exhibition – Felting and Fiber Studio

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

February 21, 2025 ruthlane Comments 14 comments

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.

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.”

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

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

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.

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.

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.

Mississippi Valley Textile Museum in Almonte, Ontario Canada

2024, 75th Anniversary exhibition at the Almonte Textile Museum Part1

October 26, 2024 Jan Comments 13 comments

Welcome back to the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum in Almonte, (Ontario, Canada), today is the big day of the vernissage!

You have seen glimpses of the show as we were setting up, (2024, Set up for 75th Anaversery exhibition at the ALmonteTextile Museum October 16, 2024), but let’s have a quick look around before anyone arrives, a private tour for you! Don’t forget to bring your glass of wine and nibblies, so you can join the Vernissage after our tour!!

6.1) at the top of the stairs, our exhibit is to the left

As you come up the stairs to the second floor, the permanent Museum exhibit is to the Right but if you turn Left you will be in the temporarily exhibit space and our local guilds show.

As I said before there are examples of weaving, spinning, basketry and felting. I will try to show you the big picture of the exhibit, as well as close ups of some of the pieces so you can appreciate the work.

6.3) Two swags and panel #1

As you come through the door at the top of the stairs you will see the two long woven pieces and panel #1 which has a large weaving of the ocean and a lap blanket.

Close ups:

6.4) Diane Dillon, Saori Runner, Handwoven Mixed fibres

We Lost Diane, unexpectedly, this summer. She had recently, in the past year, purchased a beautiful Saori loom and was having a blast weaving on it. You will see her hand woven top later in the exhibit.

6.5) Bernadette Quade, Banquet Table Runner, 2024 Recycled rag rug weaving cotton Warp and Cotton Rag Weft

6.6) Panel 1; Jaws and blanket

6.7) (Mandy) Marianne Heggttveit, Jaws, 1980 8-shaft satin weave Linen.

Mandy used multiple strands of different colours to create this woven fabric. There are many sublet changes in colour giving the ocean it incoming waves.

6.8) OVWSG Members, Handwoven Plaid Blanket, Handweaving Wool.

This lap blanket has been fulled to a lovely fuzzy nap.

7.1) Panel 2; Colour gamp, novelty Yarn, tapestry, Felt tulips

Panel 2 has the first of the felted items in the exhibition, as well as the only examples of spinning that were submitted.

Close ups:

7.2) Ann Sunahara Diamonds, 2019 Twill Gamp Cotton warp and weft

A Gamp is a way to sample various threading, treadling and colour options. There is a coverlet, that is actually a gamp, later in the exhibit too.

7.3) Molly Underhill, Vase of Tulips 2019 Wet felt, Needle Felt, Embroidery, Merino, silk and embroidery floss

This is the first felt item you have seen in the exhibition! Molly has done a rather 3D picture, look at those fluffy tulips. She used a shadow box to frame her still life.

7.4) Laine Thiry-Smith Fruit of the Loom: not your Underwear!, 2017

This is one of the 12×12 squares from the guilds exhibition celebrating Canada’s 150^th anniversary.

7.5) Merilyn Mulligan Hand Spun Novelty yarn 2024 wool (Pollworth Fleece) Plied with silk

7.6) Merilyn Mulligan Hand Spun Novelty yarn 2024 wool (Rideau Arcott Fleece) spun with scraps of yarn

8.1) Black display case

Closw ups:

8.21-8.22) Ann McElroy, Shepherds’ Spring Farm Ceremonial Helmet, 2014 Wet Felting Sheep’s Wool (Coriedale and Wensleydale)

This is the second felting we have seen. We had a little trouble with Ann’s foam support head, the hole in the neck had enlarged over time, and now enjoyed leaping off her stump and plummeting to the table. This could have been very disconcerting for visitors. Ann suggested “add a nail”. We added two to the perch and she now sits happily again.

