Confessions of a Teacher.

I must confess that in doing workshops it is often I who am the learner.
Isn't it amazing how the same set of instructions to all my students can provide so many different responses. Their answers coming from their own experiences, colour prefences, styles and personalities.
On Sunday I gave a nuno felting workshop. We all had a great time and the products were fantastic. Yummy examples of colour and drape. Thanks to everyone I learnt a lot!

Hats

Two new hats for the shop. I'm promoting the fact that you can change what the tail does according to your mood! Curly, swoopy or frazled.

Finally

Yes I have finally got my etsy site up. I don't know really why it took over two years but there you have it. It just couldn't make up on the list of to dos. So these school holidays I have spent time with my beautiful boys and done all the necessary things to get the shop underway. It is a pathetic offering I must grant, but baby steps are always tentative.
Please take a look if only to help the hit counter or whatever it is that helps you get up in the ratings. MYSHOP!

Ring ring

These are a new whimsy of mine to try to capture some of the summer market. It gets very hard to sell wool here in the summer as people don't even want to touch it much. Too hot. I rely on those with forward thinking, or tourists heading home to cooler climbs. The colours of the first photo are not very accurate as I took it inside with a flash but you get the idea.

New babies

I am involved with the craft group at my son's school and we make some beautiful things. I love the communally made items the best. The things that are passed on and each person adds another part. They mermaid with the felted tail was one such project. I made the tail and another mum made the doll. We named her Shellshine. The other mermaid (Celeste) was made by another mum. She has a spare outfit as her tail comes off and she can party on land too! I made the spring fairy (flora belle), She has a bag of fairy dust and pink suede shoes! . It is just delightful to watch the children come in and "ooh" and "ahh" over them. They are desperate to see the new dolls and animals each fair.
We had a great fair today. We all worked very hard and I think I will sleep very hard tonight as well.

Ethel's Locks

I went on search at the Bendigo wool show for a sheep with some long curly locks. I have some ideas for collars, cuffs etc I wanted to play with. Well my son was the one who actually found the sheep as I was busy at the stall all the time. The sheep was an English Leicester and the farmer's name is Ethel. She looks like she's been farming all her life and she has such a beautiful, genuine affection for her animals. She lets a handful of babies grow their locks. They are such beautiful animals. Ethel was quite excited at the prospect of the locks going into a felt piece. She sent me a sample and I made these two wraps to test out my ideas. They worked perfectly so I look forward to making the next pieces

Homebirth Rally - Canberra

Well I'm back from the homebirth rally and very glad I went. it was great to show some solidarity around this event. Nicola Roxon declined to talk to us but many others did. The rain was persistent which was a shame and we did get very wet.
There has been a stay of execution for two years. There is still no indemnity insurance for midwives however. So the fight must go on. I urge all Australians who care about democratic rights of choice to write to all tiers of government about this issue.
You can see my sign in this video but it is sideways so you can't read it. It said
HOMEBIRTH
MY VOICE
IS
PRO CHOICE
Kinda catchy I thought!

21st century? I don't think so.

I find myself moved to take up a sign and march again. (I don't mean that I marched with the suffragettes pictured, but have been known to hold up a placard or two) I do not really make a habit of protesting, though I may make many comments to anyone who will listen when outraged by something on the telly. I may even mumble something about writing a letter.
Let me explain.
When birthing the 2nd and third of my children I was able to do so in the comfort of my own home. My first birth in a hospital had been a very long and drawn out affair and I thought that I’d prefer to spend my “waiting” time in the comfort of my home.
I was able to have a beautiful water birth with the 2nd child and felt the whole practice was a lot more relaxed. The third birth was much quicker and sadly there was only 6 inches of water in the bath before he arrived, but he was delivered safely on the kitchen floor. Each of these births was not undertaken lightly. I read expansively on homebirth and was cared for by my chosen Midwife, a woman of many years experience, who brought with her warmth and security to this event. I was able to have continuing care before and after the birth. She was able to ensure that my children were well established into breastfeeding and that my own health was good.
I will explain now that this opportunity will be no longer available to women in Australia. Nicola Roxon MP and the Government are effectively outlawing Homebith in Australia. There will be no insurance for midwives and they will run the risk of prosecution should they attend births in homes.
This kind of near sighted prohibition will drive homebirth mothers into riskier unattended “free” births. I agree that this kind of homebirth is risky.
My own confidence in having a home birth was in knowing the midwife was a trained and competent professional and would take us to hospital in a timely fashion should it become necessary.
I feel that every woman should be able to choose where she would like to birth and be supported in that choice, not demonised. There is alot of misinformation out there. Many European countries and the UK support homebirth as a safe and valid option for women. Really this whole idea belies the fact that we are supposed to be living in an informed and modern world.
So next Monday I will protest in Canberra with many others who would stand by the right of women to birth in the way and place of their choice .

