It's A Peace Felt Day!

I was so fortunate to be paired with Patricia Knight as her giving partner in the Peace Felt exchange. Patricia is a highly skilled and very talented needlefelter. You should take the time to look at her work here and here.

I'm lucky enough to look at it here.....

 

........how fitting to have this wonderful ethereal rose beneath theTree of Life.

עץ חיים היא




 

 

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My day yesterday (and a bit of today too)

On international Peace Day felters around the world take part in Marie Spaulding's PeaceFelt vision. We register. We each have a receiving partner and a giving partner. On International Peace Day we felt. And then we mail our own work off and wait for the postman to deliver someone else's.

Below is my offering for my receiving partner. Mostly completed on the day. Small snafu with the words disappearing - saved with embroidery.

 

Concept from my sketch book.

8 am Adjust and blow up the pattern

 

 

Noon

And here we are.

 

May Peace Rise Like The Sun.

שהשלום יזרח כשמש

 

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René Makes My Day

I went in to Ludlow searching for a way to frame up the small piece I brought over for my Auntie Dot. I had with me the piece, a lovely bit of hand died boiled wool I bought in Calgary and just a vague idea of how I wanted it to look.

 

I couldn't spot a framer's so I popped into The Valentyne Dawes Gallery hoping that someone who sold art could direct me.

 

There we met René.

 

 

He loved my work. Soooo good for the ego! Next thing I knew there he was rooting through the shop's framing supplies.

 

My Auntie was thrilled!

And would he take proper payment. Heck as like! Barely let me cover the cost of the frame.

 

Made my day!!!!

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Class 3 Raises Their Teepee

This class of 9 & 10 year old kids raised their teepee in reverent silence.

 

 

What a privilege it was to work them.

Totem wet felting process

I've been asked how the wet felting process was done so here you go!

My method is to cover the table with plastic, then a layer of bubble wrap, a layer of synthetic lace curtaining, the piece to be felted and finally another layer of lace. The two layers of lace allow me to pick up and move a wet heavy piece without stretching or tearing it while it is still tender. I use COOL water with soap already in it to wet the piece down. I transferred this technique from nuno felting where I use it to slow the process down. This gives inexperienced felters a better shot at success. We worked the piece as a big group by hand to the prefelt stage. Then used warmer water and began rolling. First on a pool noodle withe bubble wrap until we reached proper felt. To full we rolled with a hard stick directly on the felt with a towel around the outside. Now onto photos.

 

Bear Totem for Class 3

This year's Class 3 needs a door for their teepee building project. So we're felting one. Here's the teacher's concept drawing.

 

So my challenge was to bring this to a group of 21 bright enthusiastic 10 & 11 year olds in a way that would give them great success.

 

I brought my little heart tree to illustrate the concept of combining needlefelting with water soluble embroidery stabilizer to prevent chaos when we add the water for wet felting. The teacher had prepared a cartoon overlay on stabilizer which cut into the requisite 21 pieces.

 

Then we assembled them onto the snow white background and carried on needling the joins to make them disappear.

Look Ma, no chaos!

 

These kids displayed amazing talent & tenacity so we finished this project in just two days!

 

 

Shalom Study IV

	Based on the word שלום (shalom means peace), incorporating the word Peace in American sign language and with a heart at it’s core for without Heart there is no Peace. Want more? Look here
For Juliann Blessings & Good Cheer B’shalom V’simcha Helen + ilana = Hi בשלום ושמחה אילנה

             

PeaceFelt 2011–Begifted

Lisa sent me an absolutely stunning yellow scarf – Look!

I feel humbled by the intimacy of Lisa’s sharing about her process. With her permission I pass it forward to you all. But I’ll warn you first, you should have tissues at the ready:

 

I hope you like this scarf, which I think of as the Peace Ribbon scarf. I had originally planned a different project for my Peace Felt contribution, but it just wasn’t working for me. Then, in the first week of September I was strolling along Fifth Avenue and was yellow memorial ribbons fluttering from a fence around the Marble Collegiate Church at Twenty-ninth Street.  Those fluttering ribbons brought me back to the painful weeks ten years ago, when “strolling” anywhere in Manhattan just no longer seemed possible. But in one of my walks after 9-11, as I tried to digest just what had happened in a city I love, trying to come to grips with the only true terror I had ever experienced, I looked up and saw a line of golden ribbons dancing in the breeze – they seemed to glow in the fall sunshine. And for a moment I felt at peace again, knowing that amidst true terror, true beauty can still exist.

To me, those ribbons, inscribed with the names of those lost that day, and now with the names of those lost in Iraq and Afghanistan, are bright spots of peace in a violent world. When I saw them again, I scratched my original idea, and on 9-11, as I listened to the reading of the names, I began this scarf. It just seemed fitting. I never expected to get as much from the Peace Felt project, but I am glad I went for it.

Nor I.

My sincerest thanks Lisa!

Blessings & Good Cheer

B’Shalom v’simcha

Helen + ilana = Hi

בשלום ושמחה

אילנה