn but no unspun wool.  Then, visiting La Purisima Mission in Lompoc, I found some small samples of Navajo Churro wool available in their gift shop, taken from their own flock. There wasn’t much of it & the colours were limited (3 shades of grey) but I bought a little, thinking back to those grey sand dollars.

Navajo Churro wool, carded slivers


I gathered together some very basic equipment and cut out a sand dollar shape from scrap bubble wrap to act as a resist.

I’m always happy to remember that you really don’t need any fancy equipment to make wet felt. Just these bits & pieces, some dish soap, warm water & my beach towel.

A reused drinks bottle with holes in the lid, a pit holder, a plastic garbage bag and a piece of bubble wrap
Felting tools

Here’s the wool laid out and wetted down ready for felting.

Top
Bottom

And here is the result.

Top

The wool is fairly course and felted well though the floor looked like I owned a very shaggy dog afterwards. There was quite a lot of shedding. The patterns aren’t as distinct as I’d have liked because I couldn’t get quite enough colour differentiation but that’s OK. I might do a little needle felting on it when I get home, or I might just leave it as it is.

I hope you enjoy my trip around California.  I certainly am!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoy my trip around California.  I certainly am!

gold foil placed within the design
Inspired by nature – part 2

Inspired by nature – part 2

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In my previous post I had completed two nature inspired collages https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/2024/03/28/inspired-by-nature-part-1/ and had then decided (in my infinite wisdom!) to create a third and form a set. Collages one and two were partners, now I was heading for a family!

 

My original completed piece
1   My original completed piece

 

A second work including a found twig, fabric snippets and embroidery stitches
2   My second piece

As I was now creating a ‘triptych’ – meaning the two different nature inspired collages needed to be tied together – I had to concentrate on colour and texture, because I didn’t have enough snippets of all the various fabrics previously used. At the same time, I needed to think about the design direction.

One of the hardest decisions was deciding which way up, I finally wanted to present collages one and two, as this would have a bearing on three. When doing abstract work, I usually work from different directions so that, to me, it is balanced from all sides. This enables me, or a client, to decide which way to hang the piece, or simply present the opportunity to ring the changes!

 

Design sketches and potential fabric pieces to be used
3   Thinking about the design

 

the final auditioning of fabrics
4   Auditioning the fabrics

 

Once I’d decided on the final hanging direction of collages one and two, the next hurdle was the actual design layout. Again, the priority for me, was to unify and compliment the previous finished pieces, for which my various sketches proved very useful.

I’ve been asked many times ‘where do you get your layout ideas from?’ Zimples…I look through my vast collection of images that I find interesting (landscape, architectural, food etc), then finding one I like, I either trace or freehand copy the main shapes. These then become the kicking off point. I’m repeating myself I know, as I’ve mentioned all this before….I just want to get the message over that this method is available to everyone – whether they are ‘arty’ or say they can’t draw for toffee!

 

Fabrics finally chosen and laid out in position
5   Layout of fabrics finalised – including some paper birch bark (the yellow underside was more interesting than the white top).

 

With my final decisions made on the design layout and the fabrics to use, it was time to start adding some embellishing stitches.

Although not immediately obvious each work also has some golden elements (paper or foil) included with the dried peeled cherry & birch bark (from felled trees), twigs, or dried bark chips (these were a beach combing find!). All from my ‘that’s too good to throw away/it might come in useful’ stash!

Then it was back to the entire same auditioning process re the placement of Mother Nature’s treasures with the added complication of now having to balance these elements with those of the other two completed works, which in turn, might decide in which order the three collages should be displayed (1,2,3 or 1,3,2 or, 3,1,2 etc).

In terms of design, balance, or colour – if I saw a glaring ‘gap’, yet more embellishing stitches were added, particularly to subtly enhance the circles.

