Month: July 2012

Nuno Felt

Today in Northern California, the weather was perfect for experimenting with the Nuno Felting technique. Nuno Felt represents the co-mingling of wool fibers with the woven structure of silk. Synthetic fabrics also offer good support for this technique.  Why not experiment with cheesecloth?  Silk provides an intriguing background for this process because of its translucent appearance.  Last year while cruising the marketplace at Stitches West, I spied pre-dyed silk scarves perfect for Nuno Felting.  It was time to dust off the silk scarves and have some fun!

I filled a bucket with warm water, grabbed a bar of olive oil soap, and a roll of bubble wrap.  The silk scarf was placed on a length of bubble wrap, wool roving was gently placed on top of the scarf, and I proceeded to saturate the scarf and wool roving with a solution of warm water and olive oil soap.  I patiently agitated the surface with a piece of net between the surface of the scarf and my hands.

The manipulation of the surface created dimensionality to the scarf due to the felting of the wool roving.  The  silk scarf was transformed into a delicate piece of sculpture.

 

Faux Enamel

Recently, I re-connected with polymer clay artist, Debbie Anderson.  Debbie and I met in 1993, by chance through our shared interest in polymer clay.  We were two of the original members of the South Bay Polymer Clay Guild.  Debbie remained active in the guild, while I pursued my interest in Art History and knitting.

While listening to ADELE on my daily five mile hike, my mind began to wander…I wondered if the South Bay Polymer Clay Guild still existed.   I decided to give Debbie a call and indeed the guild still exists.  Much to my surprise, Debbie was teaching a class entitled, “Faux Enamel.”

On July 9, 2012, I returned to my polymer clay roots, as I cranked my pasta machine for the first time in twelve years.  Polymer clay sheets, Chiyogami Paper and resin were layered in a specific order, baked in a convection oven, which resulted in one-of-a-kind art pieces resembling the process of enameling.

The class was expertly taught, and I look forward to my next class with Debbie Anderson.

The pieces shown in these two photographs are backed by felt I created using the wet-felting technique.

%d bloggers like this: