Felting Workshop
Barbara Attwell
May 6 – 7, 2017
Guild House
9-4 pm, with a lunch break
Professional artist Barbara Attwell will lead a wet felting workshop that both introduces and reviews the basics of the process, along with advanced techniques such as complex resists for 3D felting, creating textures, making and attaching shapes, using prefelts, and making cording and balls. A comfort level with fiber or felting is encouraged, but not mandatory.
Barbara has studied the time-honored art of felting in Europe, and exhibits her works in galleries and invitational shows. She started her career with a sculpture degree in foundry work. Nature is her inspiration, and wool now has become her favorite sculpting material with its impressive amount of strength, flexibility, and color. Ultimately its magic is its power as a shape-shifter. For her, it conjures up a most rich primordial-soup kind of experience – one gets wet, gets soapy, and gets to indulge in a totally organic process. Her work can be seen at her website barbaraattwell.net.
Payment
Cost for the workshop is $225, plus a materials fee. Materials (all except the wool) can be provided either by the participant or purchased for $30 from the instructor. All wool must be provided by the student. More information and suggested ordering sites will be sent upon registration.
To reserve your space, please send a $100.00 deposit to Yvonne Wilson, 111 Crown Point Court, Magnolia, Texas 77354. Final payment due the day of the workshop. Checks should be made payable to Contemporary Handweavers of Houston.
Schedule
Saturday: Creating a Wall Hanging
After an introduction as to the nature of wool and its many kinds, we will create a 2’ x 4’ wall hanging or flat work, learning layout, various rolling techniques, the use of silk, bamboo, and stash to add texture, and resists to create pockets. The use of prefelts, and Shibori, which adds a bumpy texture, will also be addressed.
Sunday: Creating a 3D Vessel
Using a resist we will build on the techniques learned in the flat work to create what is called seamless felting. These can be functional such as a birdhouse, or artworks such as pods and vessels. We will address simple and multiple resists to create cavities, complex resists to add more shapes, and additions that create textures. We can also learn how to make and attach ropes, stems, and balls.
Questions?
Email Barbara Attwell at battwella@gmail.com