Shibori Workshop

I have just returned from 6 days of textile workshops in Springwood, Blue Mountains, Australia. Run by TAFTA, (click here www.tafta.org.au for more info about this great organisation )this was a phenominal schedule of 2 day and 4 day workshops by wonderful Australian and international textile artists. There were so many areas covered it was hard to choose which ones to attend.

I decided to go to Cathy Moon's 2 day shibori workshop and Lizzie Houghton's 4 day nunofelting workshop (more on that next time). Cathy is a fantastic shibori artist based in Brisbane, QLD. She has many years of experience with textiles and dyeing techniques and was a fabulous teacher, happy to share her wealth of knowledge.

We worked hard over the two days, learning a number of different ways to create stitch resists, clamp resists and tyeing techniques. Cathy oversaw the dye-baths, as we were all busy stitching things in or taking them out.

At the end we hung our beautiful silk pieces up on ferns in the quadrangle to make our shibori tree.

Amazing outcomes, don't you think?

A few shawls for cooler nights

I have been a little busy rearranging my life of late and now I have time to do more here. So here are a few of the things I've been up to...

I used some of the inspiration gained from the Sketchbook Project 2012 for this shawl.

The texture of the silk is sumptuous. And I love the way the silk threads have wriggled and wrinkled during the felting process.

These are a few other accessories I've put together.

The strong design on this black red and maroon shawl is also a result of the excercise of putting together my entry to the Sketchbook Project 2012.

You can find the last two items in my Etsy Store but the top shawl is on its way to Sydney for a show.

The Sketchbook Project 2012

I've been participating in this fabulous international project co-ordinated by the Art House Co-op and the Brooklyn Art Library called the Sketchbook Project 2012.

When you join the project, you pick a theme and the organizers send you a blank sketchbook. You can fill its pages with whatever you like. The only provisos being that it stays within the specified dimensions and that the materials are able to travel safely ie dry and stable, not sharp, not hanging off and likely to break etc. You can completely remake the book if you want.

And I did.

My chosen theme was "It's Winter Where You Are" and my subplot was 'but not over here'. Because, well, the project is based in the US, and when it is cold and snowing there, it is usually hot and steamy here in the Queensland subtropics of Australia.

I used a medium weight artists paper for some pages because I wanted to use both sides without the paints and pens showing through. And the other pages... of course these are made from hand dyed fabrics and felt. And I bound it with a hand-dyed silk cover. I've not done much book binding before so this was a steep learning curve for me.

I've tried to show how the beautiful, vibrant things in my garden inspire me in my textile work. So the sketchbook contains images from my garden and samples of hand-dyed cottons and silks and how felting them changes the surface into a rich conglomerate of colour and texture.

Over the next few months I'll be posting some pictures of finished items that this process inspired. So keep popping in for updates.

Click this link to find out more about the Sketchbook Project 2012 .
Or if you would like to see more of the pages of my sketchbook go here to my project profile

Faeries, fairies gardens and wizards

I was having one of those quiet, post-christmas days. The garden is looking, well, pretty green and lush, especially after a little summer rain. So the cat and I went for a wander through it.

We found some new flowers had blossomed and others had faded. Some tiny little white ones, you would miss if you weren't looking carefully, and the great big hydrangas in their multitude of shades.

And a little ring of mushrooms (shame the photo didn't turn out).

It got me thinking about who has been tending this garden, 'cause I know it hasn't been me. And then it came to me, I must have garden faeires!

Nunofelt Collars

Have you ever had trouble working out what to wear with the changable weather as the seasons change. You know, too warm one moment, too cool the next. Do you dress in layers so you can take things off and put them back on as things change. Then there is the problem of what to do with the things you've taken off if it's too warm.

Well this is the problem I had with my big scarves. I'd put one on in the early morning because the morning breeze was a bit chill. But by the time I got to work, the sun was out and I'd be too warm, so off the scarf would come... and now to try to fit it into the handbag without bits trailing out.

So I came up with these new items. Nuno felt collars or scarflettes. They are big enough to keep your neck, decolletage and lower ears warm, but are small enough to roll up and easily fit into the handbag.

They don't need a brooch to secure them because one end threads through the other, making it very quick to put on or take off.

And you can wear each one a number of different ways. Turned up to get as much warmth as possible, turned down to just take the chill of the shoulders. Twist the ends around to make a big flourishy flower or just pull it straight through to make a scarf look.

I am listing these on my etsy store
BeljaysFeltnArt
so please take a look at these or any of the other wonderful winter warmers I have listed. They make great gifts.

Felt Art

Anyone who has read my profile or knows me well, is aware that my background is in visual art. For many years I worked in and exhibited my paintings and pottery, but I haven't exhibited my art pieces since discovering feltmaking.

So now I am working on a number of small pieces to exhibit in an online exhibition. They are explorations in the extraordinary beauty and endless possibilities of the felting process. I use the colours and textures of the regional setting in which I live as inspiration, a place to start. Then as the layers, selection and placement of different threads of wool, or silk, or cotton takes shape, the piece takes on its own life.

This is one of my "Threads" series. It is difficult to capture the way mood of the piece changes as shifting light picks out different threads and relects back to the viewer.

The work is small(approximately 12cm high by 19.5cm wide). A number of these images are closeups and details too.

I would love to hear what you think. Leave a comment here or on my FB page
Beljays Felt

Pretty packaging

A lot of people like to have the lovely selections they purchase off Etsy gift wrapped at this time of year. And I think it's a nice idea too. But you don't want to add to their postage costs by making the wrapping bulky or heavy.

So I've designed a new gift card to use as packaging for some of my items this holiday season. Why a card? Well my butterflys, fish and flowers are quite flat. They post nicely inside a card, which gives them a little extra protection on the journey too.

I can print them as I need them. I can make them in different colors if I choose. Add extra decoration to them, like glitter for example. On the front is enough space for someone to write a message, if they are giving it to someone else. Or, if the buyer has asked me to send it directly to someone else, I can print a message to the recipient, if the buyer wants. And it doesn't add to the postage costs at all.