Artist Elin Thomas pays homage to fuzzy fungus through crochet, needle felting, and embroidery.
My art group met at the first of June and we played with Tyvek. We were inspired by Karen L’s recent post here. We cut up Tyvek envelopes, painted and heated them with a variety of heat tool…
Looking at several different interpretations of trees as fiber art, including driftwood art.
Welcome Dawn to Saori Santa Cruz designing and sewing clothing class! Lets look at how this progression class went from hand woven cloth to jacket Here is Dawn's happy hand woven fabric she wove Saori style and brought to class in her luggage from Canada . I had the studio all ready for cutting and sewing and trying on…. Dozens of muslins to try and finished garments as well for ideas….. Dawn confess that in her soaking stage of her finished cloth she some how felted part of it . …. you can see ruching and textures and narrowing widths varying . But this is Saori! not to be deterred . I told her " We will work with what we have and use the textures as design elements!" Trying muslins and , and then trying on my finished pieces . Dawn especially kept going back to one design, a jacket I designed. although there were vests and tunics that she loved as well. I helped her with her decision by seeing if she had enough yardage to make the jacket style she wanted. She watch as i layed out and showed her oprtions for piecing. she helped with her own esthetics to where she liked pieces placed but the goal is not to over think this process to much ever! The magic happens by trusting in your true self. Ok deep breath… lets cut!!! we really just had barely just enough fabric to make the jacket but we made it work! ….and sew and piece and re cut and CUT some more and SEW and PIECE some more NOW she is basting the main pieces of the jacket together to try on and see if it fits etc "I am going to love it" So I said , " it fits great! so lets sew it up now!! It is a beautiful spring day here in northern california lets move the sewing machine out side to sew your jacket after lunch" ….. and sew we did! In the mid 70's in February BLISS!!! the try on……... It is getting late but the jacket is almost done!!! Lets keep going …... Now back into the studio to press for hems and sleeves and ... Back outside to sew more and to secure all the seams on the jacket's inside. NOW FOR THE FINAL PRESSING!!! Dawn has her beautiful amazing jacket to wear tomorrow to the airport and to her next American art journey ! "I love it Jill, I learned so much" …. and I love it it to bits too ! don't you? A email from Dawn: "First I want to tell you how much I enjoyed meeting you and Lee. Secondly. thank you so very much for a wonderful day at your studio. I enjoyed myself immensely, and I simple LOVE my jacket. It's couldn't be better. Thank you again. I also love the photos and stories you shared on your blog. I hope that we meet again. I would love to be able to bring a group of weavers (or even beginners) down to your studio to weave and learn about SAORI. Best, Dawn" I enjoy meeting new students and sharing my life long skills of fibers and sewing and art with them. more info about my classes or to schedule a class or intensive go to my web site SAORISANTACRUZ.COM you can find my email there as well. PEACE FROM THE LOOM Jill Nickolene Sanders MyEtsy shop
My art group met at the first of June and we played with Tyvek. We were inspired by Karen L’s recent post here. We cut up Tyvek envelopes, painted and heated them with a variety of heat tool…
Simple tips for framing felt art work professionally at home.
Completing projects is good, and I was able to finish another commission piece this week. It will be my last for a while because my summer shows are coming up and I need to turn my attention to making some fresh pieces for art fairs. I was commissioned to create a new version of one of my earliest popular pieces called ‘A Walk in the Woods’. I pulled out my big box of green chenille thrums, most of which my husband had tied together and rolled into balls. I think the greens look very crunchy and leafy, like you’re looking into a bowl of fresh lettuce for a salad. I pulled out the combinations that worked well together, blended them in different combinations, and worked to create more depth than I had in the original piece. More recent pieces have taught me that by crocheting some of the green leaf clumps I can bring forward the canopy and move the tree trunks deeper into the background. On the forest floor I added some flowers because, well, the person who commissioned the piece wanted some! I was channeling a pleasant dog walk I had with my friend Dawn Adams last month. The dog enjoyed the freedom while we took in the emerging green and delicate spring ephemerals. Delighted by my success with my ‘Walk in the Woods’ piece I turned my creative momentum to completing my Red Gum piece. Unfortunately, my frog seems to have been awakened by the recent monsoon-like rains and hopped away. I made him a couple of months ago, and I know exactly where I left him. When I reached down to quickly capture him (he’s a good jumper even without his skin) he wasn’t there! I did have a flood in the art studio and everything got moved around. Maybe he’s still hiding down there somewhere, pining for fresh water. I should probably look around the sunken window where the waters flooded in. If he doesn’t turn up shortly I’ll have to make a new frog and find him another home when he does get hungry and turn up. Thinking about all the water has me remembering my sketches of a cool lake in northern Ontario. My next piece might