 

gold foil placed within the design
5a   Just to show the gold elements. Notice the copper thread too on the bark

 

These collages are all about being nature inspired, so the following photographs show some close-up details which I have paired with various of my (oh so many!!!) images of Mother Nature’s spontaneous creations that surround us, even in the tiniest of corners.

close up details from my originally collage
6   Detail 1 – A variety of stitches on the original collage

 

 

close up of stitched bark paired with a twig
7   Detail 2 – Stitched cherry bark overlaid with a sheer with crocheted lichen and copper wrapped twig

 

 

close-up detail of second collage
8   Detail 3 – Eco printed fabric, expanded wet-wipe and yarn tufts

 

 

Embroidery stitces to emulate moss and lichen
9   Detail 4 – Embroidery stitches to evoke lichen and moss

 

 

Placement of fabric evokes the cracks seen in rocks and cut tree trunks
10   Detail 5 – Reminiscent of cracks in rocks and aged cut tree trunks

 

 

detail of copper wrapped bark with a tufted yarn to resemble moss.
11 Detail 6 – Copper wrapped bark, ‘cracks’ or maybe twigs and yarn moss

 

Framing the three collages….

I used my favourite method – by stitching each to card cut to fit the frame. I was so lucky that on one car boot sojourn, I found 3 IKEA frames, just perfect for my wall space. Each collage is 22 x 22cm (8½x 8½ins). At some point, I might present them in larger square frames with a wide 10cm (4in) mount (mat) to provide a counterfoil….before that….I’ll need to move house to have more wall space!!!

And herewith the final pieces, enough collage work for now I think….

The first collage
12   The original work – I blame this one for setting me off down this path….I enjoyed it so much!

 

Collage two all framed and ready to hang
13   Collage 2

 

The fianl collage all framed ready to hang
14   Collage 3 – Giving birth to this baby was not quite so easy as it had to share it’s parents’ features!

 

But maybe something beckons….

Lichen and moss covered rocks on top of a stone wall
15 Mother Nature’s circles – Mmmm food for thought perhaps!

Did I forget to mention that I also love the rocks and stones on which the lichen grow!!!

 

We’d love to hear about any dip or triptychs you’ve created.

 

Plans, Shopping, Lambs and Flowers

Plans, Shopping, Lambs and Flowers

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Spring is so busy and we have a lot going on. First, even though it is already the 13 of May I have just picked out a piece of felt for my May slow stitch page. It is thin and soft so it will probably need some stabiliser on the back when I am done. There is a little sparkle that the camera is not picking up.  I have picked some things to stitch on it but I will keep that for when it’s done.

a rectangle of multicoloured handmade felt

Also only in the planning is another spiral. I am thinking of using some locks on this one.

Next was shopping. The first fibre show of the year for me was last weekend.  Well, if you don’t count the shopping at the spin. It’s called For the Love of Fibre.  It’s a small show but lots of great stuff. I picked up a small amount of 2 colours I don’t have, just to have them. What better reason could there be? I am sure Jan will have lots of pictures to show you

blue and purple fibre top

 

and 2 art batts. this first one just screams summer beach and will probably get used as is with a few embellishments.

a fiber art batt for spinning or felting.

 

This one I don’t know. I may deconstruct it and use it in a picture or spin some. I don’t know yet.

a fibre art batt for spinning or felting, blues and greens

 

And some lovely dark brown Gottland locks because I can’t resist locks. Well, actually, I resisted a lot of locks, despite Jan’s best efforts to get me to pick other colours too.

Next, we have lambs, there are about 20 in the barn and maybe 10-15 sheep waiting to have their lambs. We now have 2 in the house. 2 I showed you  Sven and Henna and now we have Jett. Poor Jett. his mom likes him but won’t let him drink. he has sharp teeth or rather he had sharp teeth. We used a fine emery board to gently file them but Mom was not willing to take a chance, so he had to come in. He has only been in a couple of days and hasn’t worked out drinking from a bottle yet. We are working on it.

 

A black lamb

Here the 3 of them are in their outdoor pen.

And now for some inspiration. Spring is so inspiring. My front yard has very little grass, mostly it has violets. Most are the standard purple ones.

violets

But also some white and purple ones, and some purple speckled ones.

 

white and purple violets

I think the speckled ones are my favourite.

