Welcome to my Feltmaking Blog . Here you will find some of my work ans inspirations

felting, making, meeting and enjoying being creative

Saturday, June 25, 2016

Photos from the garden in spring



In this selection of Photographs I explore the concept of nuances of light and shade .

Light and shade are natural occurrences, but can be used to create  atmosphere, texture and  give character   in photography.


Most of my photos are still lifes using natural light, often strong sunlight for maximum effect.

The objects I chose to photograph were placed  in such ways  as  to focus on  their texture and   the  shadows they cast.


Some Photos were taken in natural settings but with emphasis  on  catching shadows or texture and shade. I chose objects  found in my garden







 

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

New CRAFTed project in Burnchurch NS

I have been delivering CRAFTed projects for the past 5 years and have enjoyed every one of them so much. It is a treat working with the  pupils and teachers of the various schools. Brilliantly organized under the umbrella of the Counties Educational Centres and the Design, Craft Council of Ireland.
The latest project I worked on was with 33 children aged 9 - 12 in Burnchurch NS a small and vibrant school situated in the heart of rural Ireland


The overall  theme for this project was global citizenship and recycling. As this is  quite a  broad concept  we decided to narrow it down by looking at  pollution of the oceans  paying special attention to the large garbage gyres floating in major  world oceans, drawing the children’s attention to marine life and how plastics can affect their habitat.
The children were  asked to collect plastics and bring them into school for the project.
I thought it would be exciting to combine stitch, weave and fibre with plastics in this project.
For the introduction  to this project the children saw a short video called "One Plastic Beach" - Richard Lang and Judith Selby Lang  an inspiring video.
We then looked at marine life affected by the pollution of the oceans, with the help of the school’s library and the internet.  In preparation for a session of printing the children were asked to draw a  sketch  of sea life .
This image was used for  monoprinting . We first  made a background print using 2 colours and some mark making  on which  we later  printed the image of the sketch.




Next the  children transferred  their image of the marine creature  to a piece of plastic collected earlier.
The plastic shapes were then prepared according  to the children’s ability for stitching or  weaving  and worked on in school . It was great seeing the children and their enthusiasm in applying themselves and finishing their pieces using embroidery yarn, wool and beads.


To add another dimension to our planned  final wall display the children constructed jelly fish using nylon thread, beads and  plastic yoghurt lids, seaweed in all kinds of shape and sizes using onion netting, plastic cut outs coloured with permanent makers and  drinking straws cut in thin lines.

The canvas used as a background was painted with a wash of acrylic colour by the children. All the elements were placed  and arranged by the children and then glued to the canvas.

 
Finally during art lesson the children used their sketches for clay modelling.
Thanks to the teachers and pupils of Burnchurch NS, Kilkenny Educational Centre and the CRAFTed team Design and Craft Council of Ireland.

 

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Catching up

Its been a long time since I have been blogging. Here are some photos . Starting with a neckpiece"squaring the triangle" I made using chiffon silk and very fine merino wool. It was shown at Castle Ward , Co.Down, and at Space CRAFT, Belfast