Needle Felt Trolls - A Happy Ending

Twila has been trolling the internet looking for Cedric, her Troll soul mate, who went missing during last year's flood. She tracked him down through the August post and learned that he has relocated to the Olds area. She hopes to be reunited soon. She is excited about his new business venture of operating a Troll Bridge, but is bit concerned about his profligate ways being unchecked in her absence.

Fibre Fortnight Reception

There was some very interesting student art at the Fibre Fortnight Show at ACAD. This picture of my "Creative Thought" installation confirms that I am in my head too much these days. The panel discussion by graduates working as professional artists provided helpful insights into different avenues that local artists take to make a living in today's society.

Spring is in the Air

Spring must be getting close??? !!! It was the other day when the new batch of creektures were out enjoying the weather and taking part in a photo shoot.

Lorenzo the river troll had to dry off in the sun after taking a dip in a puddle.

But today is another story and I need to head out with my snow shovel yet again.

More Fun with Wet Felt

I'm still having way too much fun with wet felting. I made this piece based on a quick sketch from a figure drawing class. I wanted to experiment with using felt to create an image that would typically be drawn. I would like to have made it in the drawing studio directly from a live model, but the obstacles seemed insurmountable - hopefully I'll get another opportunity in the future. The felt image definitely needed something to activate it, so I experimented with stitching lines. This idea came from the work of Gerard Fromanger, a French artist whose work I happened to see in a magazine a few years ago. It was one of those images that had such a profound impact on me that I can still visualize it in my mind.

I've been experimenting with different surfacing techniques. The Whimsical Bird has a wing that lifts off the surface (achieved by using a resist). The bird feathers and the Whimsical Lion main and tail are made from mohair which does not felt well and consequently lifts off the surface.

 All three pieces are float mounted on fabric stretched on canvas stretchers.

Debbie's House

I recently finished a drawing for a dear friend of mine. She has a lovely home in the woods and wanted something to remind her of this place that holds a special place in her heart. I have dabbled at drawing but this is my first attempt at something like this. Thank you Debbie for entrusting your memories with me.

Upcoming ACAD Fibre Miniature Show and Fibre Fortnight

Lots of art stuff coming up including the ACAD Fibre Miniature Show. This challenged me to make a mini landscape and a mini-mouse to support the Fibre Arts program at ACAD. Funny how it works that small stuff can be more difficult to manage than working on a comfortable scale. Crazily enough the little mice are just too endearing so I now have a mini rodent infestation developing in my studio.

Travels

Apologies for the time since my last update - winter got to be too much so we decided to take a long driving trip to warmer climates including Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon.

Then we headed across to Sonoma to connect with a friend whom I haven't seen since High School. It is amazing how much time has passed, but how much we still have in common. We took a lovely wine tour which has inspired me to try another felt landscape when I get the chance. Then we headed up the beautiful coastline, eventually arriving in Victoria to another cold spell. All in all the trip went very well and I came away with feeling blessed to live on such a diverse and beautiful continent.

We certainly lucked out with the weather for driving except the last leg home from Victoria which was snowy, wet, and ugly, never mind the stops for avalanche control (especially the part where we were stopped in a line-up for over an hour beside a sign saying that stopping was prohibited because of avalanche hazard). I did manage to get some felting done while on the trip including the squirrel buddy to the left. Notice that I left his ears off until I got home so that he did not have to listen to me whining about the road conditions.