8.31-8.32) Janet Whittam Swept Away. 2023 Rib Basketry Rattan, Mylar Fragment, Skate egg Cases, Wool roving, and verginia Creeper

Janet is a long time weaving, if you look back through some of the shopping posts I’ve done, you will see her booth filled with Handwoven tops and Ponchos, rag rugs and fabulous baskets. She gives a workshop on how to make the baskets which involves a walk to collect some of the materials. I have fond memories of dragging wild grape vine out of trees along the country road.

8.41-8.42 ) Nancy Ingram Polka Dot Bird, 2000’s bent wire and needle felting Mized media-wire, wool and wood base with stone accents

Nancy is a Weaver and Felter. I love her use of exposed wire-work, it is so delicate but suggestive of the feature it is representing. You will see one of her Theo Mormon technique transparency tapestries a bit later in the show. Some of her other tapestries were much bigger. If you are curious, I can try to find a picture of some of them.

8.51-8.52) Janet Whittan Untitled, 2024 Rib Basketry Grapevine, cordage, rattan and antler

This is Another example of Janet’s Found Object baskets, this time including antler! I should have taken the picture before it went into the display case, the glass is obscuring the details. You may also have seen this in the shopping at Spencerville earlier this summer. (https://i0.wp.com/feltingandfiberstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/3.2-1.jpg?fit=450%2C600&ssl=1)

While I berate myself for my bad photo choices let’s move on to the next panel.

9.1) Panel 4 Scarves

Close ups:

9.2) Carmen Deschenes Fall Burnt Orange, 2018 Shibori weaving, hand Dyed Raw silk.

Carmen has used woven shabori to create this crinkled textural scarf. Extra threads are used as the fabric is woven, then tied to create the wrinkles. The fabric is then steamed to set the texture. The crimp can be increased by using fibers with differential shrinkage as are used in Nuno felt.

9.3 Linda Perrier, Scarf X’s and O’s (Original Pattern by Elizabeth Hill), 2022, Defected Double Weave, Hand dyed silk by Natalie Shumovski

9.4 I think this may be Mandy’s but cant find it in the list.

9.5 this one may also be Mandy’s when I find out more I will add the info.

There will be an exhibit of diamonds at the Guild sale Nov. 2-3rd. these may have been sent to the wrong exhibition, Liane is checking about that and i will update if the display gets changed.

10.1) White shawl

10.2-10.3) Elizabeth Watt, Christening Shawl, 1995 2-Ply Hand Spun Knitting, Shetland Wool

11.1) Panel 4 – Nuno Felt

11.2-11.3) Diane Dillon (In Memoriam) Nuno Wrap, 2018-2020, Nuno Felting, Wool, Cotton, and silk

another example of Felting, this is a large shawl created with Nuno felt. even as we were setting up it was getting a lot of interest.

12.1) Panel 5 Hanging, felt, felt and scarf

12-2) Carole Leroux, Falling in Love/ Tomber eh Amour, 2023, Plain Weave with Inlay of overshot, 8/2 Cotton.

12.3) Liane Thiry-Smith, Walleye/Dore: Sander vitreous, 2017, Dyeing, Weaving, Needle Felting, Wool and Lichen.

Here we have 2 more felted items in the show, the background of the fish is woven. the Sylph is very delicate and has nice use of different fibers to give different effects.

12.4) Liane Thiry-Smith, Sylph/ La Sylphide, 2017, Wet Felting, Nuno Felting, Needle Felting, Stitching, Wool, Silk, Mohair, Cotton, Cheesecloth, and threads.

12.5 Judith Rygiel, Shawlette. 2020 8 shaft Twill, Silk

13.1) Blue Shawl

13.2-13.3) Judy Kavanagh, Blue Shawl, 2020, Handspun yarn Hand knitted, wool.

14.1) Panel 6 Rug hanging sun flower computer inspiers wire weacing

14.21-14.22) Catgerube MacFabe Rag Rug, 2024, Woven on a 4-shaft loom (after Tom Knisely’s weaving rag rugs) Brassard Cotton (warp) and Repurposed cotton cloth (weft)

14.3) Nancy Ingram, Three Sunflowers, 1990’s, Transparent Tapestry Inlay, Warp-line Linen, Weft-Tow Linen, Glass and frame.

