On Wednesday I taught my first needle felt landscape workshop since lockdown. I was really nervous about whether we would all feel safe as well as the usual anxiety about pushing myself out of my comfort zone, ie. leaving my Spinnery! I needn’t have worried though, the hall at St Columb Major, north Cornwall, was big enough for us all to keep our distance and warm enough for me to keep it well ventilated. Most participants wore masks and I used a clear visor so everyone could hear me properly.
The aim of the workshop was to make a needle felt landscape, I don’t supply a picture for everyone to copy as I think we all learn more if everyone is working on a picture that speaks to them on a more personal level. Some participants brought their own reference pictures and I had a supply of photographs and some of my own needle felted works for people to use as references if they chose to. As usual the range of inspiration was huge, I just love seeing what people want to make and I learn so much from seeing how each individual approaches the colours, fibres and textures within their piece.
One lady worked from my picture of Cookworthy Knapp, otherwise know as ‘The Nearly There Trees’ or the ‘Coming Home Trees’ .
Needle felt picture of Cookworthy Knapp on a wet felt background.
She changed it up by adding a sunset sky, making good use of some orange recycled sari silk fibres for added vibrancy.
There is always someone who comes to the workshop with a clear idea of what they want to make which is not necessarily what the workshop is aimed at. This keeps me on my toes but also means that unexpected opportunities for learning more about what I do arise. This time it was a lady who had brought along a beautiful old tin with a stylized image of a greyhound on it which she wanted to use as her design. I have to admit to being a tiny bit worried at first because with such a sparse design there is nowhere to hide if you don’t have an eye for line and form. Luckily she did and I think that her picture is so beautiful and captures the grace and speed of the dog really well.
The lady on the left made a fantastic picture of a very dark and stormy Dartmoor scene with a standing stone in the foreground and a tiny tent clinging to the moorland but in danger of being blown away at any moment. I think she must have had a lot of experience of stormy days out in the wilds because the finished picture was really atmospheric. Please don’t be concerned about the lack of distance between these two ladies as they are part of each other’s bubble.
My home ground, Roughtor, was represented by one participant. I was really interested to see how she would tackle her picture and how it would turn out. My home is at the bottom of this tor and because I see it full size in all its glory everyday I find it really difficult to condense it down into a picture. I have managed one which you can view here and I am encouraged to try to do some more Roughtor works after seeing how this one turned out. It was not quite finished at the end of the workshop so the lady was keen to continue to work on it at home. I look forward to seeing pictures of the finished work as I think she had a really lovely style with some fantastic colour and texture on the tor which was achieved by using some hand dyed polworth lamb locks.
One lady had bought the workshop for her mother as a birthday present which I thought was a wonderful idea. They came together and made a couple of really lovely pictures, one of a poppy field and one of a landscape with conifers. The daughter was worried that she wasn’t an arty person but I think she blended the different blues together for her sky really beautifully so she obviously has an eye for colour which is a really great place to start.
The last two participants managed to create a couple of really painterly pieces. At the beginning of the workshop I had talked about how fibres can create a watercolour type effect and I think they both illustrate this well but in totally different ways.
All in all, it was definitely worth the sleepless night before! There will be more fibre art workshops at St Columb Major in North Cornwall. Do get in touch if you are interested either in coming to a workshop or in arranging for me to give a workshop at your venue or to your group. Don’t forget to sign up to my newsletter on the contact page to hear about all that is happening and to access special offers.
