2013 Workshops!

Workshops taking place in the Scenic Rim area of the Gold Coast Hinterland, QLD, Australia. Or feel free to fly me anywhere. I'll bring the supplies and know-how.

If you do not see a workshop date and time to suit you, please contact me to set up a custom date and time that does!

One-on-one workshops are great, as are mother-daughter days, etc.
A felting party is a great day out on this beautiful mountain, bring a couple of friends and if you're inclined, a bottle of wine, I have the rest!

All fine quality supplies and light refreshments included in prices.

Nuno Felting. Introductory level class.

We will learn the technique of "Nuno" felting, which is bonding the fibre onto a pre-existing fabric, such as silk or cotton. We will make one piece of nuno, intended as a scarf, shawl, wrap, table runner, curtain panel etc.

$60

Saturday March 23rd

9am-2pm

Felt Hats n Handbags. Intermediate class. 

We will each choose to make either a unique, comforting and durable wool hat in various styles to suit a range of different heads and personalities or a strong and attractive handbag. Get as creative as you wish, or make a solid classic such as a bowler or cloche. We will use a resist and hat blocks to sculpt these 3D felted creations. The hat you make does not need to be for yourself. You should have basic head measurements if it is for someone else. 

You don't have to have felted before to master this technique so do not be perturbed by 'intermediate', this is just a more physically intensive process than a beginner class.

$80
Saturday April 27th

9am-3pm

Arts in the Olives Festival.

Worendo Olive Grove, Lost World Valley.

Mini Workshops, Felt Flowers & Found Resist Vessels. All Levels.

9-11.30AM Workshop: We will hand felt and sculpt various organically formed floral shapes and attach stems and leaves if desired. Both wet and needle felting techniques will be used and discussed. You will be able to choose from a diverse eco-fibre palette encompassing wild long locks, hand painted fine wool and silk and exotic fibres such as hemp, flax, banana, bamboo, cotton and seacell. 

1-3.30PM Workshop:We will select a resist shape from a number of found objects like jars, tins, rocks, etc and use it as the pattern over which to sculpt an original primitive structure from wool. Finished product can be a stand-alone piece of art or may function as a vessel to contain another necessary or conversational item. 

$25 payable to Festival and $15 materials fee payable at workshop.

Sunday May 12th, Mother's Day.

http://artsintheolives.com/bookings-and-payment/


Saturday and Sunday May 18th & 19th Come and watch the process of felting as it unfolds during the Scenic Rim Annual Open Studio's Trail. 

Slippers! Intermediate class.
In this intensive workshop we will make a pair of thick felted slippers to see you or someone else through several winters in warm woolly style. There are a handful of different slipper patterns that can be learned. If you are making them for yourself you are able to sculpt them for part of the time directly onto your foot ensuring a delightfully custom fit. If they are for someone else, please have their foot outline on a piece of paper with you.

$80
Your choice of Tuesday June 4th or Saturday June 15th
9am-3pm

Facebook

Is really where it's at. Let's all stop pretending now.
Come on, group hug.

http://www.facebook.com/TheFeltingPot

Workshop Schedule through November up now!

Here's my latest workshop schedule. Please know I am very flexible and accommodating, so if you need a personal class or a different date I am happy to shuffle things around for you. JUst drop me a line and I'll see what I can do. xx

Workshops taking place in the Scenic Rim area of the Gold Coast Hinterland, QLD, Australia. Or feel free to fly me anywhere. I'll bring the supplies and know-how.

If you do not see a workshop date and time to suit you, please contact me to set up a custom date and time that does!

One-on-one workshops are great, as are mother-daughter days, etc.
A felting party is a great day out on this beautiful mountain, bring a couple of friends and if you're inclined, a bottle of wine, I have the rest!

All fine quality supplies and light refreshments included in prices.

Nuno Felting. Beginner class.

We will learn the technique of "Nuno" felting, which is bonding the fibre onto a pre-existing fabric, such as silk or cotton. We will make one piece of nuno, intended as a scarf, table runner, curtain panel etc.

$60

Saturday October 6th

9am-2pm

Mini Workshop, Felt Flowers. All Levels.

We will hand felt and sculpt various organically formed floral shapes and attached stems and leaves if desired. Both wet and needle felting techniques will be used and discussed.

