Sun in Libra, Moon in Gemini, 3rd 1/4
I had a very 'intellectual, conceptual, clever' piece of felting and sculpture in mind for an exhibition earlier in the year but i couldn't get the project finished in time so i planned to finish it for another exhibit coming up in November but i found out that the space and my idea wouldn't work - alas, what would i do? I had been invited to be a part of this exhibition, it was such a great thing, something i really wanted to be a part of and now i had nothing to work with.. i felt very disheartened at the thought of having to pull out, in a moment of dispair one always reaches for a cup of tea to console and warm and comfort the heart, ah the curve of the pot, the tinker of the cup on the saucer, the healing life giving herbs within. Yep i felt like tea... "I'm going to felt a tea pot!" i exclaimed to no one in particular, the creative spirit had unexpectedly popped over for tea!
With that the felting began, i had to nut out a pattern for the resist and concoct a plan! What colour wool top would i choose? I have been drinking a particularly fancy and fabulous herbal tea of late called 'Yogi Tea' the blend i chose was 'Women's Energy,' not only a delicious pretty magenta colour but also i haven't experienced any moon flow cramps since drinking the tea each day of the week before, remarkable! Bless those herbs! I have been saving the used tea bags for no specific reason, mainly because the colour was delightful, and they have little quotes on them.. So naturally i am going to dye the teapot with tea!
The photo shows the tea pot and cups in the garden - not yet dyed, hopefully this week i will be able to use the tea bag dye, this i feel with bring all the pieces together and I'm thinking some embroidery as well - embroidering into felt is divine! I'll keep you posted!
This whole process has been a journey of understanding and acknowledging my own arts practice more deeply, i had a hard time at university devising clever conceptual pieces, so much i nearly abandoned the whole art ship because it was soooo in the head but my art is naturally from the heart and the two spaces just didn't fit, my art is from my heartspace, in fact it's the way my heart communicates it's love and joy and messages with the world. I didn't have preconceived intelligent ideas for my work, it was just what was flowing at the time for me and the deeper understanding of the pieces often didn't come till much later upon reflection of the work after it had had time to settle.
Oh for the love of making! My art is, it just is, let the critics and art intellects write the words, let the artists make the work, i think anyway.
If you would like to see this work in the flesh you could head along to the wildly creative and fun for all 'Darlington Arts Fair' during the first weekend in November 5th and 6th, i'll also be there on the Saturday afternoon doing an Artist in Motion session, pop down and come say hi, you will be able to check out my 3D resist felt making process in person!
Blessed Be
Howdy Partners,
Spring sprang a month ago, the flowers are all a bloom, the garden is a colourful delight, spring and autumn are my favourite times of year all the change and colour rich reminders of our precious life changing and unfolding right before our eyes.
Winter really feels like a time for wool the moment a slight chill creeps into the air i reach for the wool. The crochet hooks set up permanent residence in the lounge room and wooly wearables are adorned at every occasion, hot tea in tea pots steep beside cups and saucers. The wintery weather was such a fabulous time to knit, so fabulous in fact, that i co-led a Tea Pot and Cosie group at work. Participants made a variety of functional and ornamental teapots that delighted us all. I have a list of things i would like to do before i am 30 and making a tea pot was one of them! Hooray!
We then embarked on the making of Tea Cosies! And i knitted my first cosie! Yay! Check out that Pom Pom loving!
Pom-poms are so silly they make me laugh!
The cosie pattern was adapted from a wooly loving author Loani Prior who wrote 'Wild Tea Cosies' and 'Really Wild Tea Cosies' She says and i whole heartedly agree that "Tea cosies are funny even when they are not meant to be funny... Make a teapot smile. Knit a cosy." ahh makes me grin like a cheshire cat!
During the wintery months my ray of sunshine and i ventured down south to the magical forest town of Denmark, there is a new addition to the town since i was last visiting at Easter, a shop for Wool... ah wooly love heaven! Inside were a colourful assortment of women finishing off a Saturday morning knitting class, they all were covered in colour and wool, hooray! I felt emensly cheery upon leaving the store. There is something about wool and knitting and crotchet and winter that i cannot describe that i utterly love! I bought a certified organic, non animal cruelty ball of red wool for some crochet that i plan to do!
