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Hi Everyone,

10.30am, usual place… knockmarroon gate studio. We really hope you’ll join us to listen to Mary Hoy talk about her own journey in textiles as well as review her recent participation in the wonderful ‘pine needle’ workshop with Leiko.

Hi folks,

An Grianan ICA Educational College in Termonfeckin, Co.Louth has been in touch…

They are wondering if any of our members would be interested in doing a felt needlework class for the weekend of Friday 14^th – Sunday 16^thJune’19. They have a group of 9 members from Donegal who are looking to do Felt Needlework. They provide all tutors with accommodation and meals and have an hourly rate and also pay mileage costs. Please get in touch if you are interested or able to help.

Hi All,

Feltmakers Ireland is a member of DCCoI. We try to forward on to our members events that may be of interest. See the links below for booking for 11th June AGM and seminar of DCCoI.

Join us on June 11th at the National Museum of Ireland for the ‘Creative Livelihoods’ – The Value of Craft in Communities seminar. We have an exciting line-up of speakers that will highlight the value and

opportunities of living and working in rural regions while connecting to a global marketplace. Highlights include Lorna McAuley from the Harris Tweed Authority who will bring us on a journey that maps the

highs and lows of the Harris Tweed industry and what it means to the Isle of Harris. Colin McCallion of eBay will share insights on the potential for online trade and eBays role in opening

the global market place for craft and Chupi Sweetman will share how she grew her brand to operate in 64 countries around the world.

 More Info and how to book

• Website: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/creative-livelihoods-the-value-of-craft-in-communities-tickets-61286377204

The DCCoI AGM is also on on the same date-

To Book AGM https://dccoi.doodle.com/poll/zspw84fcu29wx5s7

Elizabeth Bonnar is the founding member of Felt makers Ireland. At a recent committee meeting she described herself as “the oldest living member” which was quite amusing and a humble introduction! Liz will be leading a 1day workshop on 15^th June on the topic of Nuno felting. Ahead of this we decided to find out a little more about her personal journey and relationship with Felt.

ELIZABETH BONNAR

ELIZABETH BONNAR

Tell us a little about you as a person? E.g. upbringing/ work other than felt etc.

I was brought up in a small town in central Scotland, and had a “free range” childhood, during which I made strong and lasting connections with nature.

My mother was a talented seamstress and knitter and also a creative home decorator.   Home was always full of fabric, yarns, paints, patterns, all set against the constant hum of the Singer sewing machine. From her I developed a strong connection with fabrics, colour, texture and style; my own creativity was rooted in darning and then knitting.

Working life was as a GP in Scotland and England and later in Ophthalmology in Dublin.Over the years I have enjoyed collecting fabrics, yarns and textiles on my travels.

How and when did you start Felting… what is your experience, tell us a little about your journey?

Through joining the Guild of Weavers Spinners and Dyers I discovered felt, a craft I had never heard of, despite my love affair with wool. From that beginning I joined the International Felt makers Association, based in the UK, eventually becoming the local co-ordinator for its Irish members and in 2003 I set up Felt makers Ireland.

Of the many felting techniques I explored, my favourite soon became Nuno felt. Having converted our garage to a studio has given me storage for my stashes of fibre and fabrics, and keeping them all in glass cabinets helps the creative process.

ELIZABETH BONNAR

ELIZABETH BONNAR

Tell us about your process from conception to creation and what is your motivation?

My inspiration starts with the fabric – usually patterned silk, or ultrafine merino. The pattern and the colours guide me to any yarns in my collection that may be incorporated and very soon I can picture in my mind the finished article. My real passion is using silk fibre and fabrics in the design, along with exotic yarns, often in a grid system. At present I am exploring “painting” flowers on to hand painted silk, often using Treetops fibre, which comes in beautiful colour combinations, with silk fibre to match

My motivation is to try to make something beautiful from the colours and textures I have in my collection. Attending a recent dyeing workshop however has shown me there is much more waiting to be explored!

What wool fibres, will do for us is a continuing source of amazement to me; they can be as fine as 14 microns (the human hair is about 60 microns) and when felted can end up as parts in airplane engines or as delicate cobweb felt; they have the ability to travel spirally along their axis in the felting process, wherever we direct them, and then to shrink into the new fabric we are creating – and bring other fibre and fabrics along with them – physics and engineering!

What are you working on now?

I will be giving a 1 day NUNO felt workshop on behalf of Feltmakers Ireland on June 15^th.

