I came back from Glastonbury a couple of weeks ago - which was lots of fun and very muddy! I run drop in feltmaking workshops in The Green Crafts Field . It's an inspiring place to be. There are all sorts of crafts people there running workshops and doing demo's in all sorts of materials, I can only say check out the website! It's a really inspiring place to work in. This was my pitch, although I love my workshop space it's a big bell tent and tarp but it needs more felty things so I decided to start a collaborative project while I was there aswell as running the regular drop in work shops..
I decided a needle felted Green Man to go in front of the stall would be a good crowd pleaser! I've got an old sofa cushion back and stuffed it with raw fleece then started to sculpt a face using uswashed jacob fleece. While I was doing a demo, I had it sat on my knee while I was yabbering on and stabbing away with my needles. Some people passing by thought I was stabbing a cat! Weird but true. Anyway I still haven't finished him, but I'm going to craft camp next week and then to the seaside the week after that. So I am going to take him with me ( in the little red car with everything else, including large bell tent and 12 year old boy) and try and work on him while I am away.
Here is a sneak preview, I am liking the overall effect of the randomness of Jacob wool and his eyes. The irises I have made using hand dyed wool in various shades of blue, purple and green. I was testing the way I wanted to do the leaves when I took this photo. They are made using 100's merino and silk over muslin, dying it using various colour combinations of colourcraft and Landscape dyes, so the leaves are not so regimented.
Right! That's it for now, off to build a willow structure in our party field for a wedding now!