Many years ago in a former life i showed Nancy how to frame between 2 sheets of glass to show off both sides of her transparency tapestrys. if i remember correctly i used trunbucles to secure the glass to the frame. i would like to take a quick peek at the end of the exhibit to refresh my memory! it realy was a very long time ago.

14.4-14.6) Sylvie Faucher, Computext Board, 2022, Rep Weave, Linen, Cotton, Copper Wire, and Metallic Thread

15.1) Wooden display cabinet DNA, Ice dragon and friend, Sheperdess and sheep, Woven mini blanket

15.2) (DNA weaving), Sylvie Faucher, Double-Twisted Strands, 2022, Deflected Double-weave, Cotton

15.31-15.32) Jan Scott, Ice Dragon, 2021, Needle Felting 3-D sculpture with full armature, Wool (Shetland, Mixed wool with Silk) armature in steel floral wire, and seed beads for eyes. (Visiting Sheep by Ann McElroy, Wool)

you may recognize this little felted guy and his purple friend. the Ice dragon and his frosty breath are from the collection of Glenn Martin. i will tell Dragon he cant take his little sheepy friend home at the end of the show!

15.41-15.43 Ann McElroy, Dyed in the Wool, 2024, wet and needle felt, Sheep’s wool (Various Breeds)

This may look amazingly familiar….. as if you saw it maybe yesterday…. those sheep you cant get them out of your head…. don’t try to count them, its never good to face plant your keyboard! (ok its getting late in my working on this blog, this one took a long time trying to match names to pieces some being very trickily not on the list after i went through it multiple times. i hope i don’t get too strange as the hours gets later, and there are more photos to add!) OH! I had not noticed but if you look at 15.41 you may notice an odd ethereal presents behind the sheep, no wonder they are staying close to the shepherdess!

15.5) Jean Sharp, Hudson’s Bay Mini , 2017, Frame Loom Weaving, Wool

this is another of the pieces from the 150th show, it was so amazingly Canadian!

16.1-16.3) Guild Tapestry project

Guild members project, you have seen this a few times in the blog posts, we have representations of quite a few of the fiber arts in the squares, Felting is well represented!

17.1) Panel / wall #7 Wire weaving

17.2) Sayword Johnson, Presomnial No. 12, 2021 Handweaving, Copper wire, Green Patina, and Embroidery on linen canvas.

Sayword weaves with Copper wire in Warp and Weft. she then adds patinas to react with the copper and finally adds embroidery to finish the piece. some of her pieces are quite large, others are free standing and some are small and delicate. the Guild was very lucky to have her teach copper weaving, hopefully she will do another workshop in the future.

18) Slide show and guest book, and small landscape in the background

This is the slide show I updated for the guild anniversary party. There are over 900 slides so if you want to take a brake and watch them, we can wait, but i wont inflict them all upon you, if you only want to paws a moment. There are still a few more things to check out in the exhibit before the Vernissage officially gets started. Why don’t you take a seat in my walker (it is quite comfy) while you check out the slide that is showing, and then you can sneak downstairs and top up your glass of wine.

We have still to see one more woven piece on this wall then 3 items on the end wall, the Quilt stand and plinth, and then we have to look up and see the Mer’s. I am sure you caught brief glimpses of them having fun in the background of a few of the exhibition shots. Since we are on page 21 of this blog post, there may be validity in the rumors I am verbose, let’s give you a rest, you can enjoy the slide that’s up, (i can add more if you want, no, that’s not a threat!) and we will finish the exhibit and crash the Vernissage next week? (it will let you do that sneaking downstairs from more wine!)

Have fun and keep felting (but after the wine wares off!! those needle are sharp and the wet felters you don’t want to drop your bar of Olive oil soap, then slip on it!! the floor is always lying and is probably also wet.)

