3D and other felting treks

Expanding my felt play into 3D work is so exciting.  My first with using a relief was a beret style hat and from there a bell cloche hat.

A few days ago I experimented with making a cat cave.  It came out as planned but in the future will be adding more fiber as it could be a little thicker thus holding its form against rubbing cats.  It seems to have met approval, though if you look carefully I did have to lure him in with a bit of catnip.




I am looking forward to experimenting more with the relief process.(placing a piece of tarp, or thin packing foam between two layers of roving)

Also this week I have not abandoned the wonder of merino wool scarves and tried something new from a fellow felters blog post.  The results fun and airy.

Poppies 15"X22"

Decided to work on a new wall hanging as well. Inspired by the poppies that were covering my yard like a blanket.  I am in the process of planning out another with nebula in mind.

Blacksmithing..

Spiral "flower" on rebar 

Ok, can't stand the snails in my garden,
but this one doesn't eat the veggies.

Cat tail made from pipe and metal rod.

I just finished my Art Metal class last Monday.  Brooks Collier is a patient and knowledgeable teacher and I cannot wait until the fall semester to continue with metals classes. There is something so exciting about turning metal to a pliable red in a forge, bending, hammering and shaping it. Sharing a few photos of some of the practice pieces from class.

Jellies...

This new piece is my favorite yet. Felting is like painting with wool and silk. It is fascinating, delightfully textural, and pure joy for me. This piece is 22" X 35". I will be making a bar hanger for it in my metal class on Monday evening, just picked up the flat bar to do so. Corriedale wool base, merino wool top, silk, mohair, wool yarn, hand dyed silk caps. The piece was inspired by the Jelly Fish exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Below are photos of part of the process.. laying out the layers, wetting, and rolling

My Recent Adventures in Metal

I have been taking welding classes through Placer School for Adults and enjoying it very much.  Just signed up for my third class~!

During the first class I made a few fun objects including this paleo-volcanic yard art from scraps, a dino accent for my heat stove and a spiffy amoeba napkin holder.

During the second class (that tonight is the last of six classes) I was required to design a project and then create it.  I chose a music stand.. I needed one and it seemed like it would be fun to make. Enter the learning curve .


 

finished but not "finished"

Still in two pieces

I used a piece of sheet metal that was in our shop at work for the top. Using a plasma torch I cut out the dragon fly design and with a bender gave it the lip for the music to sit on.

The base was made from four steel rods heated in the forge and twisted, the legs and top that would hold the sheet metal were also done in the forge by heating and bending.  Thanks to a great deal of help from  Brooks Collier the blacksmith teacher. 
The base was then welded onto the top.  I need LOTS of welding practice. I burned though and had to fill where it was attached.  Ok, fixable…



With Blue Patina



There were many places where the heat shield had come off and it was suggested I patina it.  Wonderful… however the instructions on the bottle are woefully lacking.  I cleaned the piece with isopropyl alcohol and used the spray bottle to apply.. did not like how it went on so went with the other suggested method and used a sponge.  Looked great until I found that it did not adhere to a variety of spots.  I cleaned it up in those spots and tried again.. however it had been in the sun and dried spotty.. crap… I have done all I can to make it look right and it is ok.. has a rather antique look (haha)  but will clear coat it and call this a learning experience.  I still am happy with my little music stand (my ukulele and I will have some sweet moments with it, of that I am sure) I am also grateful for all the lessons it has given me..  most of all patience and to slow down!

 And in ending this post I must say, I really like metal.. am amazed by how it can be manipulated and made into a thing of function and beauty,  I really really love fiber.Looking forward to finding ways of combining the two!

Workshops at the Makerspace

Teaching, Facilitating, Sharing.. oh how I am enjoying this!  Probably the most, well not probably.. THE most fulfilling career I have ever had was when I was teaching. It feels so amazingly good to be back at it!  I love the scale and content as well.. teaching without the paperwork, grading,  administrative nightmares. 

My involvement in our Makerspace “The Curious Forge” has allowed me to offer workshops in Pineneedle Basket weaving, and Nuno Felting.  Will be offering one on Soft Circuit Sewing soon as well.

Just had to jot down how happy and grateful I am for these opportunities!

More adventures in fiber and felting.

 I was able to attend another felting technique class last week. This process is similar to the Nuno process, however it does not use fabric as a base.  The fabric is created from  wool roving and assorted bits and pieces that are fairly limitless.  I also have been trying out some hand dying of both silk and wool.  Most of my pieces thus far are experiments and learning opportunities, but as my knowledge of these fiber techniques and challenges grow I am becoming more and more excited by the possibilities.

