Pages

Thursday, May 2, 2013

What can I felt now?

Last September I went into a felting frenzy following a week's forum with Anita Larkin, where I kept trying to felt objects, completely encasing things that you wouldn't expect, with varied success of course, sometimes with the associated question from someone "how did you get it in there?" but more often "so why did you do that, again?"
Undaunted I've carried on, midst comments from my better half like "wet dog smell again - your mother's still obsessed" and "is it safe to sit down yet with out being covered in wool?" and the favourite "are you going to felt something useful soon?"

Sooo, with our anniversary coming up I decided to teach him a lesson.

With his great love of music, any music it seems, he has several pairs of headphones.  But one set is treated with such care and attention, never to be laid of its side without adequate cushioning for fear of "imbalancing the connectors"etc. In fact the best storage place is seemingly on a person's head according to him.

No, I know what you're thinking but I didn't felt those - that would have been too cruel (not to mention costly).

I decided to felt a head for him!

So here it is in its dry felted infancy - a blob about 50cm by 30cm (a 30cm ruler is in the photo for scale) covering a polystyrene head which is about 30cm by 20cm inside.  I need it 1.5 to 2x bigger to account for the shrinkage on felting.

A little decoration of dark green roving strands were addded and wet felting of the outer skin started.

Once the felt has strength, the bubble wrap/  bulking material inside is removed (through a tore hole) and the fun of fulling the felt, shrinking it to shape gradually begins.  With care the torn hole can be resealed as the felt fulls trapping the head inside.
A very loose shroud -

 then more of a mask - 
Slowly shrinking in the neck area and the features begin to develop - 

 until finally a head appears - 


and does it serve its purpose?


I think so!
The truth will come out on Monday 6th.....


6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love it, Helen!!!!! That is so cool.

Max the Lobster said...

amazing! I hope he appreciates the months of wet dog smell now!

Catherine said...

What a fantastic idea!

ferinn said...

What a great and unique object!

sharon young said...

What a fabulous present, so clever and fit for purpose. Hope he liked it.

Fibrenell said...

thanks guys, and yes he did like it - sat it in pride of place beside his hifi.