Spring Greens

Asked by a friend if I would pose for a photo assignment, I was inspired to make a large felt flower to wear in my hair. Without revealing the theme of her project, suffice it to say, she was asking me to embody a more feminine version of myself than is my normal expression.

Two days before the shoot, I found a vintage velvet moss jacket at a local boutique. It was the perfect shade of green with sleeves just a bit too short to be considered right for my size and a bit too long to be right for this season. My solution was to felt a pair of gauntlets using a handpainted merino/tencel roving blend from Blue Moon Fiber Arts in shades of green, maroon and brown that remind me of a winter cabbage. Once I finished the gauntlets, I needed a felt collar to complete the set. I should have made the collar first to determine the shrinkage rate for this roving as the gauntlets are an extremely snug fit.

The day of our shoot was the perfect combination of overcast skies allowing for plenty of light without any bright hotspots of sunshine filtering through the leaves.

I couldn’t resist pulling out my camera to capture the set after the shoot was over. As my son was home sick from school, I used the time to teach him a few photography basics. While he has always been eager to operate the remote, I wanted him to see that taking a picture is so much more than just pressing the button.

Experiments with Shape and Structure

After making my first hat last spring, I was intrigued by the creases and ridges created when a finished felt piece is steamed and then pinched repeatedly along a line. Felting a trio of small vessels allowed me to work small and still explore some new ideas.

Each vessel was made with a different shade of grey handpainted merino from handsandnotions. I have intentions of returning to this form, to continue exploring more shapes. In the meantime, they sit filled with no purpose, no expectations.