Dr. Who's New Scarf

Dr. Who's New Scarf (detail)
The Heathlands Project, 2016

Over the past few years I've been building up the Textiles department at The Heathlands Project and it's now a popular and busy section. The members have really developed their skills and ideas and have been creating some very beautiful and inspiring work. Our timetables change every few months (with the members choosing which sections they want to work in) so my groups change and whilst some members always like to pick this section others like to try it for a while and then have a change. When the groups changed last year my Thursday Morning Textiles group decided they wanted to make work together.

Working together on large pieces of paper to create designs

Working together on large pieces of paper to create designs

Design ideas and notes

For their first project they decided that they wanted to use felt and we had a varied range of inspirations; space, flowers and rainbows. We began by covering the table with paper and everyone started to draw their ideas and designs onto this paper. This gave us a starting point for our felt piece which was made over the course of several weeks.

Laying out the base

Laying out the base

Starting to add the background

We began with a base of natural white fleece (because it's the cheapest!) and then built up the background with dark colours of merino fibres; black, dark greens and blues and purple. We worked in layers to make a strong fabric and it was good to see the more experienced members helping out those who were new to felt making.

Making the background

Making the background

On top of our base felt we used bright colours of merino and a bit of silk to create designs based on our original drawings. At this point the design of the piece really started to come together and we began to get an idea of how the final piece would look. Then the hard work started; rolling out the felt. As we were working on a big piece but there were quite a few of us we worked in teams to roll the felt until all the fibres were felted and holding together. Once again I was impressed at how well the group worked together, encouraging each other and cheering each other on.

Building up the design

Building up the design

Building up the design

Once the piece was fully felted and rinsed out we wanted to give it a title, as the piece was long and thin and definitely had a spacey feel we decide to call it Dr. Who's new scarf. The group worked so well together on this project from start to finish. I encouraged the members who'd done felt-making with me before to lead on a lot of the sessions and it was great seeing them take responsibility and explain how to do things. The group enjoyed the process so much they decided to carry on working as a group and create a winter themed hanging, more on that at another time.

The finished piece

Dr. Who's New Scarf (detail)
The Heathlands Project, 2016

Dr. Who's New Scarf (detail)
The Heathlands Project, 2016

On the Beach: The Heathlands Project Quilt 2016

'On the Beach' The Heathlands Project Quilt, 2016

Each year at The Heathlands Project I make a quilt with the members which we send off to The Festival of Quilts down at the NEC in Birmingham. Each year we do something a bit different and each year I swear we are never doing another quilt! However, it is a really good project to work on and provides the members with an opportunity to work on a big group project that can be shown to a big audience.

Laying out the felt

Laying out the felt

Laying out the felt

This year the guys chose the theme 'On the Beach' and at the suggestion of one of the other members of staff the quilt was made of felted patches. Felt making is a really great activity because it is so adaptable for a wide range of abilities and experience levels.

Rolling the felt

Making felt

Felt patch with design notes

As some members have developed their skills over the years some of them were able to make their patches more or less independently. I think this is a really positive thing and I hope that the quilt project gives them chance to try something different as well as an opportunity to show off their skills.

Individual patches

Individual patches

Individual patches

As I only work part time at The Heathlands Project I rely a lot on the other members of staff to keep the project going in my absence. I really like coming in and seeing what the other groups have been up to. It also means that more people can get involved in the project.

Individual patches

Individual patches

Individual patches

There was a really lovely range of felt patches produced with some very imaginative and inventive designs and embellishments. There were also a couple of 'joint' patches where the members worked together to make the felt. I like making the quilts in patches as it means that people can work individually if they want to but there is still lots of opportunity for collaboration.

Individual patches

Individual patches

Individual patches

Rather unusually this year it wasn't as much as a rush as usual to complete the quilt and get it down to the show. This was partly because I started the project off really early in the year and partly because I was able to delegate a lot of the making. I still did the final construction but almost everything else was done by the members, volunteers and support workers.

Laying out the patches

Detail

Detail

It's really good having the finished quilt to show off and the members look forward to it coming back and hearing the judges comments. We may need to build a bigger building though so that we have room to display all the finished quilts...