The Mississippi Valley Textile Museum is located in the former Rosamond Woolen Co. in Almonte, ON. Constructed in 1867

2024, Set up for 75th Anaversery exhibition at the ALmonteTextile Museum

October 16, 2024 Jan Comments 11 comments

Was it last week, that I showed you the Mer’s and their pets, wanting to go off to the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum? Friday I had a quick medical procedure with a different anaesthetic (that worked better for after-affects!) and then the car needed a trip to her Doctor on Monday, for new back brakes but the timing was great since I was not really feeling up to driving. By Thursday, both the car and I were feeling much better. I also found out that the showpieces were going to Almonte that afternoon and volunteered to go up and take pictures to document the guild show set-up and then the Vernissage on Saturday. (as you probably have found out, it is easier to have someone else document the work and not have to stop and take pictures while you work!)

1.1) The museum, which was the old mill office and attached stone building

1.2) the other old stone mill building has been turned into expensive condos.

I have told you about the wonderful textile Museum, (3 Rosamond St E, Almonte, ON K0A 1A0). It is open Wednesday to Sunday 11am to 4pm, in case you are dropping by. Almonte was a Mill town, the Mississippi River runs through it with useful drops in height, which makes it perfect for the proliferation of mills. This was a textile complex, (there is an old flower mill on another part of the river). In the picture above, you can see the Old mill building on the Left. It has been turned into expensive condos, with either a fabulous view of the river or the parking lot and the old mill office, which is now the museum.

Our original exhibition organizer had a sudden change in workload, now expected to do 3 people’s work, for the pay of 1 and had to back out of his Guild work. Liane took over late in the process and quickly pulled together a small team to help with the remaining prep work and the installation. Unfortunately, one of her installation team had a major family health problem and was unavailable. So I went from Photographer to part of the installation team, and photographer. I hope you will find I still took enough photos to document the show!

There were 3 components to the show, the history section was the 75th-anniversary slide show I had made for our anniversary party (921 jpegs) running in a loop. Work from guild members and some of our members who were pushing the boundaries in their fibre arts. There are examples of Weaving, Spinning, Felting and Basketry, all of which needed to be transported to the museum, and then grouped together for display.

1.3) the sign for our exhibition “Remembering/Reimagining: Celebrating 75 Years of the Ottawa Valley Weavers’ and Spinners’ Guild”

On Thursday afternoon, set up day 1;

Pieces were brought to the museum and unpacked. At that point, Liane organised what was going were and we started to hang the show. We had an amazing assistant from the Museum helping pull display equipment and assisting us. I have a background in picture framing and installation and have also helped with art shows at University, so this was not totally new to me. Unfortunately, Lug and Hall are not my best abilities, so I switched back to Photo documentation while the work came in.

2.1) the back hall where the work was coming in, before being moved to the exhibition space.

2.2) Kieran carries in a well wrapped piece to the display space.

2.3) Liane unwrapping pieces and making notes

2.4) the Guild Tapestry project has arrived!

2.5) this is not really a “Vanna White” moment, it is to document the packaging of each piece.

To make sure everything got back into the correct packaging, I tried to get a shot of each item, as it was unpacked.

The next was organizing the exhibition into groupings for the panels. As things emerged from their packing Liane told us where they were going. Thus the show started to take shape. We kept sending our fabulous museum worker, Maybe (whose name I misheard and kept referring to as Mavie, Sorry!!!) off to find plinths, easels, hanging bars……

While the others were grouping pieces and draping display manikins, I got to work with a needle and some fishing line and prepared the Mers for their big day.

2.6) grouping pieces to hang together.

Ann’s Helmet is having trouble staying on its stand. After years of going out to Demos, the hole in the foam heads’ “neck” has increased in size and now self-decapitates at unexpected moments. I asked Ann for repair suggestions and she calmly said to “just add a nail or two”. We added 2 nails to the base and no more headless stump problems!!! You will see the fixed version in a few pictures. The Styrofoam head also was losing some of its grey finish so I added 2 pairs of black knee-high nylons over it and it fixed the uneven colour perfectly.

