Details for Puzzle Portraits Workshop

I have just updated the workshop page on Festive Fibers, which tells about in detail the newly added workshop called "Puzzle Portraits Weekend" September 24-26.  I will be hosting the workshop at the Festive Fibers Studio in Alstead, NH.  I am so excited to be sharing a weekend with two extraordinarily creative artists, I can't wait.  This is really a unique class, I hope you can join us!  Registration is officially open...

"Puzzle Portraits Weekend is a unique, mixed-media workshop of felt, fabric, and found objects. We invite you to join three innovative artists working in three different media over three days to create nine interlocking sections that assemble to form three complete and unique works of art with their own hanging display!"

Day 1: Found Object Portrait with Janette Schuster

 

Day 2: Felted Portrait with Nicole Chazaud Telaar

 

Day 3: Fabric and Polymer Clay Portrait with Loribeth Robare

Four new felters out in the world...

This past Saturday was a great day for my class of students learning patterned felt making for the first time.  As I teach technique, it is very cool for me to see the wheels spinning in each persons heads.  Eyes brighten, heads nod ah-ha, decisions as to what they want to do and make with their felts are made on the spot!  They get so excited about the process, they go right out and buy more fiber or a Fabulous Felt-O-Matic!  It is so fun to share and teach this media.  Felt-On Ladies!!!

Didn't everyone do a fantastic job?

Birthday Week celebration for designer Josef Frank

Austrian-born architect, artist, and designer, Josef Frank is another of my favorite designers.  He was the KING of the fantasy floral (Jacobean/Tree of Life) born July 15th 1885, tell me this man's designs are not fresher today than when they were done over 100 years ago!  I so see my style in his hand!

and for a much more extensive view on Josef Frank check out Svenskt Tenn

July 4th Rug Stomp

Two days of laying out fiber, talking about felt, design, techniques, life stories, and making beautiful felt rugs.  In honor of the holiday I made a red, white and blue scones for today's snack, blueberry, cherries and white chocolate....mmmm 

Take a peek during the day's STOMP!  and a photo of the finished rugs below...

And the Mermaid theme continues....

 

Yup, this is me, one of my little inspirational mixed media art pieces.  The photo above is me climbing Mt Monadnock many moons ago, and the Tail is from Art Chicks. (Sirens of the Sea collage sheet)  Helga has many sheets of mermaids.  I have paper flowers for my crown, all of which was constructed on a piece of my patterned felt 

measuring about 5"x7".  

Hmmm... Mermaid sighted last week at the New Jersey Shore?  teeheehee

Vintage Find (well gift really)

isn't she mer-beautiful?  She is a detail from a hankie my 90 year old mother-in-law gifted me this past week.  I am thinking the hankie belongs to he series of Puzzle Portraits I am working on for a new worshop this coming Fall called - yup - Puzzle Portraits.  My first protrait is a Mer-Bunny in honor of my little bunny Babette who at the end of her lovely life was a indeed a Mer-Bun.   When she was paralyzed and I made heer a little cover for her hind end that was shaped like a mermaid tail, she loved it, it helped her scoot around easier, and I would like to think it appealed to her sense of beauty.  (I made the "tails" in three different colors.) 

So with a little investigating I have found who Tammis Keef is (The textile designer of my new old hankie) She was incredibly prolific, and there is the most amazing website of many many many of her designs, though I do not see my mermaid on this site http://www.nwfestival.com/T_Keefe.htm.  Her style is very 40-50's I love the section on that site that shows the India and Arabia section.  Maybe I will have to use my hankie a bit differently now that I found I have a morsel of Textile designer's history.