Felting Fun at Wiggonby

Fabulous Felt Pieces

Recently I headed out to Wiggonby CofE School to run a felt making session for the Key Stage 1 pupils. I like running these one off workshops as it's a chance to see different schools and how they operate and they're always a lot of fun. Felt making is such a tactile and satisfying process that it's difficult not to enjoy it! I also like that even with no experience it is possible to produce really interesting pieces of felt.

Laying out the fibres

Laying out the fibres

Laying out the fibres

One of the challenges with this session was that I essentially had three classes (reception, year 1 and year 2) all together which is quite an age range. Interestingly, it was actually the older children who struggled a little more as I think they were thinking it through more whereas the younger children just got stuck in. It got quite loud at one point but they all seemed to be having a good time and everyone produced a piece of felt. I think they're planning to use the felt to decorate their new classroom, which I think is a good use for it!

Building up designs

Building up designs

Building up designs

It was lovely (if a little surprising for me) when I got to meet the class as they all knew who I was and knew that I used birds and feather a lot in my work as they had been looking at my website. This gave me a good 'way in' as I was able to talk about how I used felt in my work and about how I found the natural world very inspiring. As a class they were very keen on nature and enjoyed telling me about the wildlife around them. One of the boys brought in a picture of some feather drawings he'd done at home after looking at my work in school. It was great that he felt he could bring that in to show me. I was very impressed as he'd very carefully observed and drawn the texture of the feather. With all the negative stories about education in the press at the moment it was quite uplifting to go into a class and see children not just full of enthusiasm and interest about the natural world and art but able to explore that interest in school.

Starting to felt

Starting to felt

It's interesting working in very rural schools like this one compared to those in town, the children all had a very clear understanding of where the fibres we were working with came from which you often don't get in (not surprisingly) in more urban schools.

Rolling the felt

Seeing how it was going

At the end of the session I had one of those great 'this is why I do this moments.' One of the pupils came up to me with a feather she had found (she's been collecting them) and said she wanted me to have it as a thank you for helping them to make felt. It was such a lovely gesture and a really nice way to finish my week.

Finished felts

Finished felts

The Seven Stories: Response Work

Wild Carlisle by Carleton Day Centre Art Group, 2016

One of the big projects I was involved with for Prism Arts last year was the Seven Stories project. We hung the main exhibition in Carlisle Library in November last year and then at the beginning of this year we went back to the groups we'd worked with to create response work to the exhibition. I went back to the Carleton Art Group and had a great time working with them to create their response piece. 

Design

Felt making

Felt making

I've worked with this group for nearly five years now and we know each other well and this means that there is a lot of trust and understanding. My role has developed from more of a teaching role to more of a mentoring role. Through the work myself and other artists have done with the group they have developed in both confidence and skill and are able to lead their own projects much more. Seeing this development is really exciting and it's great to be part of. When I go in to work with this group I'm always excited to hear their ideas and see how far they've come. 

Felt making

Felt making

Felt making

Having created 'The Book of Carlisle' for the Seven Stories project the group were keen to carry on exploring some of the ideas they'd been looking at. Seeing the work alongside that of the other participants at Carlisle Library helped the group realise how important environment, place and nature is to them.

3D Felt making

3D Felt making

3D Felt making

3D Felt making

This led the group to decide to further explore felt making, a technique we have worked with on several projects, and to work with a theme of animals in the environment. The group created a collection of 3D felt animals and a series of flat felt environments for the animals to live in. These elements were then brought together in a form that echoed the shape of the book they'd created. The new work has been added in to the exhibition in the library and will be on display until the end of April.

Making rabbits

Making rabbits

Making rabbits

As a group they are becoming skilled at creating individual elements that they then combine together to create a unified single installation. I really like this way of working as it means each individual is able to develop their particular interests and skills but are also still part of something bigger. I love seeing all the different elements come together and seeing how they inspire and support each other. The group are at a really interesting stage because although I still feed in ideas and make suggestions the main drive comes from them and they have the confidence and experience now to say what they want to do and how. 

Exhibition View

Exhibition View

Exhibition View

Exhibition View

One member of the group in particular has come on in leaps and bounds and being part of this is very rewarding. For this project she had a very clear idea of what she wanted to make (rabbits!) and with minimal guidance and help from me she worked really hard to create a beautiful and quirky set of characters that I would really like to kidnap. I'm working with the group again later in the year and am really excited about what they'll choose to explore.

Rabbits!

Rabbits!

Rabbits!

Rabbits!