Optim + Dyepot = great colour

I tried felting some optim fibre the other day. Not the most pleasant of fibres to work with. It has a tendency to fly up your nose and almost work it's way into your pores. It is also quite staticky.
It takes a bit longer to felt but the end product is definitely very soft.
I dyed the two pieces with eucalypt and onion skins and the colour response was quite intense. One was a single layer nuno piece and the other 2 layers of fibre alone.

Spring Workshop

Today was the last of this months beginner workshops and it was very busy indeed. It was a big class but everyone did such a good job!
These final pics are indeed the students work.

Artful students

So the first two of my new workshops have gone very well. I've really enjoyed getting back into the teaching saddle. This was an entry level felting workshop and everyone made some amazing felt. After making flat felt and experimenting with adding fibres to the wool we made some small bowls, gorgeous vessels of promise

martha stewart show about fashioning felt in New York Cooper-Hewit National Museum

I would love to see this one.

Workshops for locals

A Felting Workshop

with Pam de Groot

Beginners Course: 1 Day 10am-2pm

Learn the very first steps of felting.

 Create a sampler of flat felt , learning to manipulate and add in other materials.

 Make a piece of felt using a resist. This is the basis of bags, pockets and hats. We will make a bowl.

Requirements

• Byo Lunch, morning tea provided.
  
• We will be using bubble wrap, soap, netting and fleece with additions of silk, mohair, spun fibres and fabric. If you would like to bring any of these you may.
  
• If you don't have any of these the equipment can be borrowed from me and materials can be bought on the day.
  
• Resist material will also be provided.
  
• Bring an old towel or a couple of cloth nappies
  

Dates

Sunday 9^th August or

Thursday 13th August or

Sunday 23^rd August

Cost

• $45 per person plus materials.
  

email pamdegroot.fibre@gmail.com

I will be following up with other classes later.

rollercoaster ride ?

Well I'm back from Bendigo and still digesting what came from it all. I must say it was lovely to meet the enthusiasm of those who had not seen my work before. I got 2nd in the wearable art for the gown and hat.
I find myself in a difficult place though. I'm in a transition space with my work. I need to find a clearer path. I think its become art but not clearly defined in either world. I think I may have to get a bit serious and work this all out. How do I now market myself? Included are some pics of the first prize (Pam Hovel of Victoria) and mine

Bush Priestess

So here she is and I must confess to being ever so slightly chuffed at the outcome. Yet another gorgeous friend has kindly donned the garment and wow she has breathed life into it. I could have taken photos all morning. I feel some how that this one wanted to be made and that it didn't matter how wobbly the start was it was just going to be.
I get quite excited at the process and marvel at the problems solved, choices made and unmade, how ideas reveal themselves slowly at just the right time. I originally wanted to encase stones in the front but that wasn't working and then the shells were a perfect fit. It is probably good that I had to post it off as I potentially could have kept fiddling eternally.

The Eucalypt gown

These are some prefelts and silk dyed and ready to be made into a gown. I've never tried any thing like this before. I have no pattern and no idea really I'm just winging it and hoping for the best!! I'm on a dead line as usual and spent an all nighter getting all the bits together.




This is the size of the gown in the underlayer of prefelt next to my 13yr old.



This is the gown before felting. I hope I haven't made it too big!!. It always astounds me the size of things before they are fully felted.

Headdress in full flight.

I promised a pic of the headdress on, and here it is. The weather was a bit crap so the constant drizzle played havoc with the stiffening. It was a bit floppy by the top of the hill at the festival. I also had some fun dyeing more luscious bush. These photos are some of the scarves I made.

Planetary tribal headdress

So I've been working on this little piece for a while. I think I got my measurements a bit wrong cause it is awfully tall and a bit top heavy really. I love the way it looks on someone and will try to get a pic of that later. It is still a bit soft for my liking so I will re-wet today and stiffen again. It goes into the Katoomba Art Street exhibition this weekend and I have to drop it off tomorrow so I better get cracking. Just had to share.