2.7) Maybe and Liane take a moment’s break (I brought chocolate cookies and rice crackers)

While the others were grouping pieces and draping display manikins, I got to work with a needle and some fishing line and prepared the Mers for their big day.

2.8) the Mer’s are ready to go for a swim around the museum.

While Mr Mer is perfectly capable of holding his quatrefoil, (triad with one more sharp part added) but it might be better if he didn’t go hunting Museum visitors so I switched to his tennis ball and racket. Maybe he can get Mrs. Mer to play with him.

2.91) oh no the museum will be closing shortly, so we will be back tomorrow to continue working.

Oh no, the museum will be closing shortly and we will have to continue on day 2.

End of Day 1 and time to head back to Ottawa, I hope the traffic will be better! Let’s enjoy the fall colour before we head home.

2.92) Fall colours by the Museum

When I got home on Thursday night I did a quick bit of layout to give Liane signage for the Group Guild tapestry project, which I showed you in an earlier blog post(https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/2024/07/04/ovwsg-75th-anniversary-party-and-tapestry-project/). I got all the info to fit on a legal size page! It’s interesting to see what we each started with as an image and then how we interpreted it.

3.1) the list of artists, their image, square number and the technique they used.

3.2) the Guild Tapestry project. Liane has added the cool brass plaque

Friday, Day 2,

ok, I know it’s the Thanksgiving long weekend but this is the second day of horrible traffic and really bad driving, is there a problem with the moon I don’t know about? Yesterday a little odd lady in a small car crept onto the highway and got up to the frightening fast speed of 60 kilometers per hour in a 100 zone. Today it was cars weaving and random unsignaled lane changes and sudden decelerations for no apparent reason. (Alright, I’ve ranted and feel better, let’s get back to the show!)

4.1) This is the back door to the Mill office/ Museum, it has a ramp which is easier than the front steps if you have a walker.

Maybe and I started work on hanging things including the Mer’s. I switched out Mr. Mer’s Quodradent (it could impale someone) for his tennis racket and a tiny dry-felted tennis ball.

4.2) getting this panel of scarves hung required more ladder work and the big level.

4.3) The Mer family and pets are having fun swimming around above the show.

We added more blankets to the coverlet stand and slowly worked our way around the space putting things up. while Maybe was called away I tried to use the short ladder to hang one of the panels. I heard about that as a bad idea later that evening while I tried to fall asleep. (Sorry, no shot of me up the ladder!) I do have good ladder shots of both Maybe and Liane though.

4.4) Hanging on a long woven tapestry of Iceland required a much taller ladder

4.5) Liane hanging the elephant weaving

4.6) Elephants, copper and parliament with the edge of one of the coverlets on the right. There are cookies

4.7) Oh no the Museum is closing, but we can stay a bit longer!

4.8) just a bit more to do but it’s looking good!

OH no is already time to leave? No, today there is work going on downstairs on the other exhibition, so we will be locked in but can stay until about 6 pm. We had most of the exhibition placed. A couple more to put up then signage and the slide show but that will be for tomorrow before the Vernissage starts!

Saturday, Day 3!

More slow traffic today, you would think it’s a long weekend, oh yes it is a long weekend! The big day is finally here, the last pieces must go up, so let’s get back to work (then we can party!!) Liane and Maybe have been busy and have more up by the time we got through the oddly heavy traffic!

5.1)almost ready, that blanket needs a bit of straitening but this end of the exhibit is looking good!

5.2) the nuno felted shawl just got straitened we have to get the ladder away and put that pile of packing stuff away for later.

5.3)Maybe got the Slide show going

There is still the signage to add to the wall but Liane will be focusing on that, while I try to do the documentary photography. Liane moved the packing material out and Glenn gave the space a final sweep and we were ready for people!!

5.4) getting ready to put up the signage for the pieces.

We do not have a T-square or sharp exacto so all the info is going by the Exhibit sign and it will be a bit more interactive.