just need some deep, glistening blue yarns to capture northern waters. I couldn’t write about the week with out mentioning Jacob, aka the Dodo bird from Alice in Wonderland. The performance was Thursday and Jacob was the star of the show. For me, anyway! The school sent home an ugly looking costume that was a cross between a gigantic, overweight chicken (think Foghorn Leghorn) and a University Professor (complete with a pipe for contemplation). Jacob rejected the image and came up with his own. Our journey started out at Once Upon a Child, where we bought a gray long-sleeved t-shirt for $2.50. We pulled out a bumpy feather pillow from Grandma and repurposed the feathers. Jacob used about ten hot glue sticks to lay down rows of feathers from his hands to his elbows. The outcome was very realistic. He made a big yellow beak and a tricorn hat (they were in the original instructions) to go with his feathery wings. I convinced him that wearing a long-sleeved yellow t-shirt upside down would give him the needed yellow legs (Dodos have yellow legs he noted—thanks Google!). He pulled a pair of shorts over the shirt to cover the unused neck hole and he was ready to lead the Caucus race! He acted and sang like a champion, as did all his friends in Mrs. Bland’s class. It’s enough to warm a Mom’s heart. Until next week... Martina Celerin
Layout stage before the final felt
I’m settling in at home after a truly delightful trip to Madison Wisconsin. The people I met at the art fair there are just so… Bloomingtonian! That’s the best compliment I can give. They really appreciate art, and fiber art specifically. An enthusiastic crowd turned out this weekend and made the whole trip worthwhile. Twelve of my pieces found happy homes in Wisconsin, which made take down substantially easier. It was almost a sad sight to see the few pieces that didn’t sell nestled in one half of a big plastic tub. That definitely sounds wonderful now, but on the way back the realization that my next show (the Fourth Street Festival here in Bloomington) is less than two months away! I have to get my creative juices moving and start weaving like the wind. I guess I’m getting a little ahead of myself. In the last hours before we loaded the U-haul and drove off to Madison I desperately worked to finish my ‘Summer Salad’ piece. I’ve been really excited about this piece as new elements came together at the very end. I was poking away at tomato slices until the afternoon before we left. It wasn’t until that evening that my world slowed down enough so that I could attach the vegetables. A day or two earlier I still had a rectangular hole that I struggled to fill until I decided that button mushrooms were the missing piece I needed. I really like them, and I’m proud of how the whole piece came together. The composition feels like it has movement, which makes me happy too. Jim thought it was the most attractive piece in the booth and was sure it would sell quickly. A lot of people showed a strong, immediate connection to the piece when they saw it, which was fun to watch. At the end of the show, however, with more bare wall than art in the booth, ‘Summer Salad’ was still there! I’m secretly pleased, though, that the piece will be available for display for Fourth Street—I really wasn’t ready to give it up. Plus, I really want to show it off to my peeps here in town. I had lots of wonderful interactions with fair goers this year. One woman saw my ‘Vine Ripened Tomatoes’ from last year and really wanted it. She said she regretted not buying it all year, and luckily it didn’t sell during the year. She was delighted to be able to buy it this year. Another couple came in and clearly wanted a piece. The wife couldn’t decide which to get, so the husband sent her out of the booth and picked out the piece he was sure she really wanted. It was just an incredibly confident thing to do. They ended up with ‘The Harvest’, one of my recent pieces with a hand pulling a carrot from the earth. Another couple was looking for a wedding gift for their niece. She was an Indiana University grad with a job in a local food co-op, and they chose my ‘Best Friends Forever’ piece. It features a carrot, onion and beet in an earthy background. I think they were delighted by the name and theme of the piece, which seemed to be a perfect match for the occasion. While I was off selling art, Jim and the boys were exploring rural Wisconsin with Wendy and Duane, our hosts for the weekend. They were just terrific, making us a wonderful grilled salmon dinner with garlic scape pesto—very garlicky and tasty! The meal was followed up with a dark chocolate bread pudding. The pudding was superb warm and tasty cold the next day. Their help and care made everything about the show easy and fun. I even made a new friend in Buddy, the large white guard dog at the front of the house. And while I was busy during the show, in the morning before I got to explore a little bit of the countryside with my boys. One stop was for lunch at the Viking Café in Blanchardville. Everybody found something they liked and we all left happy. And the boys used their drink straws wrappers to channel the true Viking spirit. Thanks Wisconsin, Madison, Wendy and Duane, Buddy and Jamie, puppy friend of Buddy! I hope to see you all again next year. Until next week… Martina Celerin
Inspired by Esterhazy cake :) as example www.ruszwurm.hu/html/a_sk_eszterhazi_torta.html merino, silk chiffon fabric, 50/50 merino/silk yarn Back side
Textile arts have been around for centuries, and yet artists continue to keep it fresh and new. Take a look at some of their amazing work!
