Adult Felted Flower Workshop........

Oh what a fun morning I had!

My "Fiber Play Date" group with a few additional students met this morning for a Felted Flower workshop. I began the class with instructions on how to felt a rose, complete with leaves and stem. The roses were made with multiple components; bud, leaves and stems fetled seperately. They are then either needle felted or glued together. It was quite fun to see the colors that everyone chose and that even though each one came out a bit different, each was equally lovely!

Once the roses were completed we worked on a Hibiscus flower. This one added some challenges since we felted in the stamens on one side as well as a stem on the back side. Students learned how to add components using a dry brush end and resist technique.
I am always amazed at how there are no mistakes to be made with felting. Perhaps your piece doesn't turn out as you envisioned, but that does not mean that it isn't lovely just the same!





A good time was had by all and each went home with not only lovely flowers of their own creation, but a bit of new knowledge that they can apply to other fiber arts that they practice..... Here are a few more images of our class bouquet!

Enjoy!

 Until next time...........................

 
 

Felt Planets & Purses!

Week three of the term has children settling in from the Easter break and a little more focused than they had been. Progress was made by all!

Our Solar System group of 5-7yo made great strides this week and are nearly finished felting their planets! It has been fun to see the way the various planets look. Using a bit of research from the net, I designated colors to be used to represent each planet and we are creating them in proportion to one another as best we can. The children are having a good time making comparisons in size from the littlest Pluto (yes I know this planet is under discussion) to the size of the sun. Of course it isn't possible for us to make a realistic proportion of the sun to the other planets; for our purposes it is simply the biggest of our felt balls.The

children are anxious to see their planets strung on their mobiles and I need to find a way that I can suspend them in the classroom so that they can easily tie them up. That will be a challenge.... we'll see if I can make that work! If not, we will have to string them on the tables and live with that.... Not a bad lesson for them to learn - you can't always get what you want, so you make do with what you have!

The photos are of the materials and lay out for a felt ball and our version of Saturn created by using heavy colored paper with a center hole cut in it, and friction fitting it over the felt ball!

The 5 yr old group did some stitching this week. I created some animal shaped sewing cards with punched holes in them from crafting foam. They stitched to their ability; some better than others.But, they had a chance to try it out and help develop their fine motor skills and dexterity. Two of the children finished their sewing cards and moved on to the cardboard basket project (the second photo). I wasn't very concerned about how well they finished their work. I was most interested in them understanding the concept of stitching and how two objects are bound together with yarn or thread. The cardboard bowls were patterned from colorful and bright holiday gift boxes as seen in the first photo of my class sample and materials.

All were pleased with their accomplishments. I find myself saying this alot, but I know I always get a  great sense of pleasure when I make something and I think they do too even if it isn't perfectly executed. They are still proud of their work! I often hear that they have taken their projects from my class to school for show and tell :-)

My older group began working on Nuno Felted purses this week. We are using habotai silk scarves which I cut up to create a flap top purse and straps. I am anxious to see how they turn out! My class sample looks really fun and I think they will be happy with their finished project. So far, we have laid out the fiber, wet it out, and began rolling it. I am glad that we have a break in the rolling between classes since the Habotai needs more rolling than the chiffon to help the fibers migrate through the fabric. I was very impressed with their energy and enthusiasm for the rolling part. I was expecting some whining but I heard not a word! They are a very focused little group who seem to enjoy anything I throw at them!

Until next time.......

Children's Fiber Art Classes at KAF

Week two of the spring term is behind us already and we've had some nice work come out of the classroom!

The Monday 5-7 yr old class began creating a felted Solar System Mobile which is a multiple week project. Keeping this group on task is a challenge :-) I was expecting this to be a two week endeavor but have re-assessed it to be a three week project based on our progress so far. Look for pictures of this project in next week's posting.....

The 5 yr old group did some braiding this week. This was a good class project for them. We had enough time to complete it with one on one attention and they all got the concept. Their challenge was in coordinating the three strands so I sat with each of them as they completed their key rings and all found success! One student was able to coordinate the three strands all by herself with the exception of making the final knot. Well done Amy!!

The 8 & up group this week finished their Silk Name Banners. I was very proud of their efforts. After painting the silk with dye and practicing their names in Japanese calligraphy with ink on paper, they were ready to paint their names in Japanese on their banners. Everyone found success and they look terrific!

The nature of using ink as a final layer on their piece allowed them only one shot at painting. There was no option for do-overs! As a result I believe they understood the need to focus and practice in the allowed time so that they could do the best job they could do and they all did a really great job!
The final step was to glue the banner to a dowel or piece of bamboo and attach a piece of cording for hanging. I was very pleased with their efforts :-) Here are some photos of their work.....

Until Next Time...............

New Term for Children's Fiber Classes Has Begun...