Now that the sun has come out to play the wool has not gone away in fact this time it too has transformed like the season into not the spun colourful wool of the knitter but the raw fluff of a wool top for felting up a wet soapy storm!
And you'll never believe.. it i have been felting teapots!! |
| Snail Teapot |
 |
| Terracotta and acrylic |
We then embarked on the making of Tea Cosies! And i knitted my first cosie! Yay! Check out that Pom Pom loving!
Pom-poms are so silly they make me laugh!
 |
| Shaggy, tufty, Pom-Pom Cosy |
During the wintery months my ray of sunshine and i ventured down south to the magical forest town of Denmark, there is a new addition to the town since i was last visiting at Easter, a shop for Wool... ah wooly love heaven! Inside were a colourful assortment of women finishing off a Saturday morning knitting class, they all were covered in colour and wool, hooray! I felt emensly cheery upon leaving the store. There is something about wool and knitting and crotchet and winter that i cannot describe that i utterly love! I bought a certified organic, non animal cruelty ball of red wool for some crochet that i plan to do!
Now that the sun has come out to play the wool has not gone away in fact this time it too has transformed like the season into not the spun colourful wool of the knitter but the raw fluff of a wool top for felting up a wet soapy storm!
I had a very 'intellectual, conceptual, clever' piece of felting and sculpture in mind for an exhibition earlier in the year but i couldn't get the project finished in time so i planned to finish it for another exhibit coming up in November but i found out that the space and my idea wouldn't work - alas, what would i do? I had been invited to be a part of this exhibition, it was such a great thing, something i really wanted to be a part of and now i had nothing to work with.. i felt very disheartened at the thought of having to pull out, in a moment of dispair one always reaches for a cup of tea to console and warm and comfort the heart, ah the curve of the pot, the tinker of the cup on the saucer, the healing life giving herbs within. Yep i felt like tea... "I'm going to felt a tea pot!" i exclaimed to no one in particular, the creative spirit had unexpectedly popped over for tea!
 |
| (Work in Progress) CreativiTea - The creative spirit was a surprise guest for tea! |
With that the felting began, i had to nut out a pattern for the resist and concoct a plan! What colour wool top would i choose? I have been drinking a particularly fancy and fabulous herbal tea of late called 'Yogi Tea' the blend i chose was 'Women's Energy,' not only a delicious pretty magenta colour but also i haven't experienced any moon flow cramps since drinking the tea each day of the week before, remarkable! Bless those herbs! I have been saving the used tea bags for no specific reason, mainly because the colour was delightful, and they have little quotes on them.. So naturally i am going to dye the teapot with tea!
The photo shows the tea pot and cups in the garden - not yet dyed, hopefully this week i will be able to use the tea bag dye, this i feel with bring all the pieces together and I'm thinking some embroidery as well - embroidering into felt is divine! I'll keep you posted!
This whole process has been a journey of understanding and acknowledging my own arts practice more deeply, i had a hard time at university devising clever conceptual pieces, so much i nearly abandoned the whole art ship because it was soooo in the head but my art is naturally from the heart and the two spaces just didn't fit, my art is from my heartspace, in fact it's the way my heart communicates it's love and joy and messages with the world. I didn't have preconceived intelligent ideas for my work, it was just what was flowing at the time for me and the deeper understanding of the pieces often didn't come till much later upon reflection of the work after it had had time to settle.
Oh for the love of making! My art is, it just is, let the critics and art intellects write the words, let the artists make the work, i think anyway.
If you would like to see this work in the flesh you could head along to the wildly creative and fun for all 'Darlington Arts Fair' during the first weekend in November 5th and 6th, i'll also be there on the Saturday afternoon doing an Artist in Motion session, pop down and come say hi, you will be able to check out my 3D resist felt making process in person!
With that I will leave you with a quote from hillarious comedian Billy Connelly "Never trust a man if left alone in a room with a tea cosy and he does not try and put it on his head!"
He he :D
Wooly Love to all, and may all fluffy sheep be filled with love and care.
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