Wet felting Archives - Page 2 of 9 - Jane Mercer Felt Artist

What can a felter do when they break their elbow ?

Cry ? Well it might come to that yet. Last Friday it was a beautiful day , cold and sunny. The first day when there hadn’t been snow, lashing rain or ice for three weeks. So we decided to go cycling. A big big mistake. Less than 5 km from home I gently slid to the ground on a patch of black ice. Was I OK? I wasn’t sure. Certainly, my face and my arm hurt. I gingerly cycled home and contemplated my injuries. Did I need an X-ray? …. or just ice packs and rest. Eventually, we decided I needed an X-ray, and I was driven to our local urgent care centre. With all COVID precautions in place, and no other patients, I was quickly diagnosed with a fracture to the head of my radius. Treatment sling for 4 - 6weeks. Well, it could have been worse it could have been…

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23/01/2021

Eco Dyeing / Natural dyeing / Wet felting

Why did it all start with dandelions ?

I was reminded last week, whilst walking on the cliffs in Northumberland, how my passion for natural dyeing all started with dandelions. It was a sunny Sunday in mid-May 2014. I was living in the Netherlands and along with the rest of the Netherlands, I spent my afternoon cycling on the local cycle paths. While I was out I noticed a huge patch of dandelions. Something switched in my brain and I thought I will come back and pick them and try out some natural dyeing. Naeve, I know! But I was very enthusiastic and there was such a lot to pick. It wasn’t the most successful experiment I have done as I was woefully underprepared. Here is a link to the blog I wrote at the time. The dandelions I picked. What a glorious colour ! My pale shade of dandelion on wool, cotton, and silk. Not so glorious. I had…

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12/05/2019

Wet felting

Why am I telling the story of my felt figures now ?

In the autumn of 2017, I visited France and spent some time walking in the Vercors. It was here I got the inspiration for my felt figures. As is often the way inspiration comes when you least expect it. These fabric and wire figures were on display in the window in the local boulangerie. They attracted my attention and I thought maybe they would translate to being made from felt. Unfortunately, the boulangerie was not open every day and so I was not able to buy one. I had a lovely chat with the owner about how much I liked them, but as she was shut she would not sell me one. Once home, I set about trying to make some felt figures, based just on the photos I had taken. It would have been a lot easier if I had managed to buy one of the figures. With a little experimental…

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03/03/2019

Wet felting

I think it is time to risk changing my process

It was in 2017 that I last changed my dyeing and felting process. The influencing factor then was my reflections following a brilliant online course, creative strength training, with Jane Dunnewold. Here is a link to the blog I wrote about that change. This week I have been assessing the naturally dyed felting materials I have and concluded I need lots more greens! This is all have left. My process to date has been mordant my fibres, dye my fibres, make prefelts, sometimes modify them, and then felt my prefelts. Complicated! It also has one drawback. Once mordanted and dyed the wool fibres are quite sticky. This makes laying out the fibres difficult and time-consuming and I am never happy that I have made a nice even prefelts. As I started to weigh out alum and fibre last week I suddenly had a thought. Why is my process in this order? Why not,…

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11/02/2019

machine stitching / Natural dyeing / Textile art / Wet felting / Wool

Why did I get inspiration from painted fields ?

I have always loved to stand on the top of a hill or a ridge and look down at the patterns formed by the fields in the valley. So it’s not surprising that when I visited The Biscuit Factory in Newcastle I found inspiration in the pictures that were being exhibited by Rob van Hoek. His pictures reminded me of the landscape in the Netherlands where I used to live. They also made me think of standing on a hill looking down on the field patterns in the UK. I loved the lines he had scrapped out of the paint to mark out the different fields. I wondered two things. First could I make a similar piece with my naturally dyed wool. And secondly, could I find similar inspiration for pieces in the North York’s Moors where I live. One step at a time. It is the depth of winter here and…

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27/01/2019

Armley Mill / IFA / Natural dyeing / Wet felting / Wool / Yorkshire

My fantastic time at Armley Mills as artist in residence

I have recently spent a fantastic week as artist in residence at Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills. When I first visited the museum with the IFA in April 2017 I did not think that I would enjoy the luxury of a week in the museum , dyeing and felting. How lucky I have been. Armley Mills , was once the world’s biggest woolen mill. It is therefore a very appropriate venue for an artist in residence with a love of wool and a passion for felting with naturally dyed materials. I am fascinated by most machines, but especially those which process wool. My felt pictures using commercially dyed wool inspired by the machines are in the current exhibition at Armley Mills. As artist in residence, I wanted to take this work further. But also limit myself to using naturally dyed wool fibres. A…

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23/08/2018

Wet felting

How to felt a Hebridean vegetarian fleece rug

First question what is a vegetarian fleece rug ? Its like a sheepskin rug, but has been made from the fleece of the sheep by felting and the sheep lives to eat some more grass. Whether using animal products at all is acceptable to vegetarians is of course questionable. My friend Margaret leant how to felt Gotland fleeces into vegetarian fleece rug at the IFA conference this year in Sweden. Her tutor was Erik Torstenson the ' Man of wool ". The unwashed rug accompanied us to Copenhagen and dried on our very small hotel balcony. It looked so lovely I wanted to make one for myself. So when I went to Woolfest , I was looking for a Gotland fleece. However even being there very very early I still could not find one to buy. So I bought a Shetland fleece and a Hebredian Hogg fleece instead. What was a Hogg…

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03/08/2018

Wet felting

Can Hebridean fibre make beautiful felt ?

I few months ago I was given a Hebredian fleece. It came from the small flock Hebridean sheep that live in the field behind my house. I would like to use more local fibre in my felting, so this fleece is a bit special , but it is also a bit challenging . First I felted a sample. Firm bouncy and hairy and very brown. OK so I can felt Hebridean fibre but can I make anything attractive from it ? I was doubtful. At Woolfest a couple of weeks ago , I went to the Hebridean Sheep Society stall looking for inspiration. No felting to be seen but there was some rather attractive knitted mittens and purses. I enquired how they were made and was told it wasamix of Hebridean and Shetland wool. This gave me an idea , maybe combining Hebredian fibres…

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15/07/2018

Eco Dyeing / IFA / Wet felting / Woolfest

Now is the time for some contemplating

For the last few months I don’t seem to have found much time for felting or dyeing or even contemplating it. Shame I haven’t even found time for blog writing ! But why ? Spring in the garden and a plan to grow a lot of vegetables is one reason. Family time and holidays another. Time to reflect and really contemplate on where I am going and what to do next. What better place to do this than in All Saints church , Helmsley I am here all day anyway as I am looking after the Brigantia exhibition which is here until the 24th June. Sitting here, quietly thinking, and contemplating maybe things aren’t so bleak. I did go to the IFA AGM and here I attended a wonderful workshop…

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20/06/2018

fibre / Fibres / Wet felting

Can we exploit physics in wet felting ?

The question can I exploit the physics in wet felting has been running through my mind in the last few weeks. I think it was sparked by the fascinating TV series called from ‘From Ice to Fire’ . This made me start to recall the facts I learnt at a highly technical and fascinating felting workshop with Lisa klakulak . Long before I was a felter I was an engineer working on chemical manufacturing processes. What you might ask has that got to do with wet felting . Well professionally as an engineer I was involved with changing the physical state of materials in an efficient and environmentally friendly way. By more fundamentally understanding the physics of the process we could become more efficient. As an example finding a way to keep the water flow turbulent to make the heat transfer more efficient and use less energy. Exactly the reserve of…

6 Comments

11/03/2018