5.5) the signs are up and we just have to clear the table away

5.6) Glenn gives the exhibit a quick sweep

The folding table is about to disappear and we will be ready for the show to start! You have seen the set-up. So, please remember to get a glass of Red or white wine and a few nibblies and join me next week where I will give you a privet tour, and show you the pieces, particularly the felting. Then finally, I will show you a few shots of the Vinasage.

Have fun and keep Felting!

Level 3 Advanced Studies in Experimental Stitch Exhibition

August 14, 2022 ruthlane Comments 21 comments

The ‘Bachelor Buttons’ in the midst of setting up the exhibition. (Maureen couldn’t be there, but her beautiful work was.)

I recently completed Level 3 Advanced Studies in Experimental Stitch at the Gail Harker Creative Studies Center and we held an in-person and online exhibition. Gail’s courses are similar to City and Guilds in the UK. If you’re close to the Seattle area, there is a new session of Level 3 Stitch beginning in September. Just click on the link above for more information. (And you really don’t have to be that close, I live almost 600 miles away.)

The Reception Area as You Enter the Exhibition

We had a busy few days setting up the exhibition and I thought you might like to see a few set up photos.

And then it was the day of the exhibition. We had around 80 people attend over the two days in early July. It was wonderful to be able to see all the hard work accomplished by my fellow students and to share our work with other interested people.

I asked my fellow students if I could share their work and I’m happy that everyone agreed so that you can see some amazing fiber art. These are just a very few examples of their work produced in class.

Maureen Goldsmith wasn’t able to come to the in-person exhibition but was able to send her wonderful work.

Covid Birds by Maureen is a framed wall hanging, you can see it in the first photo behind the group photo on the wall, to understand the size of the piece.

Covid Birds – Detail © Maureen Goldsmith

Here’s a detail view so you can see the stitching more closely.

Val has an interest in historical embroidery and needlework.

Her piece “Pleasurable Pursuits” is based on historical needlework studies that she pursued during the class.

Pleasurable Pursuits – Detail © Val Gleeson

Here’s a detail shot so that you can see the amount of hand stitching in this piece.

Acer Macrophyllum Book and Samples © Sheila Asdal

Sheila Asdal created a machine and hand stitched book about the Big Leaf Maple and the creatures that find shelter and sustenance in the tree.

Here’s a side view and front cover of the book.

Acer Macrophyllum Book – Detail of Moth © Sheila Asdal

And a detail view of the stumpwork moth she created.

Catherine’s interests are from nature, including rocks, plants, seed heads and the winter garden.

The Winter Garden Series © Catherine Sloan

She used her original photos of her winter garden to create this handstitched series.

Each of the individual pieces are about 6″ x 6″.

Bobbie Herrick is also inspired by her garden. She took on a tremendous project in creating The Hanging Garden light.

Bobbie’s lamp was created with machine and hand stitching and cut back applique. She found it interesting to work with light during this process as it changed the colors immensely when the light was turned on behind the fabric.

Alana Koehler was inspired by a row of bottles on her windowsill. As she worked through the process, she became intrigued with the difference between the hardness of glass and the translucent fabric that she ended up using in Ethereal Bottles.

The sheer fabric in Ethereal Bottles float away from the wall and the bottles are created with machine stitching. It is definitely ethereal in person.

Ruth Lane with The Language of Trees © Ruth Lane

And lastly, there is me. The Language of Trees is based on the concept that trees and other forest plants, have a vast communication network underground.

This wall hanging is mostly machine stitched on a dyed and painted background. The little bits of orange are words that I selected from tree poems to express the trees communicating with each other.

And because I have had a few people asking, I have also included my book about my dog Edgar. Here is “The Book of Edgar”.

Thanks to all my classmates for their camaraderie and support. Thanks to Gail and Penny for all your expert guidance and perseverance through a challenging three years of class.

Felt and basketry

March 23, 2019 Flextiles Comments 47 comments

This is a guest post by Kim Winter of Flextiles.

