June 2016 - Jane Mercer Felt Artist

Woolfest 2016

This is my fourth visit to woolfest and it's as vibrant and colourful as ever . I thought this year I'd try and focus on the sheep. They of course being the star attraction. There are the real sheep, see these beautiful herdwicks- my favourites. And then there are the knitted sheep. The printed sheep The sheep puppets. And me trying my hand at being a sheep puppeteer. I loved these puppets , which were from the production of a 'Shepherd 's Life', at the theatre by the lake in Keswick. Very interestingly the sheep puppets had no legs ! On a slightly smaller scale needled felted sheep. A crocheted colourful sheep. And finally to finish, a dark wendesleydale sheep, relaxing and showing off her curls. As you can tell I had a great time as usual and will sure to be returning next year.

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26/06/2016

Eco Dyeing / Natural dyeing

Wonderful workshop

What a wonderful workshop I have had this week at Art van go with Eco-printer Fabienne Dorsman-Rey . Fabienne knowledge ,generosity and enthusiasm was exceptional. I went to explore how I could use Eco-printing in my felt making and have come away inspired to learn more about my local plants and their properties and to continue my voyage of discovery into natural dyeing incorporating Eco-printing. In very difficult to describe in words everything that happened during the workshop , but we learnt about wrapping a bundle, mordants and modifiers , the effects of metals and plants that can be used for printing. We also were shown some of Fabienne's beautiful work and the stories behind each piece. Just a taste of some of the beautiful prints made. My first bundles Some of Fabienne's beautiful work My favourite piece that I printed. A piece that I stitched before printing , nice but I think I…

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19/06/2016

Eco Dyeing / From The Earth Textiles / Uncategorized

Eco dyeing here I come

I am delighted to be taking part next week in a workshop with Fabienne Rey, organised by From the Earth Textiles at Art Van Go . So this week I have been getting organised. First I need lots of silk and wool fabrics . I made a couple of felts myself , and had the good luck to come across a silk shirt in a charity shop. It's also possible to eco dye mordanted cotton , and I have a number of different cotton fabrics mordanted with a variety of mordants , including alum and gall nuts. Then of course lots of cotton , linen and wool threads . I have had to scrounge among my friends for sufficient tin cans but I did have a nice collection of rusty iron, collected on my wanderings in the Lake District . These are complimented by a small length of copper pipe which…

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12/06/2016