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.