May 6 Workshop: Discover a Different Approach to Art
Ready to have some fun using water and elbow grease? If so, the unique art form of wet felting is for you!
Artist Bonnie Younginer will show you everything you need to know about how wet felting using only four ingredients to construct a piece of felt cloth: wool fibers, warm soapy water, agitation, and a little elbow grease. That’s it. She’ll help you learn the techniques and how to use the ingredients to create a successful finished artwork.
This free workshop, with the exception of materials cost, shows you how to create a piece of felt cloth that, with a little practice, can be either useful (such as a bowl) or something beautiful to frame and hang on the wall. The workshop is geared to artists and non-artists alike, anyone who’s interested in a new experience. Please register early.
Workshop participants will be using dyed Merino wool fleece to create the unique art form of turning soft, wispy fibers into felt cloth. Using hands-on techniques like laying out the fiber on bubble wrap in ways that when agitated, the soft delicate fibers bond together. The fleece is sprayed with warm soapy water. The bubble wrap and wet fleece are rolled up using a pool noodle. The noodle is rolled back and forth, from fingertip to elbow creating a piece of strong felt.
Under Bonnie’s direction, participants will make two felt pieces: One piece will be created only using fleece alone, and another fleece layout will incorporate embellishments, such as silk or yarn. Also, attendees will learn how to manipulate the wet piece of felt giving it permanent forms, such as, pleats or gathered mounds, using needle, thread, rocks and rubber bands.
To register for this workshop, contact Tina Mayland at Tina@TinaMaylandArt.com. Since Bonnie is a Seabrook Island Artist Guild member, she is graciously making this workshop available free of charge. The cost to cover materials, which Bonnie will provide, is $50 per participant. The deadline to register is May 2.
-Submitted by Rod Morris
(Image credit: Bonnie Younginer)