Phone Tech Savvy to Benefit Your Fiber Art

If you are getting to know the features of your iPhone, and like me, you may never use that cell phone tool to its full advantage, today's blog post will give you one good reason to stretch beyond your technology boundaries! I fully admit that I am technology adverse. I seek out all the paper and pencil in the house well before I seek out a machine on which I can write. No calendar on my phone, no movies on my iPad--I simply like things old school. I get a little twitchy when people ask me why I don't take advantage of the time-saving tools on my iPhone, and I maybe even tune them out a bit, because I've convinced myself that I won't understand the steps involved in using my phone, at least not in a way that feels comfortable. Can you relate to any of this?

So, now that you know about the low-tech place from which I function, I am about to tell you that I am enamoured with the Turbo Scan App on my iPhone! My patient husband looked at me during my recent rant regarding my HP Office Jet Pro. "I don't know how to scan anything or send a fax! I cannot find anyway to make my computer and scanner 'talk' to one another!!"  Or something to that effect. With a respectful pause, my husband told me that he uses this App on his phone and he can send a scan to anyone he wants, quickly and easily. Well, good for you, smarty pants! He very kindly showed me how to do just that.

If you are an artist and often have fiber art in some stage of creative expression, you, too will love this phone App. I attended Jean Herman's workshop on fabric collage in Loveland, Colorado, this past weekend. Fabric collage is a fun technique that reminds me of creating your own puzzle from scraps of fabric. Gather up your scrap bag, a jar of gel medium, and a few of your favorite photos as inspiration, and you can in an afternoon, create a landscape, portrait or abstract image in fiber. The photo series I am sharing today reflects just such an experience. This fabric collage was developed during a four-hour workshop under Jean's guidance.

Here is when the Turbo Scan tool on your iPhone comes into play! I opened the App on my phone and was directed to take three successive photos of the piece [the original looks like the image on the left]. The App then melded those three photos into one scan, which I could then manipulate. To say that I manipulated anything sounds like an exaggeration of what I personally did at this point...I simply pushed a button that let me see the scan in black and white [middle image], or with a bit of color [image on the right], or as a complete photo [the first image]. Can you see how helpful this functionality is to a fiber artist? I can easily see in this series of scans that the simple fabric shapes I glued down actually do have a 3-D impact, are of interesting tonal values, have line that moves the eye, and finally, where I might need to add more detail. All from the push of a button! The exciting use of this tool let me see in just moments where I need to go next with this fiber art. No pinning it up across a large room and looking at it all squinty-eyed until I can see room for improvement. No need for getting expert form and function critiquing to determine the next best move. In just moments, I used technology to guide myself, and I feel great!

I am reaching out to my fellow tech-avoiders today in a selfish manner. This is my way of passing along the first step in healing myself of the notion I do not need to learn how to fully use my new phone. I hope that you have visions about how you could use this tool to get instant feedback on your next creative project! Or, I hope that this silly story is proof that old-school women can join together and learn new things! As Jean gently told us all at the workshop yesterday, her hope for us was that we would all end the day knowing that we had learned one important thing. Thanks Jean! I definitely did. You are a wonderful teacher.

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne

Studio Scene -- Storage and Organization Fuel Creativity

Horizontal filing and drawer labels are my best time-saving tips. 
 The large drawers are filled with handmade fiber art pillow tops and I love them because they keep the fiber art smooth, flat, and organized.

The handmade fiber art pillows I make are shipped in a muslin pillow case
and tied with a lovely ribbon.
I think of it like a designer dress being stored in a zipper bag!
I label each one with a photo for easy reference: this helps my team fulfill orders!

Early morning light from the window...my studio table while I am alone and all is quiet.
That's the sweet spot in my day!

Keeping organized may seem boring, or at least, it used to bore me. I thought that a messy desk meant I was happily busy, but now I realize that it simply slows me down. I'm glad I've taken on the ritual of cleaning up my office and my studio during the last 15 minutes of each productive day. That way, when I begin again in the morning, I am energized!

What do you do to fuel creativity in your space?

Thanks for stopping by,

Georgianne

Landscape Series at Nestle and Soar

It is important to flex my creative muscles. It is also important to try new techniques and jump into that trying with both feet! Today in my studio I am trying new perspectives as I work on the second in a series of nine wall tapestries, each measuring 16" x 20", and each challenging me in many ways.

The first piece in this series (above) and the centerpiece of the group of nine tapestries is the first photo in this post. The next two photos show you the second piece in the series, and I'm calling the whole group Tree Party. If you look at the right side of photos 2 and 3, you can see the beginnings of the background foundation for the third tapestry in the series. Do you see how they connect? I am no longer working one piece at a time in this series...I am working three at a time to better create a horizontal connection within the group. I'd love to know what you think!

