The women in my mother’s line are an unbroken stream of makers - bakers, cooks, seamstresses, quilters, knitters, crocheters.
They used their hands to create and express themselves. They lived through their hands. For too long, I lived in my mind, an enchanted place filled with stories and glimpses of an otherworldliness that I could never express through my hands until I found felting. Felting gave me a new chance to express myself and my story in its purest and most beautiful sense.
For me, felting is a magical mix of sculpture and sewing.
When my hands are molding wet wool into felt, it’s a heart-energy transfer like I’ve never experienced, a marriage of stories arising out of my hands and into the wool. When a piece dries and is hung, it becomes its own creature. Each person who views it sees something unique, and to me that’s what’s most beautiful. It’s my way to express myself and honor my mother’s bloodline.
When I moved to Maine I was given a second chance at living.
I embarked on my shamanic studies, and Maine became my spiritual center. As I started to explore Maine’s rocky coast, I was reminded how important the sea is to me. It births treasures with deep stories. When I started to listen closely enough I heard them. Some of these treasures wanted to come home with me and intertwine into my felted story creations. Each shell, stick, feather, stone and piece of wood began to fit in with one another.
My hope is that these pieces can bring new magic into the world and that they resonate with a story, memory, or snapshot in time for you to enjoy.
What is Felting?
Felt is the oldest textile fabric dating as far back as 6300 BC. It is created from wool or other animal fibers that are densely matted together. Felting predates spinning, weaving or knitting, and for centuries, this non-woven fabric has been used for yurts, blankets, rugs, hats, boots and clothing. Some of the oldest pieces of felt have been found in tombs and burial grounds in Siberia, Scandinavia, and Germany. Theory holds that cold climatic conditions of these areas helped preserve the fibers through time.
Modern felt making utilizes almost the same techniques that have been used for the last 8,000 years. The creation of felt using traditional techniques requires wool, water, soap and two hands. Wool is laid out in layers alternating from vertical to horizontal alignment in each new layer. Hot water and soap are added, and agitation of the wool roving causes the layered fibers to interlock.
The Materials I Use…
All of the found objects I use in my pieces like branches, driftwood, shells and rocks are collected from adventures on the Coast of Maine and from gifts from friends’ travels. All of the feathers are faux except for the use of some real turkey feathers. I purchase fish flies and some feathers from L.L. Bean in Freeport. The leather remnants I use are from Rough & Tumble in Brunswick. The wool I use is sourced from local farms and purchased at Halcyon Yarn in Bath. I typically use Merino, Romney, Leicester, Shetland, Alpaca and Angora fibers.