Finally turning off the heat

We are finally shifting into warm weather. In fact, it should be a weekend for the low 90’s (over 32 C). The only plus side is that wet wool dries faster in heat.

I’m dipping my toes into uncharted territory of wet felting feathers for chicken sculptures. The first one is Miss Lavender who is already on hold for a friend.

Lavender started with a solid body of wool, plus sturdy wire legs and feet. Next step was creating two sheets of felt (colored and natural) via wet felting. After drying and a good ironing, the felt was cut and formed into a fluffy bum and body feathers. It was a fun experience and I look forward to creating more birds.

Along with the sculpture comes a round of trying 2D felting. I’m enjoying it, but it’s more challenging than I originally thought. Of course it really helps to actually plan everything out before one starts.

Above is a second rendition in larger scale (12”x 12”) of Haystack Rock by Pacific City, OR. It’s attached to a base of felt I created for the work (via wet felting). I’m still waiting to see if it needs more. The ocean is still not sitting right with me. Time will tell.

The Monarch butterfly is also waiting for more attention and actual design inspiration. We currently have loads of apple trees blooming and the flowers are stunning but not something that Monarchs would be experiencing in our area. Thank goodness for artistic inspiration and bending of rules! I might just pull out the flowers and let it exist on the sea of blue and green.

I’m also working on duck forms, specifically Runner Ducks for their upright posture.

Before the ducks there was the first chicken experiment using alpaca wool. It certainly made for a very fluffy chicken, but it took about 7+ hours just to apply the loops, stabbing each one in place.

There’s also been a bit of spinning going on. I started blending alpaca wool with my base sheep wool. I only have one bobbin almost full but it takes at least two for a nice yarn. More spinning to come. Morning spinning with coffee on the deck are wonderful!

So that’s about it right now. I will probably escape from the heat into the studio and finish up a certain book bugging my brain. All the art is pushing towards the first show in July.

Enjoy your weekend!