Isla is going into S6 and is already preparing for her upcoming A-level in Textiles. Her textile project for the year is Organic Forms, for which she really wants to learn about feltmaking. And so, this week, she joined me for a 2-day course. Our focus was Flowers in 2-Dimensional Felt, using merino wool and silk.
Day 1
Isla brought a wide selection of flower photos on her camera as a starting point. After some discussion, we decided to work with a single geranium flower, with its fairly simple arrangement of petals.
Using her photograph as a guide, Isla first drew the geranium, and then created and cut out a plastic pattern from the sketch. Her next task was to make a sheet of silk pre-felt from recycled silk and merino wool. From it, she cut out a selection of flowers, laid them onto a dark merino wool background, outlined them in a bright pink to make them pop and thus started the process of creating a small but perfectly-formed piece of felt art.
Using her photograph as a guide, Isla first drew the geranium, and then created and cut out a plastic pattern from the sketch. Her next task was to make a sheet of silk pre-felt from recycled silk and merino wool. From it, she cut out a selection of flowers, laid them onto a dark merino wool background, outlined them in a bright pink to make them pop and thus started the process of creating a small but perfectly-formed piece of felt art.
Day 2
Isla approached her second day of felt-making with great enthusiasm. This time, she was going to make wearable art in the form of a floral scarf. The technique used was that of nuno-felting, where the silk of the base is bonded with fine merino wool. In order to understand how the technique works, Isla made a sample flower on a square of silk...this she will later put into her notebook, where she keeps a record of her process. The rest of the day was spent applying the same techniques to her first scarf. And what a great job she made of it.
When asked what she liked most about the whole process, Isla said she loved laying out the wools to create her art. And what did she like least? All the rolling, was her reply.
Yes, there is no doubt at all that feltmaking is hard work, but Isla was equal to the challenge, with not a single moan and plenty of good humour.
Thanks for joining me in the studio, Isla. Look forward to seeing you back soon.
Heather
When asked what she liked most about the whole process, Isla said she loved laying out the wools to create her art. And what did she like least? All the rolling, was her reply.
Yes, there is no doubt at all that feltmaking is hard work, but Isla was equal to the challenge, with not a single moan and plenty of good humour.
Thanks for joining me in the studio, Isla. Look forward to seeing you back soon.
Heather