The Warrnambool Wrap "Felt Pelt"

Unable to find a model with time I've resorted to the one that can't move. I bought this at an antique auction and it really is falling apart. It needs some shoulders to show this well but it will have to do.. The first pics are the preliminary work of the wrap before the final dye. One learns many lessons on the samples you take away from a workshop. I learnt a valuable one WRAP VERY TIGHTLY. It all ended up very orange and the more subtle parts were lost. Luckily I spent many years as a potter and have learnt the art of moving on and not becoming too attached to pieces. India's piece of London scrap has played nicely on the front leaving an interesting mark from the hinge. I've called this one the "Felt Pelt"

Manna from heaven

Look what one can find ready for the council green waste collection! Eucalyptus Cinerea. The hairy one helped me load it in the trailer and now I just have to bag for months of fun to come.

Some Blue Mountains alchemy

Here are some pics of the work I did for the Kamaroi fair this Sunday. Been dyeing my little behind off to get it all done. The two felted scarves sold in the first hour! It was a bit hard to part with them as the love affair was still young. I love the little sections of unexpected magic in the folds of each scarf. I managed to find a eucalytus leaf to print green. Unfortunately I was hopeless and picked a bit up from here there and every where and I'm not sure which venue the little darling came from. Here's hoping I can find the tree and see if I can make a green dye bath! See if you can see the ring pull from the tin lid in one.

More from planet Bliss

Here are some more photos. The teapot one is a photo of India's bag and a nice little still life in itself. I have yet to post pics of my wrap as I need to find time to get a model for it.

Leaves and magic alchemy!

I Have been transported to the planet Bliss doing a workshop with India flint.
We bundled and wrapped the many and varied leaves and pods of the Deakin University campus and created some samples of wonderment. My perceptions of pieces of scrap metal and old pots will be forever altered. No longer can I admire a garden for its beauty alone. Now I look first for the likely colour potential!! Here are some photos to begin with. I'll post some more later.

latest in the felted neckie range.

I have taken a while to get some more of these done but I think I've worked out the easiest way now. Still not exactly quick.

Eucalyptus dyed wrap and hat

I'm finally ready to reveal the wrap and hat I made for the exhibition at the Rocks Gallery. The wrap was made first with white wool on silk. Once again I embedded the clasp. The pod shapes were set in the dyeing. There were two different leaf dyes, complements of some windfall at my son's soccer game. The orange printed leaf shapes were some Cinerea leaves. There is also added some dyed and printed organza silk stitched on. Some mother of peal buttons are a final feature.




The hat was made from dyed fleece. Some of the many shades of beige I started with and then some that I managed to dye a bit darker later. Printed and dyed Silk was felted in with fleece. The whole hat was dyed in a pot of leaves that seemed to have more of an orangey colour. When wool felt was laid on these leaves in the dye pot the orange transfer was really strong but the dye itself never went to that strong a colour. (Something I will discuss with India when I go to her workshop in May. YAY!) Not shown in this picture is some more silk fabric stitched on as I had to send in my description before I made the piece and had said it would be there. I ended up putting it on in the train to town yesterday! I love the way people try not to look at what you are doing but they are obviously facinated. The bold will just come up and ask.
My sincere thanks to another gorgeous friend E. for modelling .

Bit fond of this one

This one was made when le husband came home with a box full of curtain rings. Hmmm I think. Looks kinda handy. Must be some thing I can do with these. Sooooo
Compliments again to the lovely friend N.

Leaf hat

I made this hat to test out the pattern for a hat I'm making for an exhibition soon. I needed something green for a challenge on the felting forum I'm part of so Green it was.

On beautiful models

I'm very lucky to have gorgeous friends to model for me. This wrap looks 100 times better on her don't you think?

Eucalypt dyeing is tricky.

These are the latest in my dyeing endeavors. I seem to get the most amazing colour on silk. Rich chocolate browns But the wool is just the many shades of beige! Each of these samples , both silk and wool were dyed together. I added some copper pipe as mordant but I'm going to have to up the mordant stakes I think to get much of a response on wool.




Some lovely leaf prints from a prunus are encouraging.

Felted glam bag

A little bag for a night out on the town.