Workshops - Past and Future
Home Page Membership Form Exhibitions Knitting & Stitching Show Monthly Meetings		Feltmakers Ireland host approximately four workshops per year. These workshop have proven to be enormously popular - the attendance lists tend to fill up very quickly. Our Basic and Beyond day in January 2007 had 34 people attending with a waiting list of others hoping to get a place. So if you are interest in any future workshops please be sure to put your name down by the deadline. In an effort to be fair to all our members places will be allocated by randomly picking out the number of places (eg 24 for the bag workshop in April) on the date give as the deadline.   Workshops for 2008 Our ever popular Basic and Beyond workshop will be held on Saturday  January 26th next in the Taney Parsih Centre in Dundrum in Dublin.. Anyone interested in taking part should contact Kathrina Hughes at kathrinah@eircom.net   Workshops for 2007 Next Workshop:  a three day master class with Janette Appleton from the UK will take place in Airfield House from November 9-11th. Bookings for this workshop have now closed. Previous Workshops: Bags, bags...and more bags We held a one day day workshop exploring the wide variety of hollow form bags that can be created from felt on Saturday  April 28th. The tutors Eleanor Roche and Rosemary McCarthy Murrough gave participants an inspiring day and there were some beautiful bags made. Monika Auch Monika gave a two day workshop on Friday and Saturday 15th & 16th June 2007 in Taney Parish Centre, Dundrum, Dublin.  Monika also gave a public lecture about her work on Thursday evening 14th June at 7.30 pm entitled "High tech textiles from the Lowlands". The workshop was booked out and there was a very large attendance at the lecture. The workshop and public lecture were generously funded by the Crafts Council of Ireland.  A review of the workshop: A two day master class by Monika Auch.Felt made from nails and wire and horse hair!   On arriving the tables were laid with large rolls of white-carded fleece, squares of sponge, piece of bubble wrap, a crochet hook and felting needles were also supplied. Monika Auch led the course with an introduction about herself, a weaver, who uses High tech yarns (among other materials) to weave 3 dimensional pieces. The workshop was structured to make us think about what we were doing with felt and our emotional response to the materials. The first session we were all presented with two pieces of fabric; beautiful metallic and yellow gaudy netting, we were then invited to use materials that Monika had brought (horse hair, wire, silk, netting, etc). Thinking about what the fabrics meant to us there was a great buzz and everyone got stuck in to creating sample pieces. The fabulous carder was at the workshop and many of us learnt to use it for the first time. A hammer and hole puncher was also available bringing further dimensions (and holes!) to felt produced.  Towards the end of the first day we all showed our samples on central tables. We were asked to pick one piece, hold it up and think about what qualities we liked about it and why? It was an invitation to critically think about felt – a framework to explore the groups work become more informed about what we liked and did not like and to use that information to develop our work further.  For homework we were set the task of finding materials ‘alien to fleece’ in our homes. We were encouraged to think outside the box. The following morning the room was like a treasure trove.As we walked around the room non-traditional felting materials whetted our appetites and inspired us to action. Fleece got stabbed, stuck, twisted and felted around rope, metal, netting, glass, plastic, aubergines, carrots, pot scrubbers and an acorn!  Such was the diverse array of materials and methods used to make felt at Monika Auch’s workshop. The end results were very satisfying, looked amazing and we all benefited from each others learning experience. Monika also gave each participant a one-on-one consultation, having asked us to bring in past and current work and  this was useful in planning future projects.  Monika Auch is a very skilled facilitator who successfully challenged us in our approach to feltmaking and in the use of non-traditional materials. I will never look at a metal pot scrubber, an aubergine or carded fleece in the same way. Roisin Markham    Workshops gone by...... July 2006 - Jenny Mackay gave  two one day workshops on working with very fine felt. The workshops were held in the beautiful setting of Airfield House in Dundrum in Dublin.  The first workshop of the year was held on Saturday February 4th  called "Basics & Beyond". This workshop introduced people new to feltmaking to the huge variety of styles and techniques that are possible and explored the principles of feltmaking, using surface decoration, texture, nuno and 3D felt. Earlier in March we hosted a workshop given by the internationally acclaimed felt artist Chad Alice Hagen. There were two 2 day workshops,  the first was in the Draiocht Arts Centre in Blanchardstown in Dublin on 7th and 8th of March and the second in Grennansmill, Thomastown, Co.Kilkenny on Saturday and Sunday 11th & 12th March. Chad Alice Hagen taught the workshops in Shibouri Dying Techniques. This was a unique opportunity to learn the principals of the Japanese art of Shibori dyeing and explore colour and pattern using this ancient resist dying technique. These workshops received funding from the Crafts Council of Ireland which has facilitated us being able to provide the workshops at reduced cost.       There were four workshops in 2005: Fun With Felt - a One Day Course held on January 29th 2005. The course explored the magic of felmaking and taught those attending basic as well as innovative techniques of feltmaking.There were samples of exotic fibers from different countries and those attending got an opportunity to experiment with a huge range of fibres and a dazzling array of fine merino wool colours.    The celebrated Norwegian feltmaker Evelyn Refsahl taught two workshops in April 2005 Big Bags with Leather 6th/7th April2005 This workshop taught how to make large bags with pockets and stitched leather bases. The durable and elegant bags  with unique felt fastenings were designed by Evelyn. Seamless Waistcosts and Tops 9th/10th April 2005 In this workshop Evelyn Refsahl taught how to design your own seamless waistcoat/slipover/top using special techniques she had developed.  Feltmakers Ireland hosted a workshop in July and one our our members compiled this report: Cobweb Felt Workshop with Jenny Mackay July 2nd 2005 "This marvellous workshop took place in Castleknock with Jenny as our teacher. She taught us to make the lightest, thinnest thistledown felt that any self respecting spider who happened to gaze down on us from his web would have been proud of. We spread the fibre in lengths of fleece of about eight to ten inches, spreading them further and further apart, and then just as we thought things were getting a bit far stretched, we spread them out a bit more. We mixed in different fibres and added scraps of chiffon or organza and varied the colours of the fleece. Mostly the fleece ran in only one direction, but areas needing to be stronger, like the ends of a scarf, might be made with an equally thin layer of fleece at right angles. Ends and edges were organic or organised as required. If making a Dr Who style scarf, as the fleece was laid out on the available surface it was wetted, covered with a plastic film and rolled around a poll or roll of newspaper, thus leaving an everlasting supply of available table top. Some people used the ample floor space to lay the whole piece flat. Finally the whole wetted layered out piece was rolled and in a suprisingly short time – perhaps 150 rolls, had become a piece of lace like textile. Edges were smoothed and fringy bits encouraged to do the right thing, and then a bit more rolling with perhaps a further spray of minimally soapy water. Then we polished the surface with a pad of plastic or bubble wrap that was very effective. Then if we wanted to we wet the piece and threw it quite gently onto the surface, until satisfied that it was finally strong enough. We could also roll it in our hands. A final rinse, a stroking into shape and a very short drying time and there we were, a bit wet and soapy, all thrilled with our featherlike creations. This was another really successful day, and many many thanks to all the organisers at Feltmakers Ireland for working so hard to give all of us so much pleasure, instruction, creativity and fun with an inspirational teacher. I am sure I am not alone in hoping that there are many more such days waiting in the wings. Thinking of wings, it’s a pity I don’t have a pair, to fly me from Glenageary to Castleknock…maybe I could make them out of gossamer felt". Rosemary McCarhty-Morrogh July 2005