Some of you may know that as well as being a felter I have recently developed an interest in basketry. Given that I love making 3D vessels and sculptural felt, this is probably no great surprise!

My preferred method at the moment is random weaving, as I love the organic, freeform texture of this technique. After starting with cane, I moved on to work with paper yarn, which I like much better. I think my textile background has instilled a preference for softer materials! 😉

I can also dye the paper with indigo or other natural dyes, like this piece dyed with eucalyptus. And untwisting the ends of the paper produces some delicate feathery effects.

I had the idea of combining felting with random weaving after seeing a photo of a cape gooseberry.

I thought that if the orange fruit in the centre was made from felt, it would make an interesting contrast with the paper carapace. So I wove the paper case, leaving a hole at the top, and then inserted a small orange felt sphere and stitched the two together with very fine fishing line. I then finished the top with some twining and a little tassel.

felt and paper cape gooseberry — Photo: Owen Llewellyn

I decided to develop this further into a submission for an exhibition with the theme of “fragility”. With widespread concern about the human effects on our fragile environment, I read that scientists at Kew Gardens estimate that one in five plant species are in danger of extinction due to activities such as intensive farming, deforestation and construction.

So the idea for my piece, called “One in Five”, was to make five stylised seeds combining felt and paper yarn, to represent the fragility of the environment in general as well as their own precarious existence.

The second pod I made was based on a sycamore seed. I needlefelted the two seeds first before wet felting them, and then wove the paper wings around them.

felt and paper sycamore seed — Photo: Owen Llewellyn

I used a similar technique for the third seed, which was based on a bean pod.

felt and paper bean pod — Photo: Owen Llewellyn

The fourth seed was slightly different – no random weaving was involved. Instead, I wrapped several strands of paper yarn together, feathered the separate ends, and covered the wrapped ends with felt to resemble a dandelion seed.

It was a bit tricky to felt around the paper without making it soggy and droopy. So I ended up applying some matt varnish to the paper to protect it before felting, which worked a treat.

felt and paper dandelion seed — Photo: Owen Llewellyn

The fifth and last seed was the most difficult. I wanted to make a spiky seed case, a bit like a chestnut, but it was tricky to work out how. I eventually made a random weave sphere and then looped short lengths of paper yarn all over it. I started feathering all the ends, but then decided that the overall effect was too much and that I should just feather a few randomly. So I had to reloop quite a few bits of yarn!

felt and paper spiky seedcase — Photo: Owen Llewellyn

Having finished making the seeds, I had to decide on the best way to display them. They would obviously look better suspended rather than lying on a flat surface, but in one of the galleries where this exhibition will be displayed we cannot hang things from the ceiling.

One of the other advantages of felt and paper is that they are both very light materials – each of the seeds weighs only a few grams. So I thought I could somehow mount a branch on a wall and hang them from that.

I spent days looking for the perfect branch. Luckily, we’ve had a few blustery days recently, so there has been no shortage of branches, even on London pavements! I finally found one that’s not too heavy, is an interesting shape and has some lovely lichen.

So then it was off to a photographer friend, Owen Llewellyn, to take some pictures that would hopefully wow the selectors and persuade them to accept my submission. After experimenting with three different backdrops we finally went for a plain grey background, though there also some interesting experimental shadow pics!

five seeds on branch — Photo: Owen Llewellyn

dandelion seed with shadow — Photo: Owen Llewellyn

bean pod with shadow — Photo: Owen Llewellyn

Anyway, it clearly worked, as I have just heard that my submission has been accepted for the exhibition, which will be on display in London at the end of May and Birmingham in October. Phew!

Out of the box Part 3

February 3, 2017 Shepherdessann Comments 8 comments

This is the 3rd and final set of pictures from this exhibit. http://mvtm.ca/?exhibition=colour-unboxed the first is here: https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/2017/01/18/colour-unboxed-by-out-of-the-box/ and the second here: https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/2017/01/26/out-of-the-box-part-2/ Again I apologise for some of the odd angles as it was very crowded with people enjoying the exhibit. In the last picture you may find it hard to see but the is a very long weaving draped across the ceiling.

