Author: Workshops

Report by Cynda Empsall

MINI DEMO

Peta Korb gave a Mini Demo on making Christmas decorations using wet and needle felting techniques in time for our fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis in November.

Peta demonstrated:

• Wet Felting with Resist
  • Stocking
  • Baubles
• Needle Felting
  • Snowman
  • Santa
  • Elves

Pointers from Peta

• Turn mistakes into design changes!
• The enzymes in saliva and milk will remove blood and red wine from fabric and wool.

• Wet Felting
  • To make baubles, lay wool diagonally over resist. 
  • Once resist is removed, you can cut soft plastic into strips and stuff it into the form using a chop stick.

• Needle Felting
  • No need to force the needle, do it gently in all aspects and angles
  • Stab in and out on the same angle, gently.
  • With making balls, tie a knot with wool to give firm base.  Do several knots to bulk out and establish a firm base and larger size.
  • Use darning needle to remove wool that’s not in the right place
  • Blend colours, just like paint.
  • You can use scissors to cut wool and to cut prefelt into shape.

FELTING NEWS

• Soosie greeted everyone and detailed upcoming events in particular her Art of Adornment workshop on 5 -6 October.
• Martien spoke about her Expanding the Surface workshop on 2-3 November 2019.
• Martien talked about the Royal Show, thanking members for their contributions to the FeltWEST stand in the Centenary Pavilion and explaining display opportunities and obligations.
• Soosie discussed the website and suggested people send any interesting upcoming exhibitions or events to Cynda at cyndaje@yahoo.com or Liz at info@feltwest.org.au.
• Soosie made suggestions to members as to how they can assist at and after meetings – many hands make light work!
  • Taking notes at Toss N Tell
  • Sweeping up
  • Taking rubbish out
  • Dishes etc. 
• Soosie mentioned the Christmas wind up would be at the November meeting.  No meeting in December!

TOSS N TELL

• Renita Mroz and Sue Espie showed vessels made at Pam Hovel’s Earthy Felted Vessels workshop.
• Liz Odd mentioned the Mundaring Arts Centre (MAC) Exhibition encouraging members to attend
• Katrina Virgona also recommended visiting the MAC exhibition. She showed seeds, pods she’d been making, and which are featured in the current edition of Felt magazine.
• Jill Jodrell talked about the Kings Park crocheted floral arrangements at the botanical gardens.

OCTOBER 2019 – Report by Renita Mroz + Sara Quail

Soosie opened the workshop by talking about the importance of connecting with what we love and bringing this passion into our work.  She stressed that it is the stories behind our work that makes them truly resonate with us, transporting us in time and place and connecting us with others. 

Soosie brought along her award-winning Campfire Beanie and read the story that had inspired it to demonstrate this.  Participants had been invited to bring along something that they loved as a starting point for their work over the weekend.

During the first day of the workshop Soosie talked about exploring design themes then went on to demonstrate transfer printing, stenciling, direct painting onto felt and masking as well as the use of embossing powder.  Participants then had the opportunity to explore these techniques on felt samples, vessels and other finished items they’d brought along.

The second day of the workshop started with a bit of bling – applying foil to felt.  Soosie demonstrated ways to achieve a variety of stunning effects with foil sheets, from subtle to seriously shiny.  

During the day she covered more design theory including the magic of numbers. Using odd numbers, Fibonacci and fractals and how these also occur in nature. 

Another transfer technique with fabric crayons was explored creating more wonderful surface design options. 

Stitching and beading methods were covered in the afternoon with Soosie demonstrating 4 of her favoured stitches and a few beading basics.  Participants then spent a relaxing afternoon continuing to embellish their various felt pieces. 

Interspersed with all the various surface design techniques and theory, Soosie also shared tips on laying out, fulling and shrinkage. Participants finished this workshop armed with an arsenal of techniques and samples to give them embellishment ideas for a long time to come.  

SEPTEMBER 2019 – Report by Peta Korb

August 30, 2019 saw the start of a three-day workshop with Pam Hovel who is an accomplished innovative textile artist living in rural Victoria. Her work is influenced by her surrounding as can be seen in her choice of wool, colours and methods in her Earthy Felted Vessels.

Over the three-day workshop participants were treated to the delights of felting with Pam, who gave clear instructions and offered continuous guidance throughout each day. Starting with the drafting of patterns for vessels, Pam also covered different layout techniques and a variety of surface design elements through to the finer points of finishing each piece.

Pam was a delightful tutor, generous in her time and teaching of her techniques ensuring everyone created several unique vessels they can be proud of, showcasing all the techniques learned over the three days.

The techniques and extra tips Pam gave throughout the three days were exactly what everyone wanted based on their comments:

• Just what I needed to learn
• The perfect workshop for me, I have wanted to know how to create precise vessels for a long time
• These are the techniques I need to take my felt work further