The Spring term at Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation has begun after a nice long break from classes. Getting back in the swing after a long time away hasn't been too bad even with a change in my classroom location. I returned from vacation to find bright and spacious second floor space has become my new classroom. Since I was away during the break, I was not able to help with the move so am working on organizing the space to suit the students and my needs. It will take a few weeks to get everything  where I want it but am grateful that I didn't have to make the laborious move :-)

Students seem to not have missed a beat and though there are a few changes in attendance, all classes have a good group of enthusiastic children to "play" with.

The week began with the 5-7 yr olds. The 5 yr olds had created yarn bugs last term which were a big hit. I decided the 5-7 yr olds would enjoy them as well and that they would be able to take on more of the process than the 5 yr olds were able to. So, we began the term with a fun activity of making large pompoms that we turned into six legged creatures. I forgot my camera at home on that day - part of the getting back into the routine process so don't have any photos to show of their work :-(
The photo I am showing is from the 5 yr old group so that you can see what the project looks like.

My 5 yr old group revisited felting this week and made felt on soap. A few of them had experienced this at Fiber Festival but all seemed to enjoy creating their tub scrubbie and all found success! I got a report back from a mom the next day that the soap was well used in the bath and very much enjoyed. Yeah! It's always fun for me to help the children create things that have some function and that they can enjoy!






The 8 & up group shrunk this term. This age group has so many commitments to deal with at such a young age! Swimming  programs have begun which many children are involved in, putting a strain on the schedules and making it difficult for families to fit everything in.
Last term this group was plagued with flu bugs and broken bones which didn't allow for us to finish our major multiple week project of creating a crewel embroidered vest on wool felt. Several students took their work home during vacation and made a bit of progress but we will resume this project in class. I had new faces so decided that I needed to begin the term with a new project and assess how I would re-introduce the vest into this term.

Our opening project is making an Asian Banner. Students began their work by space dyeing on silk to form the base. They also took up Sumi-e brushes and practiced writing their names in japanese calligraphy which they will add to their banners as part of the design. Ultimately, their pieces will be glued to bamboo sticks and strung for hanging. Watch next weeks posting for the results of their work.

For now, I have added a few pictures of the vest progress....

Until next time......

Patchwork Rain Stick Project for children

Wow this has been a busy week but now that the opening of my show is over with, I will have lots more breathing room! One week of classes left on the term and vaction in the states for three weeks will make the next month pass very quickly!
I am late posting the weekly update because of the opening but here it is now!

This week my 5 yr old class and the 5-7 yr old class created patchwork rain sticks. This was a messy job but they had fun and worked on some good motor skills and spacial relationships.
The monday 5-7 group is a longer class in addition to them being older and a little more developed. As a result, their completed projects were more refined than the 5 yr olds and they were able to do more of the work!

I prepared the tubes and blocked one end for them before class. I prepared the foil that goes inside the tube which makes the sound of rain when the grain that is added runs along it. I let this group put the foil inside, add the grain themselves and put the end caps on with tape. Once this was accomplished I gave them scissors and a pile of upholstery fabric samples to cut up and glue

onto their stick. Their goal was to not leave any cardboard showing and to be sure all edges of the fabric were glued down. I highly recommend covering the working surface with blank newspint on the ends of rolls which is usually given away at your local newspaper. We have gallon jugs of glue which I poured into small cups and provided paint brushes for them to paint the glue on with.

The end results were quite nice. Their challenge though was getting the ends of fabric glued down. I had to keep reminding them to be sure to paint the edges of the fabric so that it would stay down. There must be a learning curve to installing the foil for best effect though. Our rain sticks make a nice sound but you had to giggle the sticks a bit to keep it going.

When the 5 yr olds do the same project on tuesday that the 5-7 yr old class does on monday, I have the advantage of tailoring the project to fit their skill and attention level. I made sure first of all to cover the tables this time :-) I also knew that they would not be able to insert the foil and cap the ends themselves. I had them work on cutting various fabric scraps that they could share while I filled the tubes with foil. I then went to each child to let them pour in their own grain and capped the ends for them. By the time that was done, they had cut enough fabric pieces for the class to use to glue onto their pieces. Their rain sticks weren't very tidy but they still enjoyed them and were happy to take them home!

The stick to the left is my class sample. I'm sorry to report that I did not get proper photos of the children's finsihed sticks!

I've run into a glitch with the 8 & up class project! I had planned that this would be a four week project but the class schedule was incorrect and we now have only one class left of term, when I was planning on two. YIKES! The children had not yet begun to stitch their surface designs on so I was able to have them simplify their designs a bit and hope that we will be able to get them done in the last two hour class. I will email their moms and ask if they can come early next week so that they can have a bit more time to work on them and finish them up. I had tried to plan the project so that they would not end up with the piece incomplete and not ever be able to wear it. I hope we succeed!