$35

Saturday 13th October

930am-1230pm

Felt Hats. Intermediate class.We will each make a unique, comforting and durable wool hat in various styles to suit a range of different heads and personalities. Get as creative as you wish, or make a solid classic such as a bowler or cloche. We will use a resist and hat blocks to sculpt. The hat you make does not need to be for yourself.**Just in time for wearing to your Melbourne cup function!** 
$80
Saturday 3rd November

9am-3pm


Resist Felting, Making a Bag/Vessel. Intermediate class.
You don't have to have felted before to master this technique so do not be perturbed by 'intermediate', this is just a more physically intensive process than a beginner class.
We will make a piece of 3d felt using the resist method, which can be sculpted into various bag or vessel styles.
$80
Saturday 17th November
9am-3pm

This week in felting...

This week has seen a much welcome break in my otherwise hindering millinery stint.
Experimental felt projects using copious and thus incredibly satisfying amounts of exotic fibres to create intriguing surface texture have been consuming in that almost wanton way.

A bit like preparing something very involved and decadent in the kitchen, that you'll savor alone, or have a serving of in secret.

Raw silk, banana and bamboo starred, with a smattering of various old world long wool locks, raw linen (flax), wool and silk scrap, and of course the trusty merino.

What resulted is somewhat of a textural playground.

The pink on the left is Zara the Gypsy snake fortune teller from back in January's sister, Zelda. She's a bit more bling and a little less bite than her s-s-s-sibling.

The right hand side is an extreme close-up of the delicious raw silk tendrils poured over the rich chocolate merino base of a felted infinity scarf. A seamless band, which has no beginning and no end.

Crafted from only two pure ingredients - fine Australian Merino wool and cleaned and spun raw silk. Felted in the cobweb technique, so that there are deliberate windows throughout for light to penetrate and be reflected by the silk.




A versatile accessory, can be worn in myriad ways.

Until such time comes when I am ready to fix or replace my actual camera, these phone pictures will have to suffice.

Head over to our Facebook page if you want to see the rest of these...xo
http://www.facebook.com/TheFeltingPot

Art City

In March, part of us went to Melbourne to shoot the soft, whimsical wool made here at The Felting Pot against the gritty and real backdrop of the eclectic inner and outer city alley-ways, mind-blowing street art and within the resounding vibe of artistic creation this gorgeous Australian metro boasts.

The results are nothing less than spectacular. They're raw edged but penetrating. Hip and make-do and illuminating.



Shot by the fabulous Manda, of kWeRK accompanied by her trusty and handsome hound, Oscar. I'll be releasing these pictures in different ways over the next little while. Some will appear on our Etsy displaying their modeled items for sale. Others will be used in workshop advertising, and hopefully some will make their way into other publications down the line.

 The gorgeous model is Beatrice, who played the part swimmingly. A girl living a different time. She wears the quizzical one-of-a-kind wearable art pieces effortlessly. Bravo, to those helping bring these creations to life, we love you long time. x

Resurrection

This blog will live again, I swear it! Computer time has been impossible of late but things are changing and I feel a good blogging wind starting to blow.
Hold tight, lovers.

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Felt in our futures.

And yours too, perhaps?!

I have scheduled a whole frenzy of fabulous felt workshops in the coming weeks and months. There are a couple of spots left in each.

First up is Nuno felting next Saturday the 10th March. This class is perfect for beginners and experienced felters alike. We will be playing with the many varied textures available in a gorgeous array of colours. Silks, cottons, bamboo, flax, ramie, man made metallic threads and of course all the magnificent animal fibres. Alpaca, merino, llama, mohair, cashmere, raw and hand dyed curly locks, etc.
Create a completely unique scarf, one-of-a-kind wrap skirt, ethereal shawl, light bending window drape, piece of fibre art using a sheer, natural backdrop of fine cotton muslin, tissue silk, or other airy fabric.
$60 and runs from 9am-2pm

If you'd like to sign up for this class please contact me at 0403 493 111

Our studio is in the central North Tamborine area, right on Main. Park next door to Subway and we are the green and pink house set down the back of where you parked. The Tamborine Times offices where here once upon a time. After that it was the pharmacy. The whole house used to actually be facing a different direction but at some point they picked it up and spun it 90 degrees and slapped a little brick addition to the front that used to be a side. Way back when in the beginning of what was this mountain, it was avocado land, and was run as a plantation by possibly a Taylor family but I am sketchy about those details. Word of mouth, y'see. I also conduct micro-mini history lessons thankyouverymuch.

Nuno is a relatively low impact felting technique and is not nearly as much of a workout as felting some scrumptious slippers, say.
So come along, you'll be inspired!

