Contextural Residency 3

So I felted for the first two weeks and finally got all 30 samples done. This will be a valuable resource for whenever I want to do a felted piece, I can "feel" my way through the samples and deicide which weight of item I want to make and back-calculate the starting size to get the finished size. It is all very mathematical and I love the process!

Photos from along the way...

 

The final production...

Each colour-coded pile done with a different weight of wool rovings shrunk from 15% through 90%. Method based upon Lisa Klakulak's felting techniques.

Don't you just want to touch them!

Contextural Residency 2

On the second day I was joined with my Articulation Textile Group partner Wendy Klotz and we continued with the wet felting.

We are creating a library of samples worked in different weights of rovings done to six different percentages of shrinkage. There will be 36 samples in total. After 6 hours of felting, we finished the first 6 samples.

Roll, roll, roll... My shoulders and arms were so tired!!

Contextural Residency

and now for the fun!

I have been accepted into the three month Contextural Summer Residency where I am able to use the Fibre Department facilities at the Alberta College of Art and Design (right next door to where I live in Calgary).




So it is off to "school". Monday the 25th was my first day so here I am loaded down with supplies as I embark on my lovely 10 minute walk through parkland to get to the facility. (Note the closed-toed shoes, and there is a backpack with more supplies.)

We have our own desks in a "dry" work room where I unloaded my bags,

then off to the "wet" working space - just one of many available. I decided to start with wet felting so here is a piece I started in a class last fall finally felted together.

Calyx art available...

I will be at the sale on:

Saturday October 20, 2012
10:00 am – 4:00 pm

Crescent Heights Community Centre
1101 - 2nd Street NW, Calgary, AB

Free Parking, Free Admission, Free Draw

Here is some art to tempt you...

small tabletop framed pieces

upcycled cashmere and merino wool brooches

clementine design brooches

Different Strokes Art Gallery

I just deliver a lot of my smaller pieces to my rep gallery in Olds, Alberta.

- brooches - the upcycled cashmere and merino wool, as well as the Clementine Design hat and lapel pins,
- Keepsake Pouch necklaces filled with semi-precious gems and stones,
- felted paperweights (beach stones carried across the mountains from the west coast of Vancouver Island and felted with merino wool),
- small framed textile pieces, some mounted on backgrounds of fibres like banana leaf yarn; and also flowers free machine embroidered onto copper metal,


Different Strokes is a lovely gallery on main street (50th Street) in downtown Olds, approximately 45 minutes north of Calgary on the Queen Elizabeth #2 highway, run by Debbie Ohlhausen who's philosophy is:

"Different Strokes Art Gallery is committed to broadening the confines of what individuals think of when they hear the term "Gallery". We believe that art is not necessarily meant to be quiet and passive - a gallery should have the same passion for its exhibited artworks that the artists have for their own work.

Different Strokes exhibits all forms of art by artists and artisans, mainly from Alberta, focusing on the artist and not just the art work. We welcome all art lovers to come in, be our guest, and appreciate the many different shapes, forms and sizes that art can take"

Her web site is here.

It is a lovely gallery full of Albertan artists that is worthy of a visit...

"Deconstructed... Up-cycled" 5

Here are more of my new line of brooches... All of this hand stitching took me the whole month of February!

Made out of 100% cashmere wool and extra-fine Merino wool with lots of hand embellishments.
Contact me if you're interested!

"Deconstructed... Up-cycled" 4

Here are more of my new line of brooches...

Made out of 100% cashmere wool and extra-fine Merino wool with lots of hand embellishments.
Contact me if you're interested!

"Deconstructed... Up-cycled" 3

Here are more of my new line of brooches...

Made out of 100% cashmere wool and extra-fine Merino wool with lots of hand embellishments.
Contact me if you're interested!


yeah!
first one sold!!
--->

"Deconstructed... Up-cycled" 2

Here are more of my new line of brooches...

Made out of 100% cashmere wool and extra-fine Merino wool with lots of hand embellishments.
Contact me if you're interested!

Goodies for Calyx

So what have I been working on for the past three months???
Creating new goodies for the Calyx sale!

One major item is a new line of brooches (I try to create a new one every year or two). This time my theme is "Deconstructed... Up-cycled".

Deconstructed is defined as "To break down into components; to dismantle."

Whereas up-cycled is defined as "to reuse an object or materials to create a product of higher value or quality than the original object or materials."

So what was my source? 100% cashmere wool sweaters and extra fine Merino wool sweaters brought from local thrift stores... in as many colours as I could find - although I did stay with a natural theme of browns and greens.

Like quilting, I started with a big piece, cut it into lots of small pieces, and reassembled it into various patterns. After making a background, I then embellished the small pieces with hand stitching, beading, charms and/or buttons. The pin is then backed with leather and signed.

Here are some. They average 2 to 4 inches in any one direction.
Hope you like them... (let me know!)
and there's more...