As the first part of our preparations for the exhibition in August we are planning to visit the Botanic Gardens on Saturday next – 2nd March at 2pm.  A member of the education team in the Gardens will guide us to look at plants of  interest to feltmakers.  In particular plants that can be used in dyeing and plants that yield fibre than can be used with wool in feltmaking.  Everyone is welcome and we are meeting at the entrance to the Visitors Centre cafe. It will be a great opportunity to start planning you entry to the exhibition

Origins: Felt in the Natural World

August 7th – 24th 2013

As part of its 10^th Anniversary celebrations Feltmakers Ireland will be holding an exhibition of members work in the National Botanic Gardens Origins : Felt in the Natural World. There are so many links between the natural world and the craft of feltmaking that we feel the Gardens are a perfect venue to inspire our members and to present our work to the public. The exhibition will present all the different techniques of feltmaking and include both sculptural and functional work. The pieces will represent the  makers response to the natural world and in particular to the plants in the National Botanic Gardens.  Wool is the primary material used in feltmaking but the botanical world provides such a rich resource of additional materials in the form of fibres ( such as bamboo, flax, hemp) and also  natural dyes (for example madder, indigo, marigold). We will be hosting adult and children’s workshops during the exhibition to encourage as many people as possible to share in the magic of feltmaking.