Last week was nothing short of hot in Bloomington, so I knew it was clearly time for tomatoes. The little red fruits just filled my world. I poked and created slice after slice of juicy summertime heaven at every meeting and event I attended, and all day when the boys were in school. My payoff, sadly, wasn’t a fresh tomato sandwich. It was even better! I finished off the last of the tomatoes, and indeed the last of my vegetables, for my ‘Ratatouille’ piece! I can’t tell you how good that feels after months of felting giant carrots, onions, and beets (for the Summer Harvest companion piece) followed by eggplant, onions, herbs, zucchinis and tomatoes for the Ratatouille piece. What a giant relief to have all the pieces (and backgrounds) in my art studio. My week in tomato town started with buying and slicing open a selection of Roma tomatoes as models. Most artists can’t get away with slicing open their models to get a look at the internal structures, but happily I can. What struck me when I examined the tomatoes was how variable the tomatoes are with respect to the internal chambers. I assumed they would all have the same developmental program that produced the same chamber structure. Then to make the seeds I was looking for some muted earthy yellow color. Fortunately, I came across fleece that I had dyed this summer with goldenrod flowers collected in Michigan. I did one batch with just the flowers and a second with alum added. The former gave a more muted yellow that was perfect for my seeds. I’m always delighted when something I can’t imagine finding a home for turns out to be just the right color for a future project. I needle felted the seeds in place after the tomato slice took shape, then I gave them a light blanket of the slimy tomato chamber material and then felted more seeds on top. I felt the technique gave a sense of depth to the seeds within the seed chamber that I really liked. Of course finishing the components means it’s time to assemble components onto the weaving background. I stayed up fairly late last night, enjoying the cool of the basement art studio over the stuffy upstairs bedrooms after an eighty-degree day. I decided to put together ‘Summer Harvest’ first. I really like it! I just feels soooo good to have it assembled after months of creating small pieces and working through the doubt of whether it will all work out. I even found a use for the orange thread from Jim’s youth, which he used to tie spawn bags to catch trout. Everything finds a use in my house! As the piece came together we broke out a bottle of wine to celebrate. Now I just need to decide on the exact component layout for ‘Ratatouille’ and assemble that piece. Everything else in my world took a back seat to art last week, but I did get out a little. The opening reception for “The Art of Re-Use” in celebration of Earth Day in Columbus, IN organized by Marilyn Brackney, was Thursday evening at Hotel Indigo. I left all three boys home and drove over with Cappi Phillips. The trip seemed like it only took ten minutes because we laughed and giggled just about the whole way. The reception was well attended, and I even ran into one of the judges from the first Déjà Vu show. She also happened to have bought a Winter Birches piece. Now she’s doing amazing encaustic pieces. I’ve been oohing and aahhing over the technique ever since we saw a demonstration of the art form at Wonderlab. Over the weekend the whole crew went out to the African American Dance Company’s spring performance, which was excellent. I loved seeing such immense talent in all the different body shapes and ethnic backgrounds. Some of the movements seemed almost snake-like to me, which got into my head. I tried to think and move like a snake when I was doing Zumba the next day. We also managed to get out to the Sunday matinee performance of Miles Away at the Bloomington Playwrights Project – a date with hubby! The acting was intense and at the end I just sat in sort of a stunned silence for a bit to pull myself back into my own reality. The characters and plot were far removed from what I experience day-to-day, but I felt completely embraced in the experience because of the incredible acting. Thanks to Chad for assembling an amazing out of body experience. Go see it! This will be another big week—completing ‘Ratatouille’ will certainly be an early major project. I’m a little nervous about it still, but I’m optimistic about the final product. I also noticed, ahem, that our rhubarb was starting to poke up in the garden. Hmmm, let’s see…spring, rhubarb…could a pie be far behind? Check back next week! Until next week… Martina Celerin
Needle felting is a captivating craft that allows you to transform raw wool fibres into stunning works of art like needle felted landscapes.
Needle felting artist Teresa Perleberg shares some of her needle felting secrets that she has learned over the years felting everyday.
Fabrics and the role they have played in the decoration of your home is undeniable. Starting from the curtains on your window and doors to the bed linen we
When I was making my recent series of random strip pieced quilts I had a lot of leftover scraps of fabric. Hand dyed scraps left over fro...
