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I have been making felt since 1992. It still holds
the same hidden magic for me as it did when I was first
introduced to it whilst studying
City
and Guilds patchwork and quilting.
My
interest in textiles began at an early age, I would beg scraps of
material from my grand mother
a professional
tailoress, to make dolls clothes.
The
inspiration for my work comes from my everyday
surroundings. The changing landscape, flowers
and the patterns created in old
patchwork quilts. My pictures are made by building up layers of fleece which I sometimes mix with silk fibres, I hand card
thoroughly to create a variety of colours,textures and shades.
I
cut back through the layers of felt to
reveal hidden colours beneath giving the work
a 3D effect. All my
pieces are hand rolled
using Merino and Blue Faced Leicester
wool. I hand dye the fleece,
this provides me with a rich pallet of colour to work
with. I also add dyed silk and muslin fabric to my work, this alters the appearence of the
felt.
After a wonderful visit to Kyrgyzstan in the
summer of 2001, I was privileged to work with some
very experienced feltmakers in their traditional
ways. I now adapt their way of feltmaking to
suit my needs.
My
feltmaking travels have taken me to
Uzbekastan, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, India, Turkey,Holland, Spain and Italy, where I have met some amazing feltmakers both
contemporary and traditional. I
hope to continue my journey into the fascinating world of
felt.
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