Sunseed was just a concept 4 months ago, born from an idea to submit a piece for Felt United Day. "2009 is the United Nation's International Year of Natural Fibres. On October 3rd, 2009, feltmakers from around the globe will celebrate by joining together and displaying their felt. It will be the first annual International Day of Felt." We joined 18 other countries from around the world to celebrate the art of felt.
It all begins with the wool. The white wool was washed then carded (all fibers aligned) and dyed. This year's Felt United project allowed only 3 colors, red, orange and yellow with just a bit of a 4th color.
Sharon had a vision of what the piece would look like. Bev, Zita and Sharon got together and sketched, changed it, sketched some more and came up with a project that 12 of us could work on.
In the beginning, we were wondering how we could create a pod with many little podlets on the exterior. Sharon came up with the idea to make podlets that would be able to be inserted into an opening, without doing any stitching. A resist (like plastic material so the fibers won't felt upon themselves) was created and the pod production began. The actual felting of the podlets was mainly done in Sharon's studio.
From the first ideas to the finished project, the piece looks nothing like what we started out with.
They made us detailed instructions on how to make a bazillion little pods, each measuring 3 1/4" long and 1 1/2" wide. Sharon kept us on task and within the margins. "Don't felt outside of the lines!"
We finished in record time, (yea, right!), gave all our pods to Sharon and she masterfully finished them, wrapping them around foam pipe wrap and pinning them until they are dry.
We gathered again for a rock felting day. We wrapped about 40 rocks in our 3 colors of wool and we felted until each rock was smooth. A wire base was made, standing nearly 3' tall. Sharon toiled over a covering, dyeing more felt and constructing a dense wrapping for it.
A pattern was created in muslin first to get a shape that would fit over the metal structure. The batt started out the size of a double bed, 55" x 80" and it took a L-O-N-G! time to felt the fabric.
On the day of the reveal, we couldn't wait to see the final creation. We tried on a number of names and finally settled on Sunseed, a perfect name for our little sprout that grew into a full grown art sculpture.
On Saturday, October 3, the official Felt United Day, Sunseed traveled to The Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, Virgina. The Torpedo Factory is an art space housing many artist's studios, including Potomac Fiber Arts Gallery. This was a great place for Sunseed to make its debut. Roz, Sharon, Zita, and Renate set up the display. Along with that crew, Grace, Paige and Terri encouraged people to card wool, to try needle felting, do a bit of wet felting and help spread the word of this wonderful ancient craft.
Sunseed, Zita, Sharon and Grace, proudly standing alonside the pod.
We're not really worshipping Sunseed (although it deserved being put on a pedestal.) Just conveying all the hands that went into creating it.
Just some of the people involved. Roz, Paige, Dalis, Renate, Sharon, Bev and Zita. Missing are Joanne, Jeanne, Grace and Terri. We all had a great time, dyeing, carding, rolling, felting pod after pod, felting rocks, laughing, sharing ideas, and transforming some wool from the sheeps' backs to an amazing and admirable 'piece de resistance'. But most of the credit needs to go to Sharon. Sharon spent countless hours working on the project, above and beyond what mere mortals could do. She put together a 5' story board, complete with 'feet' so it is free-standing. When we decided it should have lights, she went to store after store looking for the right ones. After many attempts, Renate found the right light at a thrift store and Sunseed can finally shine on.
We have yet to find a home for our Sunseed, so it is making the rounds at art events for the time being. We hope to put it up for sale in the near future. In the mean time, it is giving us all joy and a great sense of accomplishment. Felt United has united 12 women in a common goal of promoting our craft and having a darn good time doing it. Thanks Sunseed!