And soon there will be lilacs. I can’t wait to smell them.

Lilac budds

I hope your spring is going as well as mine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

April round up.

April round up.

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April is now gone and May will hopefully bring more sun and more flowers.

I started the month with some felt stars. It was a fun little project and might work for a fast free workshop. Maybe at a guild social. You can read about how I made them here

wool and silk felted stars. Green and Yellow

Next was an eyeglasses holder for beside my bed. It was an interesting project with some strange wool. Here it is hanging up beside my bed. I didn’t realise how dusty the bookcase was until I took a picture. Then I had to dust and take it again. The things I do for our followers. LOL

wet felted hanging eye classes case.

 

I taught 2 workshops this month, Nunofelt Scarf and  Felt Birdhouse/Feeder workshop. We had a lot of fun. Here are the ladies with their finished scarves. Sorry, I forgot to get a group shot.

And the finished Birdhouse/feeders.

After teaching I decided to treat myself to a Workshop. I signed up for Helene’s Felt Spiral Workshop. I really enjoyed making my spiral. I learned a lot along the way. It is wonderful to see how different people do things. It would be wonderful if we all lived close enough to get together regularly.

I am full of ideas for more spirals now.

purple spiral movie

I couldn’t get the movie to work so here is a still.

With April finished I have another completed page for my slow stitch collection.  I decided to include a little needle felting this time. I included some flowers but also the solar eclipse we had here, a cloud and rain because we have had a lot of April showers and my purple umbrella to keep me dry. I really do have a purple umbrella. I added the Autism Awareness infinity symbol because it is autism awareness month.  Then I was left with an empty spot at the bottom and I couldn’t figure out what to put there. I did a special days in April search and on the last day of the month, I was reminded of the first day of the month and added the fake glasses nose and moustache for April Fools.

a piece on hand made felt with needle felt and stitched pictures for the month of April

and lastly, because it is spring this last week we have started having lambs.

Lambs and moms in a group pen

And these are my current bottle babies. Sven( thanks to Jan for the name) who no one would claim. He is doing a good imitation of a Valies Black Nose with his black nose and knees.  And Henna whose mother hates her( probably because she is really good at yelling at the top of her lungs for no reason) Once they are both drinking well and down one feeding per day ( they are on 5 times a day right now) they will go live in a lambing pen until they are a little bigger then they can join a group.

 

close up of sign for Peterborough fiber arts Festival and Sale 2024
Peterborough Fiber festival 2024

Peterborough Fiber festival 2024

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It is springtime in Ottawa, and the trees are migrating in my driveway. So now is the time to watch for fibre festival announcements!

leaf debree traing away from the garden up the drive way to where the large potted trees now sit beside the brick wall of the house.1) Signs the migration has started by the trail of leaf debris and the new summer location of the portable forest (in front of the kitchen window). I just wanted to show you that spring has finally sprung!

Today I want to invite you to join us on a trip to Peterborough Fibre Arts Festival & Sale 2024. So set your alarm clock for 5 am and I will meet you in the driveway at 6 am!

grey kea soul with front door open in drizzeling rain at twilight.it is sitting in the driveway under the large maple 2) 6 am, a light drizzle, but the new grass seed should be likening this weather. The sun is just starting to arrive.  (Kea hatchback, with new tiers and a few other repairs)

I have an audiobook ready to go, and a heavily caffeinated Mountain Dew drink, Glenn brought his book (and a spare). We will pick up bagels with cream cheese on the way! We are driving west across the Canadian Shield, old rocks abused by glaciers, lots of trees and the occasional lake and streams. This time of year has those amazing colours, of ambers, rusts, browns and hints of green to come. Unfortunately, the rain is dulling them somewhat. However, I am sure you will enjoy the scenery anyway.

Vew out the front window of the car showing road streaching away and rock cutting to the right side close up of rock cutting3.1 3.2) Rocks and trees of the Canadian Shield

There are sections of the trip where you can see beaver ponds, lodges and dams, but let’s skip ahead so you don’t have to enjoy the full 3.5 hour drive of scenery.

