All Wrapped Up – Encased Objects workshop review

108 106 100 087

All wrapped up – Encased objects workshop with Judi Barkla

We sat around in a congenial half-circle, ate biscuits, drank tea, exchanged stories … oh yeah, and we also had the most amazingly creative and productive day encasing objects in felt.

Encasing object in felt is clearly addictive – many of the workshop participants had some experience with this concept – everything from the more predictable rocks, to delicate blown eggs! And yet, we came along for more…

And more we got. Judi brought along an impressive array of samples, from milk bottles, wee pebbles to small boulders, all encased in felt. Some were embellished with intricate stitching, others with nuno-ed fabrics, tussah silk fibres and others yet with layers of delicate beading. The treasure beneath the wool was sometimes revealed through slits and holes in their felt casings.

We were inspired… and pushed the boundaries of what could be encased. We worked on encasing small pieces of pottery (felt casing slit to reveal inner glazes), flat glass beads, mirror disks, ornate buttons and rocks, of course. We experimented with cutting through the wool, lacing/weaving the wool and using resists.

Loose, fluffy balls of wool were gently sprayed with water, massaged and coaxed into tightly wrapped objets d’art, over the course of the day.

We all thought it was one of the most relaxing, contemplative and enjoyable workshops we had ever done. It was a pleasure to be able to sit together in companionable endeavour, as we worked on our small items.

We finished the day, our heads reeling with ideas as to what else we could encase … so don’t stand still for too long or we’ll get you!