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Summoning the Beast

Happy New Year once again from The Felting Pot

We have been enjoying a short break from the usually tight dawn to dusk schedule and been kicking back with our children while they're on summer vacation. Long days at the beach, afternoon kite flying from the lookout, crafting croquet runs, chicken day spas and mosaic rag butterflys.

Bonfires and fireflies and fires of the heart. Loud music, cold drinks, family and friends...such is summer.

We started felting a creature skin rug, a wild and woolly beast.

S/he is still being trodden and soaked and pounded into shape out on the deck where we have worked on it a little each day since the 2nd. Everyone has gotten in on the action, walking on it as though crushing grapes, joining the blind rolling conga, throwing down hot soapy water.

A couple more days of maltreatment and it'll be perfect for rolling around on naked in front of an open fire somewhere high in the alps.

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Market day

Just playing with my new phone and its marvelous capabilities to post on the fly! Happy last market of the year vendors and patrons!

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Pictorial

Here's a post compiled of things that have been recently made and sold before I could even get pictures uploaded of them, and a couple goofy outtakes from our shoots. Enjoy!

Updates!

Hello world!

Sorry I lacked any new posts over the past couple of weeks, it's the silly season you see, which means approximately 2 months of charming chaos!

Nevertheless, here are some recent goings on here at the 'Pot.

Sunday just gone we had a wonderful inaugural workshop in our new space and it went swimmingly! What a lovely day was spent playing with fibre and chatting with new friends.

Felting 101 was our agenda. Learn what felt is, how it works, where it comes from, and the many many wonderful things you can do with it. We made a piece of flat felt, though the creative little gems I had in class that day all put a little 3D effect into their flat felt pieces. Colour me impressed at their chutzpah to just go with what they were feeling, and really imbue that into their artwork.

Here's a snap of their inspired creations:

Next on the agenda is Kid's Yuletide ornaments felt making workshop. We'll do some wet felting, and a little needle felting, and create some traditional icons to adorn our festive homes with.
This takes place on December 21st from 9-Noon. If you'd like to sign your child up just email, comment, or give us a call on 0403 493 111 Generally the kids workshops are best for age 10 and up solo (feel free to still attend if you'd like) or under 10 with an adult helper to accompany.

Felt making, for all ages, but importantly at more tender figures, is a sensory experience that engages and stimulates. For children with sensory integration hurdles, or who are shy or find it hard to connect, felt making is therapeutic and impelling for your child.

They also get to learn a bit about world history, the many animals and plants we use as resources in our societies and how felt is put to use in the global community.

Class sizes are intimate, so each participant receives plenty of one-on-one time and has all their questions answered. If there is any class you are interested in, please sign up right away, as spots are limited and fill quickly.

Next! We will be at the Tamborine Showgrounds Country market this Sunday 8-2. The last big one before December 25th. Drop in and check some names off your list!

Meanwhile, back on the farm...

The Felting Pot will be at the Mount Tamborine Country Markets this Sunday 8-2, at the Tamborine Showgrounds.

This is a good old fashioned market ripe with native flora (fauna to pet and ride!), bottles and bottles of homemade time tested chutneys and cordials, hand poured candles and beautiful soaps and beauty products made from fresh goats milk, the green shed produce barn, honeys, baked goods, candies, and of course a plethora of immensely talented crafters and artists showing their wares.

Bounce houses, mini go karts, pony rides, petting zoo, food carts galore! See you there!!

Our opening weekend went swimmingly by the way, thanks for the support!


Closer to the home-front,  things are so lively around here these days!

Along one side and throughout the back yard of our house is a thriving nature corridor. I sat my phone in the window sill the other morning at about 530am to record the movements and mutterings of many a little songbird. This part of the world is famous for its bird life.

We have King Parrots, Lorikeets, Crimson and Pale Headed Rosella's, Sulfur Crested and the elusive Glossy Black Cockatoos. Minors, Bower Birds, Butcher Birds, Magpies, Kookaburra's, Whip-birds, Tawny Frogmouths, Pheasants, shall I continue?

Lots of birds. All wild, but most of them quite tame, or at least inquisitive and friendly enough to know we have food that they like. Primarily raw meat, and bits of bread leftover in the children's lunchboxes.
So most days a few different varieties visit, and get a nice feed.

We're about to bring another bird breed to the property. This being the faithful domestic chook. We have wanted chickens for a very long time. Forever, even. When we moved in here, we were sweetly surprised to see a relatively strong, secure chicken shed set up at the end of the yard.
We got to work using found materials and erected a second enclosure, a moveable pen the layin' ladies can really get their chicken-ness going, under the sun, out of the shed/run area.

