Art In The Pearl: Fine Arts & Crafts Festival

Description:

I use feltmaking techniques to transform wool & other fibers into sculptured textiles and wearable art. Through experimentation I discovered that wool, with it’s pliability and saturated palette, is similar to other fine art mediums like paint and clay.
I make each piece by applying wool as painterly strokes and fields of color to create a thick bed of fiber. From the very start, I must carefully choose layout and feltmaking strategies that will enable me to attain desirable design objectives. Wetting this matrix with hot soapy water, I mesh the fibers together by rolling and hand-working them in a process similar to sculpting with clay. By manipulating the wool fibers with sensitivity at each stage of the feltmaking process, I impart expressive character to my finished work.