Autumn Textured Embroidery Fiber Art piece In a hand painted 6 inch hoop
Fourth Grade artists are busy finishing up their Radial Design sewing. Students have learned at least five different kinds of stitches: running, straight, cross, satin, as well as decorated or fancy running stitch. Students designed their work to have a symmetrical balance, and a few have radial balance, which is two or more lines of symmetry. We are sewing into burlap, which is loosely woven, and makes it a little easier to line up the design because of the grid-like pattern the fibers have. These will be on display for our School-wide Student Art Show in April!
Learn to Needle Felt a Picture – Super Easy Tutorial! #Learn to paint with wool with this detailed needle felted picture tutorial suitable for beginners onward and featuring my favourite Herdwick sheep.
Looking for something to do? Our kid-friendly craft roundup is the best way to spend time with the kids and work with your hands, no screens involved!
Do you ever wonder how professional textile artists achieve a smooth, even finish to their needle felted artwork? Does your work look a little fuzzy, blobby or matted in comparison? Read on for three effective tips to get you felting like a pro.1. Stab Sensitively!Have you ever looked at your work and though "that looks a bit...stabby"? Have the holes made by your felting needle really left their impression on your work? The chances are that this is because when you stab down with your needle, y
Appliqué is simply a method where one piece of fabric is layered on top of another. Felt appliqué simply uses felt for this fabric layering. If you have some embroidery experience and are curious about trying felt appliqué, it is a very accessible craft which is lots of fun! In this article I will b
This free felting tutorial, on how to make a vessel, involves felting on an inflatable rubber ball to create a hollow felted sphere. These step by step instructions are beginner friendly easy to follow, and takes about 4 hours to complete.
Our embroidered felt insect banner would make really cute decor for a kid's bedroom or playroom. Just follow our pattern and tutorial!
Explore Julie Shackson's 472 photos on Flickr!
3 Best Glues for Felt Crafts. Adhesive recommendations from a long-time felt crafter and former publishing craft editor. Pros, cons and tips.
Howdy, friends! If you live in the Tennessee area than you know what a wet and wild week we had! I like to thought it was NEVER gonna stop raining. Which means to outdoor recess for the kids...and it was full moon week. Regardless, we were rockin' through our paintings, embroidery, weaving and sewing projects this week and I couldn't be more excited about the progress the kids are making. We also got to meet a new friend to the art room this week: Our Monster from Cotton Monster Jen! Last week, I had the chance to see my mom who had picked up for me some fun things for my art room: these floats! I'm using them as "flexible seating" for my third graders as they weave. They were in heaven. So that folks who wanted to sit in the floats could have a turn, I set a timer for every five minutes. I also have a small fort, beach chairs and plenty of pillows for them to pick from. We played music and it was a regular weaving party! If you'd like to learn more about circle loom weaving, check out my blog posts with video. Even if I did look like a crazy person walking down the halls with these bad boys. I literally couldn't fit through my door! Since my students are involved in fiber arts projects right now, I'm thrilled to introduce them to Jennifer Strunge. This isn't the first time I've shared her work with my kids. You can see our Monster Sewing Project (with video!) here. We are voting on his name next week after brainstorming tons of ideas! Will keep you posted. Another thing my mama got for me? This hilariously inappropriate and yet so appropriate t-shirt. The kids had a big laugh over that one. While my third graders are weaving, my fourth graders are sewing. Some are sewing pizza pillows, donut pillows or, in this case, emojis! I'm hoping to have these complete by this coming week...ready to move on, y'all! Lesson details to come. My first graders are wrapping up their reversible dot paintings. This is a revamp of a lesson I did years ago with my second graders...I love this project! I'll be creating an updated blog post about this and what we did differently super soon. I purchased the cardboard pizza rounds from Gordon Food Services but you can also found them on Amazon. Did y'all know I like rainbows? What was the first clue...? And pizza. I'm also a fan of pizza. This HUGE pillow was completed by a fourth grader. You can check out this lesson and video here. Two of my second grade classes are stitching right now...and totally rocking it. They finished them off this week and they were so proud of themselves. Lesson details to come. I love stitching with kids. I think the best part of this week was seeing so many projects finally coming to fruition. It's been WEEKS and I'm so excited for these young artists. I'm also STOKED that I got ALL of the Getting to Know You sculptures up because, whew!, that took a minute. And that's a wrap! I hope y'all had a wonderful week...and here's to one heading right for us! Ah! Also happy to finally finish and hang my Paint the Town by Numbers Mr. Rogers.
Japanese felt artist Atsuko Sasaki is an art teacher and by night a genius felter. Atsuko makes fascinating creations with felt with a level of perfection
I stitch a lot. And I have a lot of raw materials that can be stitched. So I do. I stitch.
“Flowers Of The Cosmos” by Fumiko Nakayama Let me just say right up front that this quilt show exceeded expectations in every way. Something I really love about Japan is …
