Wet felting Archives - Jane Mercer Felt Artist

And relax in Shetland.

I have spent the last 10 days on Shetland, which is as far north as you can go in the Uk. And while the UK basked in summer sun , the weather in Shetland has been more mixed and a lot colder. Papa Stour But that hasn’t stopped us , walking and enjoying the beautiful scenery . The wild flowers are beautiful and I have lots of old favourites and many species I have not recognised. Wool of course has featured in my holiday and I have some new knitting wool and some beautiful grey Shetland fibre. I also tried my hand at using a Shetland knitting belt at the Shetland textile museum. Unfortunately it does not really suit my knitting style. It’s great to be able to come to such a beautiful place to relax.

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26/06/2022

This week in my studio: Ecoprinting spirals

I have been ecoprinting on felt using logwood with geranium and lupin leaves to create a spiral pattern. This piece is planned to be exhibited at an exhibition by York Textile Artists called In Spiral. The felt contains lots of threads and silk that has been marked with Sumi ink. Using logwood and alchemilla leaves I ecoprinted a spiral on some silk noil. I just love the circular discharges from the cut stems. I am going to stitch on both pieces, but as yet haven't decided how to stitch on my silk piece or even what colour to use. Any ideas? I hope to start stitching soon.

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12/06/2022

fibre / Wet felting

In my studio last week : felted spirals

I have in my mind a vision of a felted piece all covered in spirals , made from naturally dyed wool. This piece will be for a exhibition being put on by York Textile Artists called InSpiral . It’s in October. So in order to made this piece I first need to practise making spirals. I have used up some merino fibre in multi colours. Then I needed to work out , using a bit of geometry and stitching, how to capture the felted spiral within a flat piece of felt. Success.

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06/06/2022

art exhibition / Eco Dyeing / eco printing / Natural dyeing / Textile art / Wet felting / Yorkshire

Exciting November Exhibition with York Textile artists

It's been a while since I posted here. What have I been doing? Catching up with friends and family and spending lots of time in Scotland. Plus of course some felting, eco printing, dyeing and stitching. I also applied to and was accepted by York Textile artists. I am delighted to be taking part in their winter exhibition. The exhibition will take place at York Cemetery Chapel on the 13th and 14th of November from 10am to 4pm. Holidays in Scotland So here is the beautiful Sango Sands beach in Scotland. I watched seals from the cliffs above these sands. In Scotland you know the rain will never be far away. And all around beautiful scenery just one example of some inspiring lichens. Work in progress Following the eco printing of a scarf using peony, alchemilla, jack by the hedge and eucalyptus leaves, I have stitched the resultant beautiful iron blanket with…

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27/10/2021

composite photograph / Photography / Wet felting / Yorkshire

Five things that have inspired me on a local walk

After more than a year of restricted movements due to COVID, I have gone for a walk regularly but nothing I saw to inspire me. I did not take a single photograph in months. On the plus side, the exercise was good. One cold snowy sunny morning this began to change. I took this photo. And I thought maybe I will walk this way again and take some more photos. There is nothing special about this walk. It's about 5 Km, a circular route from my house taking in a local lane called Ings Lane and some fishing lakes and a disused railway track. Structures on my walk There are lots of gates, fences and a railway bridge with crumbling brickwork. Ageing Lots of items are showing their age and looking very dilapidated Maybe this is an old horse box ? Wild Flowers Slowly the remnants of the plants from last year…

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11/04/2021

art exhibition / British wool fibres / Felt Workshop / IFA / Natural dyeing / Prefelts / shetland / Textile art / Wet felting / Wool / Yorkshire

How exciting to be taking part in my first virtual exhibition

I like to take part in an exhibition, but this is the first time I take part in a virtual exhibition. ReConnect opens today and I am exhibiting two pieces. The exhibition is organised by the International Feltmakers Association, of which I am a member. The exhibition coincides with the AGM of the organisation it was to have been held in France, but along with so many things has become virtual. I am inspired by the title ReConect. It is so very appropriate to so many of us, who have spent much of the last year isolated from friends and family. Isolation wasn't easy but reconnecting is also going to require relearning old ways and will take time and patience. Sculpture My sculpture piece uses Bluefaced Leicester, Masham, Welsh, Grey Shetland and Swaledale wools, all with such beautiful natural colours. I made 15 different elements to represent different people, isolated in small…

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28/03/2021

art exhibition / Framing / Natural dyeing / Textile art / Wet felting / Yorkshire

How I frame felt art perfectly using stretcher bars

I wrote a blog on framing with stretcher bars in 2017, and I am surprised that it is my most read blog post. I am in the middle of framing felt pieces for an exhibition so I thought I would show some more photos of the framing process I use. What are stretcher bars? Stretcher bars are made for artists to stretch their own canvases on prior to painting but I don't think they are intended for textile work. That is not a problem for me. These are the ones I have just bought from Great Art Stretcher bars are made in a huge variety of sizes and they are really quite cheap. The bars to frame this picture which is 68 cm long x 32 cm wide cost £7.18. Plus a bit of postage. Measuring First, measure your felt piece. I normally start right at the beginning and design the piece…

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21/03/2021

fibre / Mordant / Natural dyeing / Wet felting

Why is there a touch of March madness in my life?

March. Spring is in the air. It certainly seemed that way last weekend as I sat in the garden in the sun. Lots and lots of gardening to do as well. The madness started actually a few weeks ago when I was introduced to a free internet course by my husband. The course by Jodie King was about how to use Instagram better as an artist. There were some great tips and lots of great people to interact with. So I started paying a bit more attention to Instagram. I learnt about stories and reels and rewrote my bio. I also started posting more frequently. My daughter and husband are taking part in #the100dayproject challenge so I started watching the posts and wondering why I wasn't taking part ? Then I noticed that it would soon be #MendingMarch on Instagram. Well, I am a bit of a mender trying to do my…

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07/03/2021

Fibres / Natural dyeing / Prefelts / Wet felting

My first experiments testing fine wetfelt samples.

I want to make some fine wet felt samples. I have successfully made two large fine merino and silk wet felted wraps, but I am not sure that they have the optimum felt thickness. This is why I am doing these experiments. I am going to make white samples. As I think about this I am reminded of the first blog I wrote ' White out ' I was just starting on an online felting course and I wanted to record my adventures. I was a novice felter and blogger and I lost my white felt in a sea of soap on my white table. You can read it here I have a grey table now so that problem will not reoccur! My large wraps were made with wool layout densities of 4 and 5 mg/cm2. Beautifully thin but hard to layout and prone to thin spots. My new samples will be…

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21/02/2021

Natural dyeing / Wet felting

So how thin can I make a beautiful piece of felt ?

Many years ago I went to a workshop by Lisa Klakulak. The big take away for me was how the thin or thick fibre layout affects the quality of the final felt. In my mind, this is called layout density. The thinner felt layout shrinks more and is stronger hence the name of Lisa's website - Strongfelt. So what you are thinking. Well, I want to make thin felt. In fact, thin white felt. I want to make thin but cosy , light and comfortable wraps. The white felt will act as a foil for my naturally dyed fabrics. This thinking process reminds me of the great care Lisa took in the starting thickness of the felt she was making. I started with 4mg of fibre/ cm2. My wrap size is big so this means a total of 60g of fibre. At this density, it’s very hard for me to lay out…

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28/01/2021