Felting phase 1: Complete!

Finally, finished.

At three o'clock in the morning that night, I had completed the rest of the wool teasing process. That was good news, because intermittantly my hand was siezing up with a sensation that felt like the sound; "sproing!"

Here they are, ready to felt. And, one rainy Sunday later:

10 pieces, roughly A4 size. Looking at this, I know it is obviously not enough! Soon, I will get back on the felting merry-go-round. But now, I am getting back to the crochet, what will end up being the main body of the work. Does that give some idea of the scale I am planning? More posts soon, including one of the entire felting process (warning: it gets very ugly).

And tomorrow; theGRID! 

Craftnoons, Jan 2012. Pt. 2: Felting, felting, felting

So, I am getting close to finishing the first large step in what may be the first of several felting projects, all in anticipation for theGRID's beginning in February. In these last couple of days, I am frantically trying to finish what I can, remember what I was supposed to do, be ready to move in and then....get to it, I guess. Mostly, I am focusing on the least stressful aspect: making things!

The more of a run-up I can get, the better.

Separated fibers.

Swoosh! Brushing. Brushing fluffs out the matted wool.

The brown pile: amazeballs.

The neutral wool that is in the bag, that is the last of it (for now). 

Crafternoons, January 2012.

My artist residency (did I say that right?) begins at theGRID on Wednesday 1st Feb. I am looking forwards to it, a home away from home, and I can probably draw on the walls.
I am currently midway through a huge felting project, definitely related to the commencement of this latest adventure.

You may recognise this cylindrical shape as a measure of hookrug wool. I do not want to make a hookrug in this colour, but I can hopefully find a use for it, as a length of rough, ugly felt (it's still a bit of a secret the as to the why).

Then, using a chopping board and a barbaric steel-bristled wide brush, I turn the pulled apart ply into:

Shitty, ugly fluff! For my health (in case you were wondering) after working with it, I wipe everything in the vicinity down with a wet cloth. It can get into eyes and sinuses, and will be very irritating when it does.

It's taking a while get this mountain of wool done, there's a couple of different colours and a couple of different hanks in each, bags of hanks, boxes of bags. My grandfather used to hook rugs. When he stopped, I got many things that were left over. Join me soon for part two.

Begin anew.

I never got around to the why of all those mushrooms. Those were used in a frantic fortnight of late, late nights and the hysteria you develop after days of reduced sleep. Looking back, I am glad I have photos as it's all a blur of stitch, stitch, stitch, with brief intermissions when Micheal, the owner, wandered past, or when someone noticed the work and came up to the table to play with my stuff. Honestly, these were like rays of sunshine from behind clouds. Creating my work is not all doom and gloom, but it's certainly drudge and trudge, and the light in the tunnel gets faint.
 I appreciate the intermissions.

Beginning of the Creative Tanks project.

My pincushion.

Attaching the mushrooms.

The whole mushroom plan, attached and ready to sew.

That was the first day. At the end of that day, my camera broke, and the next 3 days of the Creative Tanks pop-up exhibit were unrecorded by me, although there are a few images floating around by Nerida Tupas, the mind behind OldFangled Beauties. The work has been completed, and I shall post more of it soon.

An Awkward Juxtaposition of Crafts and Anatomy

DIY vaginas are great. Sometimes the one that comes with the kit can rip or sag with use. It can even get dusty, if you leave it on the shelf behind the preserves and tinned beans for too long. Finally, you will have somewhere nice-smelling and convenient to store petty cash, prophylactics and tranquilizers while haranguing strangers on the street.

The Snatchel.

 

The Snatchel.

Fallopian tube pompoms!

This is The Snatchel, created by Zabet Steward. The colour of this one in particular does my head in, as it is such a violent shade of magenta. She has included instructions to knit your own, and if you feel that the Eurocentric vulva depicted is unattractive, whatever. Make your own. Put your wallet, phone and some chapstick into your vagina, sling it over your shoulder and traipse about the town making some kind of post-punk statement about vagynas and being a womyn, or something.

You can find the instructions here.

The opening of the bag (the vulva)