You can find the link below for application form and details of the materials required.  I’d love to see many of our community there to share my skills.

NUNO FELTING WORKSHOP JUNE 2019

On behalf of Felt makers Ireland, we sincerely thank Liz for her work on the committee and for setting up this valued organisation. Although Liz intends to step away from committee duties she continues to be a valued contributor. You will be able to see and learn from her skills if you choose to sign up for the 1day Nuno felting experience in June.

All members welcome! ( New members welcomed on the day with the full €25 fee)

We look forward to seing many of you at our AGM on May 19th in Lucan Cof I church hall at 2pm.

We are ssk members kindly to bring along a piece of their recent work- for a “show/display table”, it is really lovely to see all the new and inspiraing work of our talented members and to learn from each other.

We are so lucky to have the textile artist Caroline Schofield attending and she will give a short talk on her work.

Another request we have of our membership is  to participate in a collaborative felt-making project to make a colourful bunting.

Each member is invited to make a bunting triangle of 20cm top- 30cm length- see template, basically your triangle should fit on an A4 page… but all will be accepted.

The idea being that after the AGM, the committee will attach these all together, each one representing a 2019 member. These will then be used for decoration at events such as “Heritage day”, the “Knit & Stitch Show”, future AGM ( and can always be added to) as well as to jazz up the phoenix park studio and remind us all that Felt Makers Ireland is made up of valued individual members.

As always we are looking for Volunteers for the Knit and Stitch show to man the stand and  they will receive free entry in return for 2 hrs of their time. Some of you have already put your names down, which is wonderful and much appreciated.

You can email hello@feltmakersireland.com in advance of the AGM  to sign up or can sign up on a spreadhseet we will have available on the day.

Again we are asking for members to volunter to join the committe… we have one committee member stepping down and one committee member stepping away from a formal role, becoming an ordinary committee member… therefore we appeal for volunteers. We want to keep you guild alive and fresh.

Any bakers out there? please do bring along your tray bakes to the AGM… cakes are always appreciated!!!

End… of announcement… BAAAAAAAAAAAAAH blah, blah, blah, BAAAAAAAAAAAH

We are delighted to announce that at our Annual General Meeting on May 19th at 2pm to which all members of Felt makers Ireland are invited we will host our guest speaker, Caroline Schofield.

Ahead of this talk which we are very excited about we went out to Caroline and asked her to answer just a few little questions. We hope you enjoy this interview and we hope that many of our members will join the committee on May 19^th in St Andrews C of I parish hall, Lucan for the A.G.M when we will be able to listen to Caroline speak about her recent work and career.

Tell us a little about you as a person? E.g. upbringing/ where you work etc?

I live in Kilkenny and currently have a studio in Thomastown in Co. Kilkenny.

Belief 2014 photo credit Sylvain Deleu

Belief 2014 photo credit Sylvain Deleu

Tell us a little about you and your journey in textiles/ arts/crafts.

I come from a long line of Dyers. My Great, Great Grandfather was a Master Dyer in Yorkshire and specialised in dyeing the colour red for the Soldiers Uniform. My Great Grandfather specialised in indigo dye and came to Kilkenny to work in the Woollen Mills. My Grandfather, Dad and Brother all studied Textile Management in Leicester University. I broke out and went to art college in NCAD….and studied Textiles!

Tell us about your personal process, from conception to creation and what is your motivation?

My process involves lots of drawing and playing with materials. My studio walls become a sketchbook. I love the play time and the chasing of a new idea. I am not so mad about actually having to make the work! As an artist friend once said to me “the idea is often enough”!

Hanging my work is important. The shadow it creates is as important as the physical work.

What currently inspires you? Is there a project you are working on or something in your past you are particularly proud of?

I was artist in residence In Waterford Healing Arts Trust (WHAT) in 2016. That residency has moved me and my work into a more socially engaged practice. Currently I am working on a project called Open Gallery with WHAT. It’s a project where we introduce the art collection from University Hospital Waterford onto the wards for patients living with Dementia and their family/carers. I am particularly interested in working with people through the mediums of Textiles/Making and Art creating meaningful conversations and new memories. This week I am inspired by felted bird pods made by patients living with Dementia which are hanging in their hospital garden.

You can learn more about Caroline’s impressive work at her website:

https://carolineschofield.ie/about/

Other useful links: http://www.waterfordhealingarts.com/artists/caroline-schofield/