 Center: Nuno Felted Silk
White silk with white wool merino roving with green accents
Left: Wet felted scarf with Merino Wool, wool yarn and silk thread accents. Hanging leaves
and a pull through.

Nuno Felted Wool on Silk Chffon, hand dyed.

       

Nuno my Heart...

Wool design laid out on Silk for felting process

I thrive on new ways to create…. in doing so I feel alive. I also tend to bounce from project to project like a pinball or a distracted ferret!

This week, after my class being cancelled back in January, I finally got my hands on Nuno Felting! The class was held at The Tin Thimble at the packing sheds in Loomis. I love this little store, packed full of vintage fabric, buttons, luscious wools and fineries. Sharon, who gave the class is excited by the process, creative and encouraging. And as luck would have it, there was only one other student giving the four hour class a lovely pace.

Wool on Silk Nuno felted scarf

According to Wikipedia: Nuno felting is a fabric felting technique developed by Polly Stirling, a fiber artist from New South Wales, Australia, around 1992. The name is derived from the Japanese word "nuno" meaning cloth [1]. The technique bonds loose fibre, usually wool, into a sheer fabric such as silkgauze, creating a lightweight felt. The fibres can completely cover the background fabric, or they may be used as a decorative design that allows the backing fabric to show. Nuno felting often incorporates several layers of loose fibres combined to build up colour, texture, and/or design elements in the finished fabric.
Interested? Read more

I am itching to get at my stash of Merino Wool Roving, and my head is spinning with the possibilities of this technique mixed with metal, weaving and incorporated in my sewing and will add pictures as I play and dance with this new technique..

**this process is a little hard on the hands, recommend using gloves for part of the process.. I had small abrasions on my finger tips that did not concern me until my drumming group got together last night.. I was playing lost in a rhythm, when I looked down my drum head was covered in blood, ewww..we bandaged up my fingers, added a layer of gorilla tape for good measure and I was able to get in another hour of tones, slaps and bases… weeeha….

A Perfect Day to Reflect on a Joyous Year

As this year comes to a close I am want to wander back and take a look at the adventures it held for me. The holidays bring this on and we are a scant ten days from a new fresh calendar.

This was my year of wonder, learning, and love.  I had a feeling on my last birthday, a magical 1-11-11, that my life was going to brighten after so many years of dense fog and struggle.  I had a lovely party given to me by my peapod Talei and her husband James.  Good food, dear friends, and drumming to begin my new journey.  I could not have imagined just how much this would turn out to be so.

I love to learn. This has always been a passion for me and this year held so much fresh nourishment for my soul.  I took an astronomy class at Sierra College that helped me define my love of the cosmos.  My sewing took on new dimensions when I discovered the wonders of LED’s and conductive thread.  There were yarn bombs deployed and spoons to be hammered flat. With my appetite peaked from a day in the shop with my inspiring maker sweetheart I took a welding class and found the joy of metal and sparks.  After a jubilant quirky evening with Amanda Palmer and Neil Gaiman I found a Ukulele and have learned to play a number of songs (though I still will not sing to anyone but the cats) and continued to drum and laugh with joyous Bob, David, Jay and Peter. 

This year also brought some wonderful encounters in nature and family trips.  In June my sweet sister Betty and her husband Mike treated me to an amazing trip to Alaska.  We toured the rich and wild Denali and Wrangle St. Elias National Parks, took an amazing drive to Valdez, played on glaciers and photographed wild creatures.  The year also brought camping via kayak to beautiful natural quiet places, encounters with bear and views of bobcats, swims in serene mountain lakes, coastal salty air,  and soaks in hotsprings.  I was able to take my granddaughter on her first airplane flight for a trip to Phoenix to see Vera who just turned 93 and my brother John and wife Judi. Hiked the desert, and searched for petroglyphs.

There was sweet time spent with friends, some I have known most of my life, some this year has brought to me. My home was filled with music and laughter, girltalk and relaxed meals round table and night drumming firelight.  Family time has been rich with my loving children and grandchildren who love to create, play zombie, run wild with me …  And my brothers and sisters who have been my salvation through the hard times were there to share my joy and laughter in the good. 

Not long after my birthday spirit guided me in a fantastic way to my sweetheart.  A spirit filled with joy & adventure, who has gifted me with the most joyous, kind thoughtful love I have ever experienced… (and also a very cool portable Dobsonian Telescope). This journey is sweeter with you at my side Love…

The new year is ahead… though I am a bit unsure of the significance of an arbitrary  date on the Gregorian calendar, it is a continuation, a mark of another cycle round the sun…time to reflect on the blessing of an abundance of love in my life and my heart is filled to the brim with gratitude.