Spark Fiber Arts

Installation for International Day of Felt at the Corvallis Arts Center.

2009-10-04T19:47:00.000-07:00

It was a wonderful weekend with the installation of the piece I had planned for the International Day of Felt, which was October 3. The installation looked so good we left it up for one more day.

The project turned out really great. Let me explain how we did it. My 4H kids, family and I went to four different public venues in Albany, Lebanon and Corvallis and taught about 60 people to make felt. They made small units of felt approximately 3 inches square which I then dyed in the theme colors of yellow-red from the color wheel. In addition, I went to the Corvallis Waldorf School and with Shellece Millison, taught the 5th grade and the 6th & 7th combined classes how to make felt. Shellece then taught the 8th grade class: altogether about another 40 people. I taught some friends at my studio as well.

So in total, a little over 100 people learned to make felt. The installation itself was made up of 20 strands of wool yarn which hung down from the trees. Each yarn had 16 squares sewn to it at intervals, so that they looked like leaves hanging down from the trees. The squares flickered as the wind blew, much like the flicker of aspen leaves. The strands themselves also moved with the wind. It really was lovely.

Here is a link to some of the photos from the installati on. Some videos are here.
Below is a photo of Shellece and me at the installation.

For more information about the International Day of Felt, go here.

Bellydance T-Shirt Fringe Belt

2009-09-16T12:33:00.000-07:00

I have been doing a lot of bellydancing lately and am now going to start teaching a beginner's class. Wearing something on the hips is very important in bellydancing so that the student can see in the mirror how well their hips are moving. It is also important for the teacher to see if their technique needs to be corrected. One of my bellydance buds, Shellece Swafford Millison, was wearing a fringe belt made from a t-shirt. She said that when she assisted at teaching a class for high school students, they made these belts because they were cheap and easy to do.

So I decided to try and make one for myself and then to teach the students in my class how to do so. I searched online for the instructions, and couldn't find any. So here is my version of how to do this.

T-Shirt Fringe Belt for Bellydance Practice
Pat Spark copyright 2009

This is a simple fringe belt for bellydance class or practice. You will need: a t-shirt broad enough to fit across your hips when it is stretched; a table; sharp scissors or rotary cutter (with mat). If the t-shirt is too broad for your hips, you can cut off some of the sides to make it smaller.

Procedure:

1. Turn shirt inside out so that the seams show.

2. Lay the shirt flat on a table and cut off the top seam and neckline.

3. Cut off the arm and side seams.

4. Cut strips up the body of the t-shirt to make the fringes. They are cut up as high as the underarm. The strips can be from 1 ½ -2 inches wide. Or some can be that wide and some can be ¾ inch wide to make a narrow strip that beads can be strung onto for a little more swing.

5. Add beads to the strips if you want.

6. Use the arms as ties to tie on the belt at your hips. Have fun and dance!

"Tulip 3" is finished!

2009-01-08T16:13:00.001-08:00

I am very happy with the way Tulip 3 came out. Unframed, the piece is 7" x 8". Now I just have to find the right frame for it. I really like the piece. Here is the image without frame.

Here is a detail:

Felt at Convergence 2008

2008-07-11T10:51:00.000-07:00

Here is a list of the felt pieces from the exhibits at Convergence 2008 held in Tampa. It is possible to buy a CD with pictures of the exhibits from Handweaver's Guild of America. However I just went to their site www.weavespindye.org and it wasn't listed yet in their online store. You could give them a call or email if you're interested. (1-678-730-0010 hga@weavespindye.org) I have noted award winners when I knew them. I didn't know them for each exhibit.

Eye of the Hurricane (Felt Exhibit)
Big Wave by Diane Ashley-Smith
Looking for Earth by Joanne Circle
Collecting As I Go by Joanne Circle
Continuous by Amber Corbett
Ebb and Flow by Sharon Costello
Vortex by Anne Flora
Prospero’s Wedding Gift to Amanda by Anne Flora
Tropical Dew Vessel by Sharon Goeres (Honorable Mention Award)
Eye of the Storm by June Jacobs
Windows by Marty Jonas (1^st place Award)
Packaging by Lisa Klakulak
Worn by Lisa Klakulak
Bubble by Lisa Klakulak (2^nd place Award)
Stepping Stones by Darryl Lancaster
Second Time Around by Darryl Lancaster and Piroska Toth
Storm Delta by Lara Magruder
Calm Relief by Merja Markkula
I’m Ready to Build My House Even On The Sea-If Needed by Merja Markkula
Memories of Summer Calm by Pat Spark (3^rd place Award)
Hurricane by Roz Spier