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My Felt in the Guild Exhibition

August 22, 2014 Shepherdessann Comments 22 comments

My guild exhibition opened on Wednesday. we had a vernissage Thursday evening.

I can now show you the hat I have been working on for ages. First I had to make a prototype, modeled her by my son. It was how to make, attach and manage the horns that I needed to work out.

Very Monty Python to me.

The finished hat looks like this

I will do a post about making it in the near future.

I also have some pictures in the exhibition.

I think they look great hanging. You can get an idea of how big the Cityscape is in the hat picture, it is in the back ground .

Here are some of the other things in the exhibition.

Collapsible weave scarf and a lace shawl hand spun and knit.

Hand woven shawl and close up of the pattern.

Hand dyed, hand spun and hand knit. hand spun and hand knit art yarns.

Pillows from handwoven fabric. Hand woven metal wall hanging.

Call For Entries

May 25, 2013 ruthlane Comments 14 comments

My fiber arts group, Tangled, A Montana Arts Collective, is sponsoring a fiber arts exhibition at my store The Purple Pomegranate in Whitefish, Montana during October. The theme for the exhibition is Shelter and I cordially invite you to apply for the exhibition. I know that lots of our readers do not reside in the US but you are also invited to apply. You would be responsible for the shipping to and from the exhibition so it probably isn’t that practical but I don’t want to exclude international entries.

The information about the exhibition is below and if you have any questions just let me know. You can download the information and an application form here.

Call for Artist’s Submission of Entries:

Announcing: Tangled Fibers Show—A Fiber-Arts Collection

When: Month of October, 2013

Where: The Purple Pomegranate, Whitefish MT

Artists are invited to submit applications and jpg photos for a Fall Presentation Exhibit at The Purple Pomegranate Gallery in Whitefish, Montana.

Submission Deadline: August 15, 2013, for October 1, 2013 Exhibit opening.

Theme of Exhibit: Shelter. Shelter is one of the basic needs for all living creatures. What constitutes shelter? Is it an actual structure or metaphysical? From the lowliest tent to a mansion, shelter exists in many forms and has many different meanings. What does shelter mean to you?

Guidelines for Artist’s submission:

Size: Each piece of work must fit within 36” long, and 24” wide exhibit space. It may be 3-D in form. Art must fit through a standard size door.
All art must be an original piece of work, not shown prior to this show and created in the last two years. Artists may submit from 1 to 3 fiber works for the one time, non-refundable application fee of $20.00.
Each piece should be priced for retail sale, with 40% commission being retained from sale of work.
Art must be stable and be easily displayed on a wall or pedestal that supports a maximum of 20 pounds. No perishable organic material. Art must be structurally sound. Each submission should be able to be hung from one point of reference on the wall, portable or permanent or placed on a pedestal. Included with submission should be instructions for hanging or display.
Artist must submit an artist statement, with the application. Statement must be in context with the theme, Shelter.
Artist will need to submit proof of insurance coverage OR release the Purple Pomegranate from any liability related to harm of the art. Artist is responsible for shipping or delivering the work to the Purple Pomegranate and for sending a prepaid return label FedEx/UPS for pieces to be shipped back to artist.
Jurying: The jury process will include a panel of judges reviewing jpg photos sent by e-mail. Submissions that do not follow rules of entry will not be submitted to jurors. Only entries received by August 15, 2013 will be considered. Works selected for exhibition that are not accurately depicted by jpgs may be removed from the exhibit at juror’s discretion. Works selected are to be available for the entire exhibit. E-mail notification of acceptance will occur by September 15, 2013. Delivery of work September 25-27, 2013. Pick up work November 1-3, 2013.

As a side note, the piece of green nuno felt that I showed you last week is for my entry for this exhibition. I still have a long way to go on the piece but I have begun and I’m excited about the possibilities 🙂

Felting and Fiber Studio

An International Collective of Felt and Fiber Artists

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