We also fashioned a brooder box for them to live in while they're still very young. Right now they're 2 weeks old.
They'll live in the brooder in the laundry under light another few weeks, then move to a not yet built chicken tractor on the deck.
We will pick them up next week, from down the road where they were laid, hatched, cared for until 3 weeks when their gender will be mostly obvious and we'll know what we're getting. It was all a bit of luck in finding them. We get our eggs currently from the same  retired wife and husband team who run a tight homestead.
They raise a few breeds of duck, and mostly Favorelle chickens, with a few bantams on the side. We buy a couple dozen duck eggs a week, and usually a dozen hen eggs.

I called her up to peck her brain about raising chickens, and she told me about a secret clutch of found fertile eggs she was incubating on the sly in the laundry. Supposed to be downsizing, you see, but fertile eggs in spring are a difficult thing to pass up. She wasn't planning on keeping the chicks once they were hatched but hadn't advertised their availability yet, so how many do we want?!
There were 13 eggs, 10 that hatched, 1 that didn't and 2 that died shortly after hatching. So far, it is thought that 8 of them are female, and that's how many we said we would bring home.
The boys in this breed from a very tender age show a black spot around their wing area, Mother Hen has come to learn through years of raising this old world French breed of chicken.

I'm excited about chickens in general, but extra excited that we happened upon the right phone call, at the right time, and have snagged some really gorgeous Heirloom chicks from a wonderful family farm. The chicks were ready to hatch a mere 5 days later, and it's now about the same before we bring them home.

Here's a pic we took of them on Monday:

Picked up their shell grit, food and bedding today. All we need now is 8 suitable monikers!

Workshop Information and Dates

The Felting Pot Studio is opening tomorrow! Come and have a feel anytime 10ish to 4ish. Children encouraged!

20 Main Western Road,
North Tamborine

0403 493 111

Here are the workshop dates to see us through the rest of 2011. You may sign up by calling, emailing, texting, or in person. A $10 deposit is required upon signing up. The balance payable on the day. I can take mailed check, money order, paypal or bank deposit.

Workshops include all supplies, half-full day tuition and refreshments. You will leave with a finished piece of art, and the skills to make many more.
Children's workshops are perfect for age 10 and up alone (though you're most welcome to stay and watch!), or under 10 with an adult accompany. Only one fee for child/parent.

Class sizes are kept small, so that I may give personal attention to each participant. Sign up now if one of these appeals to you. Ask a friend to sign up with you. It's a great girls day out.
If you don't see a day that suits you, get a small group together and request a custom class or party.

Felting is a form of meditation, exercise, fine art, science and love. You've gotta feel it.

Felt making 101. Beginners class.
We will make one piece of flat felt, embellished for either wall or tabletop display. 
$50
Sunday 4th December
9-2


Yuletide Ornaments. Children's class.
We will wet and needle felt ornaments relating to traditional festive icons.
Wednesday 21st December
$25
9-12


Nuno Felting. Beginner class.
We will learn the technique of "Nuno" felting, which is bonding the fibre onto a pre-existing fabric, such as silk or cotton. We will make one long piece of nuno to be used as a scarf, table runner, etc.
$60
Saturday 7th January
9-2


Frame -able Felt. Children's class.
We will make a felt picture of the artist's choice, frame with found natural objects, and take home ready for hanging.
$25
Monday 16th January
9-1


Resist Felting, Making a Bag/Vessel. Intermediate class.
You don't have to have felted in one of our classes before, but it's best if you know a little about how wool reacts during the felting process, as this is a more intensive class than basic flat felting.
We will make a piece of 3d felt using the resist method, which can be sculpted into various bag styles.
 $80
Saturday 28th January
9-3


More workshops will be announced as these are completed. Of course contact us at any time should you like to organize a custom class or party.  You bring the wine, I've got the wool!

The Land of Milk and Honey

We live on this mountain, 1800ft above sea level. When you drive down the mountain you're pretty much in the sea. You can smell it at least. We share the mountain, or the mountain allows us to share her with about 7000 other residents.

The majority of the residents here are artists - in the traditional sense - but also in the DIY-creative-self-sufficient sense. People who have built their amazing homes, or amazing homes for their chickens and ducks, their alpacas, goats, their one pretty bedroom-eyed Jersey cow, their immaculately groomed pooch, mini replica's of the real thing for their kids, spoiled as they are just to be living in a place like this.

There is a large established community garden with shade houses, open plots, chicken shed, tools, machines, and marketplace out front on the weekends from which to procure fresh produce plucked from the fertile volcanic soil.

