Needle-felt Trolls

It came to my attention that a local library was looking for a Library Troll. Cyril is very interested in this position and has written the following letter of application.

I hope that you will agree to me becoming your resident library troll. Up until recently I held the position of Bragg Creek bridge troll, but with the recent floods, I have come to the conclusion that this position is no longer a viable option. Besides there hasn't been a goat over the bridge in years and the deer are just too wily.

 In exchange for room, board, and onsite use of your library materials, I can offer my services to address delinquent returns. My only condition is that any offsite retrieval missions occur between midnight and sunrise - I do not do well in sunlight. Besides, I think you will find my persuasive techniques are most effective after dark. I can also guarantee that I will not cause any loss of limb or life while on the property unless permission is provided in writing. Offsite I will use only those tactics necessary to achieve successful retrieval of your materials from members. We can negotiate the terms of this condition (for example, I suggest one finger per each month after notification of overdue materials).

Yours sincerely.

 Cyril A. Troll

While making Cyril, I was amazed at how much detail and character you can get into faces, so... I could not stop at one troll. 

Here is Cedric... 

He is still recovering from watching his bridge wash away down the Elbow River. He is submitting a proposal to the government to fund bridge reconstruction by establishing "Troll Bridges." After dark, the resident troll collects a user fee - there should be no issues with non-compliance.

Alberta Flood Rose Project - Please check it out!

For one more example of great community spirit, check out the Alberta Flood Rose Project. My thanks to those who thought up this fundraiser and are making it happen. It is wonderful to have another way to help out.

Shortly after the flood, a call was fanned out to local artists to submit 4X4" paintings of wild roses that will be combined into larger groups for auction. Last I heard, 440 Artists are participating. Here's my take on a wild rose. I strongly recommend taking a browse through the gallery on the site above - the variation and creativity is lovely to see.

Local Flooding: Motivation and Escape

After the Rain

It is hard to believe that it is just over a month since the Floods in Alberta. I was personally very fortunate - our home escaped flood damage. We were stranded for a few days and did not have power or telephone which was an interesting experience, although tense at the time. It has been a time of sadness - seeing the loss in our community - but also a time for renewed faith in human nature - the volunteerism and community resilience has been staggering. 

A Flood of Sunflowers # 2

A cancelled trip and need to stay close to home got me into my studio. String gel painting seemed most appropriate; drizzling the paint forces you to let go of the things you can't control - a lot like everything else that is going on. I had been planning to work on some more pieces and had the supplies. As Poirot would say: means, motive, and opportunity! 

Here are some of the flood inspired pieces that have kept me sane over the last month.

A Flood of Poppies # 2

A Flood of Sunflowers # 1

Needle-felt Stampede

YAHOO!!! A few of the Creektures and I headed down to the Calgary Stampede on the 14th of July. We went to demonstrate some interesting uses of wool for the Sheep Creek Weavers, a very fun guild that I recently joined. Here are Cyril and Edmund taking a well deserved rest outside the "Celebrate the Guilds" Cabin in the Western Showcase. There was a lot of grumbling coming from my backpack travelling on the C-train and going into the grounds, but fortunately nobody stopped us and we were all able to sneak in with one pass.

I am still totally amazed that the show went on come Hell or High Water. What resilience this city has. The grounds looked wonderful given they were under water not long ago. 

Needle-felt Kitty

A while back my brother had a great idea - that my niece might appreciate an "easier to care for" version of her kitty that did not leave home when she did. So came to be Bandit II. It was quite the challenge keeping him realistic and not letting myself go with doing goofy things like a large nose or enormous feet. However, the original is odd enough. He is one of those polydactyl cats with extra toes and claws - as if he couldn't do enough harm without them. It seems to me that he could easily be a reincarnated boxer or gangster type ... if I believed in such things!

Most Unusual Needle-felt Request Ever

Apologies for the pause since the last post - it has been an interesting time dealing with local flooding but more on that at another time.

I just had to share the most unusual request for needle-felt EVER! A gallery owner who carries my art asked me if I would help her out by repairing a needle felt piece by another artist. Apparently the owner's dog was "tempted" by her felted Nativity Scene last Christmas and chewed Baby Jesus into an unrecognizable tangle of wool (Very Bad Dog! - an art history buff could have a field day with the symbolic interpretation). 

Having had an iconoclastic religious upbringing (long lapsed), it felt oddly bizarre to stick needles in an image of Baby Jesus - kind of a mix of sacrilege and voodoo roiled into one. Regardless, I figure the pooch is at far more risk of immortal retribution; I was just doing restoration! However, I am very happy this came after the floods, otherwise I might have started to wonder. Here is Baby Jesus resting peacefully once again!

2D Felt Paintings?

I am having so much fun with felting! Here are a few more pieces.

Mountain Sunset

 There are always pleasant surprises and a few unexpected challenges, but that's the really fun part.

I have to admit that the stitching part is not my favourite thing to do until it is done.  However it is very worthwhile. Stitching helps to define boundaries, adds texture, and changes the character of the piece. Here is a detail picture from the above piece to illustrate.

Tuscan Hills

This piece is one of the largest ones I've done so far (38X24 inches). Felt shrinks quite a bit so it started out quite a bit bigger - I need a bigger table!

Soft Sunflowers in Vase

I did this piece a few months ago and experimented with blending black and blue wool that is quite spongy. I was using antique carders for the first time and I think the wool won this round. The type of wool that you use adds all new challenges and opportunities because each one acts differently.

I am planning to have these at the Painters sale on the weekend and have one more that I am working on so best get back to it!