WHAT HAPPENS IN HALIBURTON…

Doesn’t always stay in Haliburton… HINT: It’s coming to the Apsley Studio Tour!

For many years I’ve looked forward to my mini retreat/vacay at the Haliburton School of Art and Design. Courses in fabric painting, thread sketching, felting and general exploration in textile art.

This year was no different.

Early Monday morning at the beginning of July, my friend and I loaded up the car and enthusiastically made the trek to Haliburton. For the next 5 days, we would be driving the 1 hour and 9 minutes to the Haliburton Fleming College campus. It was a time to enjoy the beauty in nature (it really is a gorgeous drive), talk about life, and savour a great cup of coffee out of a travel mug. We were excited to embark on this year’s course in Wet Felting Techniques. Taught by a long time artist and Haliburton Studio Tour participant, I was curious to see what new skills and techniques I might learn. I was also looking forward to a very intense week, with creative juices flowing, and creating some new items to add to my collection for the Apsley Studio Tour!

The course did not disappoint. Upon arrival, we were greeted with a mountain of merino wool roving in every colour one could imagine. In addition to the wool, our instructor had silk rovings, sari silk waste and silk fabrics to be used as embellishments. I FELT LIKE A KID IN A CANDY STORE!

As the week progressed, I learned some new techniques and refined some of my own techniques. I was inspired by the creations of other classmates, and relished in the fact that I was able to spend 5 whole days devoted to a craft that I love, without interruption or a ‘to do’ list to distract me.

One of the great things about a week of creative exploration is that there is great freedom in trying new things, making mistakes, learning from them, and then using those mistakes to create something new. Two such mistakes allowed me to take my work to a new level, and create something that I might not have thought about otherwise.

The first one, was a piece I call lattice. It’s basically a wet felted piece with lots of holes. It looks like lattice. I liked the look, but I felt it lacked integrity as a scarf, so I decided to put it on a cotton background. The problem was that it was already felted, so it was unlikely that it would felt a second time to the cotton scarf on its own. After some thought, I came up with the idea to use very fine strands of wool roving as a ‘glue’ . This is a common technique when using a material that does not felt well on its own. It worked! The result is a scarf that has better integrity and a bold design mixed with some silk and fine roving to create softness and flow. 

The second mistake was when I was given a piece of fabric that I thought was silk by one of my classmates. Wool roving will felt well onto a background made of natural fibre such as cotton or silk, but not so much if the background is synthetic. This piece looked and felt like silk, so I went ahead with it. After choosing a colour pallet that I love (dark turquoise, purple and green), I laid out my design, wet it down and rolled…and rolled…and rolled… – this is all part of the felting process. To my dismay, no matter how much I rolled, the wool did not adhere fully to the silk fabric. Time for the silk burn test (ask me what this is when you visit my studio in September). Surprise, it’s not silk. That explains everything. I aborted the project, chalking it up to experience. A couple of days later, as I looked at the colours and design – did I say I love this colour combination? I decided that I would try to save the piece by free motion stitching it. The result was (in my opinion) a success, resulting in some fabulous texture and highlights through the use of thread!

The third piece was not a mistake but an interesting piece that I created as a result of what I learned through my mistakes (lets call it new knowledge and growth), and a technique I explored in class. I call it patchwork. By combining some interesting fabrics and using wool roving as a ‘glue’, I created a heavier double-sided scarf more suitable for fall/winter, or perhaps a table runner. I love this technique because it gives me the opportunity to add interest and depth to my piece. It allows me to create a whole new look while incorporating interesting fabrics with wool.

Much of the creative process for me is about trial and error. Colours, fibres, fabrics and techniques. It was a saviour during the long winter COVID months, and will continue to be a source of pride and joy as I develop.

I am excited to show my work (both before Haliburton and after) during the Apsley Studio Tour.

I hope to see you there!

Judy Ranieri   Studio E