The entire of the mountain area feels a bit like one colossal community garden, There are fruiting trees dotting the area. Mulberries, wild raspberries, strawberries growing in the grass on the roadside, citrus galore (my favourite are the blood oranges), figs, passion fruit, of course the omnipotent avocado, which is the very roots of the agricultural economy up here.Stone fruits are starting to push out furry little buds that will one day in the coming months hang heavy with fruit, at the perfect level for small hands to gather and devour.

Most people are proud of their gardens up here. It makes for a magnificent Sunday drive, anytime of the year as there's always something going on, usually relating to the natural attractions of the area. Springtime on the Mountain just happened which is an open gardens trail. Magnolia, Peonies, Roses, Jacaranda, among literally hundreds of other flowering trees, shrubs, vines. All in show for you and I to gasp and fawn over.

If you don't have a prize winning rose garden, and possibly even if you do, you probably have a wonderfully producing life sustaining veggie patch. Chards of every colour, cabbages and kale, roots like radish, beets, turnip, parsnip, potato, yacon, corn, peas of many variety, gourmet lettuces from all over the globe, ginger and garlic and onion and herbs, oh the scented herb gardens, as you brush past on a cool morning walk and the air around you rises up in a glorious fresh aroma, sparking your imagination and your appetite.

We have a darling little herb garden out the front, under our huge magnolia tree, where you're directly transported to Scarborough Fair when you allow your bare feet to touch the yielding loamy mulch.

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, Thyme, Basil, Oregano, Pennyroyal, Marjoram, Peppermint, Dill, Lemon Balm, and an Eggplant. Soon I'll transplant some pumpkin from the back yard that's going crazy. And down the back we also have the makings of a salsa garden where we intend on putting a handful of different tomatoes and capsicum (bell peppers for you yanks), coriander (cilantro), chili peppers and maybe some amazing garlic. Have you tried fresh garlic, right out of the ground? It is juicy and sweet and bursting of bold garlic flavor. Amazing. Makes you cringe when you have to buy those bags of dried up shriveled old imported garlic at the grocery store. Yuck.

We co-maintain another very large garden plot on my parent's land. We're currently extending it to be double the size it currently is. So far we have a variety of herbs, Bay tree, Galangal, Turmeric, Giant Rosemary bush. Rainbow chard, silverbeet (Swiss chard), lettuce a-plenty, corn, kale, broccoli, snow peas, Brussels sprouts, lemon grass, chives, mint, capsicum, cabbage, pumpkin, whatever I have forgotten which is bound to be one or four things. Elsewhere on the property there are lime, ginger, kaffir lime, mandarin, lemon, a couple dozen avocado trees, and a row of coffee trees.

We harvested the coffee trees a few weeks back. I'll post about that with accompanying pictures next time!

A vast portion of our vegetable intake comes from the food we plant from seed, grow and harvest out of the same virile red dirt our children dig in every day.

The rest, on good weeks, comes from the people living around and among us, doing the same thing. Striving for the same end goal.

This place is a foodie mecca. Every Sunday you can visit "The Green Shed" which is the local producers market, open from 7-noon. If you grow your own gorgeous local organic fruit and veg, or make preserves, fermented dairy products, specialty baked goods, you can become a member and sell your products to other residents here for very little, and bring home quite a nice profit.  Or you can just visit, shop, chat to locals, make friends, get good growing tips on anything you could imagine.

The mountain boasts a world-class cheese factory, brewery, too many to count award winning wineries, a distillery that takes you into another time and place (one of my favourite spots on Tamborine), coffee plantation, restaurants, cafes and delis oh my!

 I invite you to come to our mountain and see for yourself. This Saturday November 5th would be the perfect day, but really any day of the year you will find yourself right in the center of delicious.

The Felting Pot Gallery opens!

Saturday November 5th Is the day our Gallery/Studio opens! If you live in the Southern Hemisphere, pay us a visit! Family friendly, tell your siblings, your friends, their friends, your parents, your parent's parents, your teachers, the guy next to you on the bus, come on. 20 Main Western Road, North Tamborine. Lots of parking out front. Tons to do on the mountain! Share the news please!

Filling the Ranks

We have recently promoted our Son Sebastian to staff photographer. And appointed my Sister Bea as sign writer.

The strapping young professional:

The sneak I saw of some doodling I think was meant for the sign looked incredible, I can't wait to have it on a canvas we'll erect on the facade of the gallery.

Here are some of Sebastian's photographs. We promised him $1 per photo used in the Etsy store. I think that was a touch generous and this kid is going to be rich, quick.