We arrived at the sports centre where the sale was taking place around 9:30 am. They were just finishing up the setup and would be opening shortly (10 am)

Daphodill clump about to bloom yellow flowers4)  Spring Daffodils

Peterborough is always ahead of us in weather and is enjoying spring flowers, here is a lovely clump of Daffodils about to open, and there was a smaller clump in full bloom.

sign saying admisions $5.00 5) admission desk sign for Fiber festival

While I waited to go in, (Glenn read) I spotted this vendor in an asymmetrical nuno felted vest and was sure to get a shot.

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6)Nuno felt asymmetrical vest

At 10 o’clock they let the hordes in!

As we waited we could see vendors photographing something just inside, to the right of the doors

rug hooking display and demo7) The Kawartha Hooking Guild had a display and demo just as you entered.

Ah, that explains that mystery!

The space is in a large gym within the sports centre. The booths are arranged around the edges of the gym as well as a centre double row of booths with a wide aisle between them.  I am looking for the Black Lamb and Olive Sparrow in a quest for two types of felt backgrounds. But let’s stop a moment at the booth next to the rug hookers.

As the Wheel Turns:

second hand wheels and wheel excessorys more wheels for sale  8) This booth has refurbished secondhand wheels and spinning accessories

You may see a couple of the smaller items that followed me home. She had a Lendrum wheel, which we both thought would be gone by the time I made it around the show, it took a little longer but it sold.  She also had a woolly winder for a Lendrum but it sold separately.

Let me pull you away from the wheels, the next booth was 3 Dogsknits and they had yarn and braids of fibre.

armfull of braids of fiber9) shopping at 3 Dog Knits booth, love the skirt

Wondering on,  Lang Pioneer Village had a booth. They also have a Jacquard loom, there was a sample on their table as well as the fabric for the purse was woven on their loom.

Display of the Museum banner and bag/purse the reast of teh table display wtith woven table drape witht he name of the museum10.1-10.2) Lang Pioneer Village Museum display and banner.

11) The next booth is Irish Hill Shop and they had felt.

puplr sweter displayed in front of shelves of yarn partly obsured by shoppers12) I think this is Etho Makes?  Very pretty yarn but I was looking for fiber.

swing picker and baskets of raw sheeps wool fiber13) Yarnsomiacs had a double booth, with fiber, a picker for sale, batts and yarn.

Next was the Black Lamb, which I was looking for some of her felt ground that I have used for name tags. I got very distracted and was sure I had taken more photos of the booth but seem to have bought needles, a book on felt and the felt I actually was looking for.

colourfull balls of super wash fiber in blue bucket14) Black Lamb had a double booth, lots of colourful dyed fibre, most was merino, in both Superwash (dose not wet felt) and regular merino. I also saw cashmere, tussah silk and a lot of felting needles. If you look back at one of my trips to Twist you will see more of the selection!

The next was also a double booth,  Kim at Designs. It was full of sewing/hand stitching supplies. It was full of people most of the time I was there.  If you can make it through the throng, you can pick up some cool sewing items!

embrodery yarn sckaines and little balls of fine yarn 15) Slow stitching, embroidery, quilting, fine needles, scissors and other hand sewing tools in Kim at Designs booth.

If I can pull you away, the next booth was Wool for Ewe.

balls of roving in lots of colours (not Mereno) and pices of felt backgrounds16) Felting backgrounds, yarn, batts of fibre, felting tools, Kumohimo and Felting kits at Wool 4 Ewe

I think the next booth was called the Living Canvas. It had hand dyed scarves and scarf hardware. It took a while before I could get a shot of it!

booth showing scares and sarf hardware colse up of scarf 17.1-17.2) The Living Canvas Scarves

There should have been a rug hooking booth next, but I thot it was further down, and I can’t find a shot of that one either, I was obviously distracted.

