My wool felt keepsake 我的羊毛紀念樣品

 

I call this  "Nicola Sample Pack" - a pack with samples of wool felt and eco prints.

 To prepare for the upcoming series of eco prints and wool felt workshops for a NGO, I made a sample pack of different  textures for students' reference.  One of the techniques is the object enclosure.   A week ago my Irish artist teacher Nicola Brown spent a day with me in Stanley where my tiny studio located.   We strolled in Stanley beach for treasure hunt for future creations. She picked a few broken pieces of pottery bowl used by the fishmen living there decades ago and gave me a sand washed broken glass plate. 

這日為一非牟利團體準備羊毛氈工藝及植物染課程, 做了一份學生參考樣品包, 當中有愛爾蘭老師Nicola Brown  教的技巧, 她訪港期間我們踏海灘, 我把她在灘上檢拾給我的玻璃片包含在樣品上紀念我跟她在葡萄牙的學習與她在香港的時刻. 

I made a nice keepsake for the memory of her nice visit. That's the pack with various samples, some of the skills Nicola taught me in her Portugal workshops.

Lots of shells, broken sand washed pottery and glasses in the bay .......

Handful treasures for Nicola's creation

I got the shell and the sand washed broken glass Nicola gave me.

I used Finn wool as base and part of  the cover made with nuno felt skill.

Surface with techniques of "coble stone", "hole" and "object enclosures".

I wanted it with eco printing sample as well. One side with eucalyptus prints.
The bundle boiled for 1.5 hours in water with onion skins 

The other side with not quite strong print on wool felt surface so I stitched for the clear outline.

I also wanted to show students the making of loops. The flower ring is a good sample.

The hole with "golden sands" running out and a shell enclosed.

  The pack cover is made and named "Nicola ●Stanley 3-3-16"

Then various surface techniques are enclosed - "spikes", " twisted spike", "wool coming out of the hole".........

Nuno felt and fringes......

Textures of nuno felt

Colorful textures with  yarns

Felt with my own cat Mogi's hair

"Clear cut" review

"Shibori" textures- this technique shared by Heather while we're in the same trip to Nicola's workshop

                                  Then I made the pack with all together

 

A sample pack with some of the techniques learnt from Nicola's workshop

 

Sounds Mogi likes it as a wall hanging

Honor to have Nicola visited my studio with some displays I made in her Portugal workshops.

I knew Nicola Brown via Facebook in 2012.  I remembered that year I approached her if I could come to Ireland to learn wool felt. At that time she was going to run a residential wool felt extravaganza in Portugal.  I immediately signed up. For the two consecutive years I learnt from Nicola many skills of wool felt.   To refresh my good memories here 2012 and there 2013 are the blog posts. This year she will have ten days luxurious residential retreat Felting and Eco Printing in Ireland, (details here), in her own country.  I am sure any one joined the workshop will be armed with various techniques.  Since I have schedule conflicts would not be able to join. Do wish to visit the beautiful country sometime in the near future and learn from the brilliant teacher again. 

Nicola Brown , 一位非凡的藝術家, 有幸曾在葡萄牙參與她 2012 (網誌重溫) 及 2013 的工作坊,   七月份她在愛爾蘭的工作坊, Felting and Eco Printing in Ireland, (詳情)  能夠跟隨她學習將會獲益良多.