I am probably about eight hours into the second tapestry and I want to have it complete on May 28th to show my peers at the Design Exploration in Golden. I'll be sure to post a photo of the finished piece! When it is complete, that will be two down and seven more to go! There will be birds involved in the entire design...but that's probably not a surprise. Wish me luck!

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne

What is Needle Felting? Tattooing Wool onto Fabric

Forest Walk ©2011, needle felt in process

Needle felting is a needlecraft regaining popularity. Many cultures for thousands of years have used needle felting to make rugs, clothing, and other useful items for the home. All cultures that use wool to create textiles have perfected their classic version of this decorative and useful art. 

Today, needle felting is all the rage to make decorative pillows, embellish scarves, and to create wardrobe accessories. Some people are making home décor items out of 100% wool, and others are using wool to decorate items made of many types of other fabrics. I like to say that needle felting onto fabric is like tattooing ink onto skin: both involve single sharp needles and a poking or punching motion to apply color to a smooth surface.

When people say they needle felt, they are likely talking about Dry Felting, or felting without water. There are sewing machine attachments that can be used to needle felt by machine. The kind of needle felting I do in at Nestle and Soar in Colorado is needle felting by hand. Using one barbed felting needle allows me to create intricate detail in wall art using needle felting. Let me explain the process to you!

The craft of dry needle felting bonds a foundational fabric and wool roving together without the use of thread, glue, or sewing needles. Felting needles are long, barbed, and very sharp. You do not hold a felting needle like a sewing needle: the motion required is more like a punching or stabbing than it is a sewing motion. When you punch the barbed needle up and down into the roving, which is loose animal fibers, it pushes the wool through the foundational fabric from top to bottom. The barbs on the needle agitate the wool fiber as it passes up and down through the roving, and this agitation opens the cuticle of the wool fiber, causing it to cling to itself. It also causes it to interlock itself on the underside of the foundational fabric, and that is how it stays put. I often create decorative pillows using linen as the foundational fabric and soft merino or mohair wool roving for the needle felting.

Raspberry and Orange Wool Roving for Felting

It is important to needle felt using a foam pad underneath your work. The felting needle should have something soft under the foundational fabric: the needle would be ruined without the pad by breaking its tip against the table top. It is easy to find felting pads made specifically for this craft, or you can also use polystyrene blocks, upholstery foam, or compressed foam. The foam pad I use is 12” x 15” and 2” thick. This size allows me to spread out a large project.

Wool roving provides all the color in needle felt projects. Picture a large pile of colorful cotton candy – that is what wool roving looks like! Roving is readily available in about 10 colors at big-box craft stores, neighborhood yarn shops, and many merchants on the Internet. My preference is to use mohair wool roving. I purchase roving in hundreds of different colors made by small manufacturers and enjoy working with the hand-dyed, environmentally friendly wools they create for this fiber art.

Example of a landscape needle felt by hand

Needle felting is a craft that is great for beginners of all ages. Because sharp, barbed needles are involved, I recommend close supervision of children. After many years of enjoying this fine craft as a fiber folk artist, I still prick my own fingertips on occasion. That being said, with care, good lighting, and a little patience, it is a lot of fun to learn to “paint with wool” using this age-old needle craft!

What kind of felting have you tried? 

Have you taken any felting classes?

I would love to hear from you!

Thanks for stopping by, 
Georgianne

Duplicating Myself

CafePress Apron with my Art

It is fun to think about all the items one can have photographs applied to these days. I notice on Etsy.com that lots of folks are selling reproductions of their original art as such things as note cards, coffee cups, and wall art. It makes sense to me, as there are only so many 35-hour hand needle felts I can create! If I can take a great photo of my original fiber art and have it printed onto a quality item, that sounds good to me!

I had the folks at CafePress make this apron for me. I'm planning to wear it at holiday craft shows in December! It has large pockets that will come in handy during a busy selling day. It was fun to see how my photograph would look applied to a canvas apron.



Field of Flowers, 16" x 20"

 I have also started working with the friendly people at FinePrint Imagaing in Fort Collins, Colorado. They have a special studio set-up I can use to have my wool wall felts photographed, and the image will be color-corrected by a pro there. (The image I'm showing to the left was photographed by me. Their version will be so clear, I'll be able to reproduce it with pride.) Those images can then be printed onto gallery wrapped canvas or several other substrates! I'm looking forward to seeing how this will work for me. Stay tuned! If you were to have a lovely, textural folk art image displayed in your home, what size would you want it to be?

I wish I could duplicate myself tomorrow as I begin cooking for 10 people at 5am--maybe my husband will be like a mirror image of me :) I do know he's the one to rise and shine and put the turkey in the oven! Happy Thanksgiving to each of you...

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne