Fibre art is in my blood. My grandmother was a
knitter and dressmaker, my mother a spinner and a weaver and so are my
sister and brother. We all love colour and we all love texture.
I started weaving in 1979 followed by the weaving
course at Nelson Polytechnic 1980/81 and have been weaving ever since.
Felting was part of this training and that's where it all started. I
feel fortunate to be part of this renaissance of felting that started in
the early 80's.
I joined 'Focsle Weaving' co-operative in 1981 and
joined the 'Seven Weavers' a year later. In 1987 I became a founding
member of Fibre Spectrum, a hugely successful artists co-operate that is
still thriving today. It is still the only place I sell my fibre art. I
used to sell in Queenstown, Auckland and Christchurch but stopped
because I couldn't make enough stock!
In 1998 I trained in massage which I do in between
producing my felt work and my teaching.
FELTMAKING CLASSES
Thursdays & Saturdays
Phone (03) 546 6204 to book
or
Email me
Felt is made from wool.
Add moisture and heat to wool, as well as pressure, and the fibres
tighten, contracting into a dense mat.
As cream turns
into butter, dough into bread and----
wool into felt :
these things just happen with the help of our
hands!
History
& Description of felt:
Felt is a
non-woven cloth that is produced by matting,
condensing and pressing
fibres. While some
types of felt are very soft, some are tough
enough to form construction materials. Felt
can be of any colour,
and made into any shape
or size. Felt is also a practical material
for our every day objects, i.e. inside pianos
and cars, even
cassette tapes, felt for
carpets, felt-tipped pens tennis balls and
many industrial products.
History
Felt: a second
skin. From ancient times onwards, the amazing
woolly fleece from
sheep has been used to make
felt which in addition of hides was
essential
for shelter.
Many
people around the world still use felt in their daily lives
from Scandinavia to South America and Central
Asia as wonderful
insulation from the harsh
elements (useful near human's
skin for
its insulation and water repelling properties.)
Felt is the
oldest form of fabric known to humankind. It
predates weaving and
knitting, although there
is archaeological evidence from the British
Museum that the first known thread was made by
winding vegetable
fibres on the thigh. In
Turkey, the remains of felt have been found
dating back at least to 6,500 BC. Highly
sophisticated felted
artifacts were found
preserved in permafrost in a tomb in Siberia
and dated to 600
AD.
Many cultures
have legends as to the origins of feltmaking.
The story of Saint
Clement and Saint
Christopher relates that while fleeing from
persecution, the men packed their sandals with
wool to prevent
blisters. At the end of their
journey, the movement and sweat had
turned the
wool into felt socks.
Nuno
- is
the Japanese word for material. This moves us into a more
contemporary use of felt, seen
especially in the fashion world. (A
new take
on an ancient material).
The 'Felters'
have now adopted this name for any felt that
has a background of
fine material through
which the fibres of fleece have entwined
themselves through & onto which the felt
has attached. This felting
technique is
especially drape able.
Mary says:
"I
live in a garden of fleece, with vibrant colours emanating from every
corner and space. It's colour that inspires me. Taking coloured fleece,
melding and teasing until the tints and shades move, creating texture
and colour that I then make into works of art that can be used, worn and
appreciated".
"I love
watching the raw materials transform into functional art and I love
working with natural materials. Dyeing, blending, felting, weaving,
spinning, sewing and then producing works of art".
"I
never run out of ideas ' it just feels like a bottomless pit of design
that I haven't even glimpsed the bottom of yet. I am influenced by New
Zealand bush, beaches, mountains and sky. I live with mounds of coloured
wool that continually inspires and motivates me.
My
creative designs become boots, belts, specialist items, bags, scarves,
wall hangings, mobiles, jackets and waistcoats".
"I sell
my work from Fibre Spectrum on Trafalgar Street in Nelson and am also
kept busy making commission works".
Workshops:
Nuno,
3D, Flat Felt.
This is a
chance to be creative - to do something different.
My
workshops are an experience. Just enough theory for it all to make sense
and the rest of the time is spent making a felt project of your choice.
Everyone gets to take something home a sample and a usable/wearable
object. This can be a hat, scarf, bag, purse, mat, wall hanging or
cushion.
People
come for a variety of reasons and are designed for tourists as well as
locals. I design the workshops to cater for experienced felters and
beginners. I enjoy the variety of people who arrive at my studio and
especially
welcome the people who come again to experience further
tuition, some come along on a regular basis. I offer tuition in 3D
Felting, Flat Felting & Nuno Felting.
Workshops
are One Day - between 10am and 4pm (approx. finish) and cost $130 including
sample materials and
tuition. Project materials are of various costs, usually $15 - $40. Because the groups are so
small I can tailor-make the day to suit everyone's individual needs,
having between 1 - 5 participants.
I teach
because I love it. There is nothing more satisfying than teaching
something that has given me so much pleasure for the past 28 years. I
started teaching in 1987.
I provide a
choice of material kits for the variety
of techniques available.
You can purchase
pre-blended fibre, or blend your own colour way,
(blending fibre also prepares it for
felting.) To do this you get
tuition on using
a Drum Carder, a Felting Needle, & layout fibre in
Batt Form as well as using the Tile
Method.
We will experiment with different fleece types -
English Leicester for the coarser breed, Romney, midway & Merino at the
fine end.
The
diversity of the types of felt, is as far ranging, as from
Yurts to silky fine scarves.