One of my students will not get to finish and in fact never got to design or stitch on hers at all as she broke her arm badly last week! We all wish her a quick recovery and look forward to her return to class next term.

Until next week.................

Successful Opening at the Elliot Gallery!

Last night was amazing!
The reward for all of my many hours of working in the studio to create this new body of work was all about last night's event. And an event it was! I am very lucky to have somehow formed a relationship with two Bermudian artists whose work blends well with mine. For the second year in a row we have had one of, if not THE most well attended art show at the Elliot Gallery at Kaleidoscope Art Foundation.

Here are some photos of the show.

Artist Ronnie Chameau is most known in Bermuda for her Banana Doll Ornaments and in 2009 was rewarded for those efforts by being featured on a holiday postage stamp collection. What few people knew was that her true love is water color painting! Her ink and water colors paintings of Bermuda cottages is a delight with some of them resembling photographs until you look at them more closely! This year she featured more than 20 paintings from her collection.

Ronnie Lopes is a Bermudian of Portuguese descent and a multi talent as well. Ronnie owns a pet shop in Devonshire, raises prize winning chickens, is a talented musician who performs here and abroad AND began creating rustic furniture from Bermudas blow downs, removals  and recycled lumber. His following is ever increasing and he somehow finds time in his busy work life to create some pretty wonderful things! He has ventured out into some more artful pieces for the garden shown at this event. His oversized tricycle and garden wheel barrow were a big hit.

My work this year was about new things for me as well. I did not show one hairlock painting! Since the Bermuda fiber festival I have discovered the beauty and intrigue of Nuno Felting.  As a result, I created a clothing collection made from silk using that technique. Additionally I have been playing with dyes and incorporated some Shibori dyeing techiniques into several pieces for the show.

In the end, this show for me was about trying new things, setting a goal, and finding my confidence by believing in my gut. I had no idea when I began working on this show what would evolve beyond a few sketches but I knew I would not likely show  any paintings. It wasn't until January that I had a firm grasp of where my work was taking me and all along the way and up until a few weeks ago, I was unsure that it would finds it's way to the finish.
What I learned along the way is.... Do what you love with passion and it WILL come together. Seeing the final collection on display including the clothing on live models, and being able to stand back and be satisfied and proud of  the results of my work was one of the most rewarding things I have ever accomplished!
Artists all create with the hope of selling some of their work. Having been in the clothing industry in my early career, I know what a challenge that can be. The fact that I did indeed sell some work with several possible commissions was more than I could have imagined!

But I digress form the big picture....

Ronnie Lopes invited some friends and felow musicians to jam with him at the opening. What a treat for
anyone who attended! A gathering of a half dozen of Bermuda's top musicians who don't necessarily ever play together, gathered and entertained us in a rare performance.

But that's still not all! Bermudians like to party and eat! Ronnie Lopes Portuguese family provided home made Kale and Red Bean soups and Ronnie Chameau had a friend make a "gurt pot" of Bermudian spicy fish chowder. Radio personality, in our pre show publicity, clarified to his audience that " a gurt defines the pot, not the soup!".
Make food and they will come they said.
And come they did......

Bermuda Papers Feature Upcoming Show!

The count down has begun as the show opening fast approaches!

It's satruday morning and my goal is to have all pieces completed by tomorrow night with the exception of pressing out the wrinkles in the garments that need it.  I see no reason not to be with the two pieces remaining that still need some work. YEAH! It's been a long but very rewarding two months of creating new and exciting things!
My compatriots and I have enjoyed some very nice publicity in the last few days with feature coverage in the two major newspapers on the island and we are scheduled to be interviwed on the David Lopes show on ZBM radio (am 1340) Bermuda on monday morning at 7:30am. Tune in to hear all about our show!

Helen Jardine of the Bermuda Sun ran an article last wednesday and the Royal Gazette's Jesse Moniz ran one in yesterday's paper with a front page teaser which was an awesome extra! Photos in the Gazette and the one I have posted here were taken by Mark Tatem who is one of the local favorite news photographers.

I hope that if you are on the "rock" that you will find a way to pop in to our event, and an event it is indeed! Ronnie Lopes is a musician and a few of his talented friends will be playing live keyboards and classical guitar in the background. Coming from a Portuguese heritage, Ronnie's family will be making and serving several Portuguese soups and Bermuda native Ronnie Chameau is providing a Bermuda fish chowder. Let's not forget our purpose though :-) On exhibit and all available for purchase will be Ronnie Chameau's rarely seen water color collections, Ronnie Lopes' rustic furniture with some fun yard art pieces and lots of new work from me will be seen on live models, so don't miss this event! A fun time will be had by all who come!

March 11th, 6 - 8 pm at the Elliot Gallery, Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation in Devonshire on the corner of Jubilee & Parsons Road.

See you there!