18) Santosha Fibreworks and Farm  was a double booth filled with Ashford spinning and felting projects, their own milled felt, various breeds of fibre in natural or dyed,

wooden itums for spinning & weaving 19) Next was a booth using rescued wood, Turned not Burned. There were lots of spinning, weaving and sewing tools

asorted examples of itums made for or by the Artisans Center  20) The Artisans Center is a group space with weaving, woodworking, quilting and felting on display.

Now that we are almost all the way around the outside I think you should take a look at this next booth and maybe treat yourself.

food for sale by the peterberow guild 21) Cakes, Cookies, and other tasty treats at the Guild Bake Table.

If you have selected a treat, let’s take a quick look at the Guild Demo area.

Demo aria, Weaving spinning and felting22) Peterborough Guild Demo area.

I am sure by this point, you are a bit overwhelmed and would probably like to eat your treats?  With good planning, there is a seating area up by the windows! You can join Glenn (who was being good and avoided the cake) as he holds my purchases and starts his second book.

husband sitting on chair holding a paper bag with felt background sticking out of it.23) The Husband Resting Spot by the window and the beginnings of my purchases

Just next to the rest-full-chairs was the demo area we just looked at.

Spinner has 2 bags of fiber she has collected today. 24) The very nice spinner who was doing a fabulous cross body style of long draw showed off her loot to us, she intends to blend the fibre into batts on a drum carder.

It must be old age, or getting up at 5 am yesterday, I think I should leave you resting here until next week, there are still the inner booths and the guild display to wander through. (There will be felt!) so if you don’t mind, I will be back shortly to show you a bit more then we can drive back to Ottawa and see if it has stopped raining!

 

Detail of the Turner watercolour
Going to the museum to get the creative juices flowing

Going to the museum to get the creative juices flowing

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Are you subscribed to your nearest city’s event newsletter? If you’re not and crave more cultural things to do, it’s a must. I recently got on board with Forever Edinburgh to be in the know about interesting things happening, and was happy to know about a Turner exhibition going on at the Royal Scottish Academy.

Every month of January since 1901, the famous Turner watercolours bequeathed by Henry Vaughan are put on display to be admired by everyone for free, as per his request. The idea is for people to enjoy something beautiful in a month short in daylight – this also serving the purpose of protecting the light-sensitive artwork.

An overall view of the room where the Turner watercolours were displayed

It always warms my heart to know these events are popular, especially when they’ve been happening for more than a century. The room had a constant flow of people coming to admire the artwork.

My favourite part was that wood cabinet in the middle of the room, where pigments and other accoutrements were shown.

Showcase of antique watercolour pigments and travel box.

Here is what the exhibit label says:

“Watercolour paint box, including Reeves point cakes and lumps of gum arabic [sic], late 19th century.

This box belonged to Elizabeth Jane Peckover (1859-1930), an amateur watercolour painter. It is part of the archive of her son, the Surrealist artist Roland Penrose (1900-1984).

Glass Muller

This tool was used to grind colour pigment down to a fine powder. This would then be combined with water-soluble gum to make paint.”

I’m such a sucker for this type of thing – I love the idea that someone actually used these objects to create art. I like the idea that objects retain the memory of whomever used them, and that through them you might sense their personality.

 

Unfortunately, it wasn’t easy to photograph the watercolours, since they’re all protected behind reflective glass. Here are a couple of images nonetheless.

Detail

Before moving to the UK, I genuinely thought Turner’s impressive golden landscape hues were completely made up. You see, Mediterranean light is just so much whiter that it never occurred to me that these lovely colours actually existed in Nature. Now it’s one of my favourite things about British winters.

Another Turner watercolour with stunning golden hues

Lastly, did you know Turner learned watercolour by copying other artists? This was a most common way to improve back then, and this master was no exception. The watercolour below feels so different from what we’ve grown used to seeing from Turner that it still feels weird for me to consider it a genuine er, “Turner copy.”

A monochromatic Turner watercolour of a wooden shack on the seashore

I hope you enjoyed coming with me on this little watercolour tour and that it might have gotten your creative juices flowing! Let me know about recent artistic outings of yours in the comment section, or whether you have any recommendations for me in Edinburgh. Thanks for reading.