Felt Artist
About Felt
Felt is a unique, non-woven textile made from wool fibres. Felt making is the process during which wool fibres shrink and come together to form a dense mat when subjected to heat, humidity, friction and a change of alkalinity. The art of feltmaking predates woven cloth and is thought to date back to Neolithic times.
Commissions
Felt is versatile and can be moulded into three-dimensional forms, made thick and hard or very fine. I am particularly interested in adapting my work for theatre and performance and I welcome enquiries along this line. I also undertake commissions.
Classes & workshops
Someone once said that feltmaking is at once deceptively simple and endlessly complex. This simplicity is rooted in the earthiness of the raw materials and the physicality of the felting process; all that is required is a determined pair of hands. It's very rewarding to watch the amazement on students's faces as the felt starts to take shape and creative possibilities start to dawn.
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Black Swan Arts March 2013 Artist on a Plinth This month sees me as the Artist on a Plinth in my local art gallery Black Swan Arts. I am not literally on a plinth myself of course, although I am tempted… Organised by Creative Frome, the Plinth is a really good way to showcase the [...]
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Just finished making and packing up a series of ‘Holy Bowls’ to go to the Redearth Gallery nr. Tiverton, Devon. They will be part of the ‘Makers’ exhibition, which will run from 27 March to 11 May 2013.
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One of the benefits of having my work permanently on display in OWL, and working in the shop, is the feedback (solicited and unsolicited) received from passers-by. The other invaluable benefit is the chance meetings between people that occur. A prime example of this is the occasion on which photographer Bella West wandered into the [...]
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The December 2012 issue of the International Feltmakers Association’s quarterly journal Felt Matters contains a 2-page article on my headdresses. It charts my feltmaking journey, which started in 2005 when I bought a fleece straight off the sheep during a visit to a sheep farm with my daughter. After trying spinning & knitting and not [...]
The Plinth