Salsa y Salsa
Hot Chili Pepper – necklace by Giovanna Imperia
Fiber Music Series: A Small Symphony by Anne Flora
Fiber Music Series: Annie E’s Song by Anne Flora

Pearl in the Oyster
Aycayia-She Who Sings Sweetly: a Caribbean Mermaid’s Ceremonial Headdress by Anne Flora
Tropical Hat by Sharon Goeres
Untitled Ensemble by Lisa Klakulak
Klimt Cuff by Lisa Klakulak
Creviced by Lisa Klakulak
How Wild is Your Joker? by Eulanda Sanders (maybe felt, maybe something else)
Murky Meadows by Eulanda Sanders (maybe felt, maybe something else)

Dance of the Flamingos
Starry, Starry Night Dancing Dress by Anne Flora (award winner)
Flamingo Headpiece by Sharon Goeres (award winner)
Coat 1 by Rose Jurisich
Coat 3 Reversible by Rose Jurisich
Ode to Miss Joy by Kay Lange (knitted jacket with felted accents)
Anam Cara by Kay Lange (woven jacket and hat with felt buttons and accents)

Small Expressions
Entrapment by Lisa Klakulak
Shaman by Pamela McGregor

Watercolor-Felt Tulips 3 In Process

2008-07-01T15:53:00.000-07:00

I just returned from the Handweavers Guild of America Conference (Convergence) in Tampa. I really enjoyed myself there, although I did work very hard. I taught a 3 day workshop, a 1 day workshop, and 4 seminars. The big excitement was that my artwork was picked to be on the cover of the Gallery Guide! (The piece is called "Brooklyn, Disparate Parrot" . You can see a better picture of it on my web site www.sparkfiberarts.com, or link from the picture at the bottom of this blog.)
And another one of my pieces was on the inside, as an example of the felting exhibit "The Eye of the Hurricane". I won third price in that exhibit, which was also very exciting. The piece is called "Memories of Summer Calm". In fact, felt did well at Convergence. Two out of the five awards in the fashion show went to felt pieces. (By Sharon Goeres and Anne Flora). Lisa Klakulak won an award in the Eye of the Hurricane Exhibit as well as (I believe) in the Small Expressions exhibit. Sharon also won an award in the Eye of the Hurricane Exhibit. Sorry, I can't remember the other winner in the felt exhibit.

After all of the teaching, I was exhausted when I got back and I've spent the last two days relaxing, unpacking, doing laundry, etc.

I've made progress on the Tulips 3 piece. When I do a Watercolor-Felt:
1. I start with a base of pre-felt that I add impressions of color to. These impressions are based on the drawing or photograph I'm using as inspiration. I look at the image and then use a felting needle to put a blurred, out-of-focus version of the image on the pre-felt base.

Above: Drawing of Tulips 3

2. I then wet felt this base with the blurred image to make the backing more solid. See the felt at this stage at the right.

3. When the felt is dry, I begin adding more precise shapes to the image. I start with the shapes in the background and work my way forward. See the leaves in the photo below.

2008-05-27T23:01:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of some of the merino top I dyed for the tulip piece. I have been busy framing two other works so that they can go off to Convergence in Tampa. I have been photographing the process I use to mount and frame my watercolor felts so that I can include it in the lecture I'm giving at Convergence on "Watercolor Felt". I had a terrible time today with the sun coming in and out of the clouds as I was trying to photograph on my porch! Usually Oregon has great, evenly lighted, overcast days. But not today!

I hope to get the drawings of the tulip piece scanned in a couple of days. And to photograph the piece as it has progressed so far.
More to come.......

New Tulip Piece in Process

2008-05-22T12:43:00.000-07:00

I have a commission for a wall piece similar to one that I made previously. (See photo at left.) Since I never do the same image twice, this new one is going to be slightly different, but have similarly colored tulips (reds and pinks). (To learn more about the original tulip pieces, go to: http://www.peak.org/~spark/Tulips2.html)

To begin this piece, I looked through my files to find images of tulips that I liked. My friend, Kathe Todd-Hooker, had taken some pictures last year at the Woodburn Tulip Festival (Oregon) which had some wonderfully shaped tulips. But the colors were wrong. So I walked around my neighborhood and took photos of red and pink tulips, from several angles in order to get a sense of the colors I wanted to use.

Using these photos, I dyed several pieces of white merino top, in the possible colors for the piece. I also dyed some merino top in a variety of greens for the leaves. When I am working on a piece, I'd rather have more colors than I need to choose from than not have enough. I never know exactly where my mind is going to take me while I'm working, so I like to have lots of possibilities to choose from. Besides, there's always a use for dyed merino top in my felting studio!

More to come........