To my great surprise and joy, I received a call a while back, to be told I had won a bursary voucher from Feltmakers Ireland to put towards any course I’d like to do in felting. (Editor’s note: Ramona won the Membership Renewal Draw, which took place at our AGM in May).
I chose Pam de Groot’s surface treatment course, ‘Surface, Form and Space’. This online course is great for learning various techniques for adding parts and creating form and texture in felt.
The course consists of 7 modules/weeks with activities from undulations, lumps and bumps, buttons and claws, as well as pimples, warts, connections and brains, all of which can be used to create new and interesting forms in your felt. I very much enjoyed the first two modules, particularly as I created four little characters that my daughter and her partner fell in love with and claimed as their own. (See image below).
One of the pieces created by Ramona Farrelly in Pam de Groot’s ‘Surface, Form and Space’ online course.
Pam is ever present with helpful and encouraging comments. Her instructions are clear and concise. The beauty of the online course is that the parts can always be revisited if you’re unsure.
Students ask questions and receive feedback from the tutor for the duration of the course. During the last two weeks, the students create a felted project combining the learned techniques.
The Ruzuku platform also allows student interaction via posting images and commenting. This is very useful to everyone on the course. Reading each other’s comments and gaining more knowledge this way adds to the tutor’s teaching. (More information about Pam’s classes can be found on her website).
A piece Ramona created around a hard object – a ceramic vessel that she made.
The International Feltmakers Association (IFA) has a series of online wet felting workshops: Part 1- Discovering Feltmaking; Part 2 – Using Colour; Part 3 – Surfaces and Edges; and Part 4 – 3D Felt.
These online workshops have been developed by the IFA to help create an understanding of the process of making wet felt, paying particular attention to the quality of the finished felt.
These courses are invaluable for all feltmakers. You may be just starting out in feltmaking or, as a more seasoned feltmaker, want to find answers to your questions. Our workshops teach you how to make small-scale samples using the wet-felting method. By the end of each course, you will have created a personal resource that you can refer to for all of your feltmaking projects. Open to IFA members and non-members.
Enrollment is open for Pam de Groot’s online class, ‘Surface, Form, and Space‘. This class covers three-dimensional felting techniques. Pam says it is an intermediate to advanced course. Editors’ note: I would take this class before her other class, the project-based, ‘Textures and Dimensions’,which begins in mid-October.
Via the online learning platform Ruzuku, you will learn many skills and techniques in the eight weeks of the course. The first six weeks are based on making samples with these techniques, and the last two weeks are spent on an individual project named the “Samplodicus”. This final project will be a combination of the techniques learned previously in the course and include undulations, large foreign objects, buttons, warts, pimples, claws, lumps, bumps, brains and connections.
Raised Surfaces create great textural dimension through the construction of felt forms that rise up and over the surface of our felt. By repeating these forms, we establish a strong sense of movement, creating felt canopies of leaves or waves, a floating garden of felt or silk blossoms, or dancing, twisting bone-like structures.
We make a series of samples in this class. These techniques can be applied to a vast range of felting projects, including wall hangings, vessels, sculptures, bags, and even garments, for the bold!
This online class runs from the 1st of September to the 30th.
The organiser of Felting Camp, Corrina Nitschmann, has an upcoming class in wet felting: Animals for Grins: Crazy Chickens & Funny Frogs. It is currently on sale.
It is a two-part class. In the first section, Crazy Chickens, you will learn different methods for funny combs and contrasting wattles and tails. Additionally, you will learn what differences occur through various types of wool. The second section, Funny Frogs, starts on the 22nd of August. In this part, you will use a resist technique and decorate the frog’s back with felted surface embellishing techniques. There’s no needle felting, however.
The class has two live Q&A sessions via Zoom, along with downloadable videos and PDF instructions.
The World Crafts Council Europe in collaboration with the Design & Crafts Council Ireland is offering a 6 week intensive online course on how to grow your craft & design enterprise.The course is comprised of 6 modules with one-on-one mentoring sessions and a final pitch day, all designed to help you to advance your small business or craft enterprise and grow in the areas where you need it most!
After a two year postponement, we have finally put the plans in place to bring you an online zoom workshop with the world renowned felt maker NANCY BALLESTEROS from TREETOPS COLOURS, Australia. The workshop will take place on MAY 28th 9-12am and will be a MEMBERS ONLY workshop at a cost of 30 euro. Limited to 30 participants. There will be a follow up, in person, meet up a few weeks after to catch up, finish or discuss our endeavours with each other. Sadly Nancy won’t be there in person though! Most importantly, to participate in this workshop there is a video that Nancy wants us to watch beforehand.
If you are interested, we would encourage you to sign up quickly as there is growing interest from non members worldwide to join Feltmakers in order to take part in this workshop. Nancy is passing on the information to those who enquire about workshops she is doing. If you’ve got a membership that needs renewing ,maybe now is a good time!
That and workshop enquiries can be made by emailing us at
Postage has also resumed from Australia so if you’re tempted by visiting Nancy’s shop and maybe purchasing, she is sure to get orders out asap. Treetopscolours.com.au
First of all, I would like to thank the Feltmakers Ireland for the generous Prize of 200 Euros that I have won in a prize draw after renewing my membership for 2021. The prize money was contributing towards a felting workshop of my choice throughout the year 2021.
At the beginning of October 2021, I participated in a six week long virtual online 3D felting workshop called ‘Contemporary Dancer’ by Molly Williams. The weekly course material was accessible via an online platform ‘ruzuku.com’. Each weekly module was accessible with video instructions and the group of participants also had a Zoom meeting with Molly. We were able to discuss our projects, tips and tricks, and how to overcome difficulties throughout the different stages of completing the contemporary dancer sculpture. The course was directed towards advanced skilled felters and the instructions were very clear and easy to follow. It began with looking at the human form and drawing of the body in different shapes and movements. As we progressed towards selecting the movement and shape of the contemporary dancer, we were working with a sketch book to generate ideas.
After deciding on the dancer position, we created the skeleton (50cm tall) of the body form with a strong wire. When the skeleton was ready, we added a tissue layer by covering the wire with a light wooly material strips as a felting starting point. We applied layers of felt wool to build up tissue and muscle of the body form. This technique was an interesting experience for me, as we were applying the wool in a similar way as to working with clay. As soon as we were happy with the shape we created the skin by preparing a colourful and textured strong pre-felt. The skin was applied to the body where my sewing skills came in very useful.
The next step was to wet-felt the whole dancer more intensely until the skin was felted on to the felted layer below. It was important to achieve a more solid final shape. After a few days, the felt sculpture was dry enough and the head was decorated with my prepared felted piece. Finally, my contemporary dancer sculpture was ready to be attached to my wooden platform for display.
I had a lot of fun creating the sculpture, even if there were a good few challenges to master. The workshop in general was well set up and the host was very helpful and supportive. It was a great opportunity for learning and exchanging my felting experience with other experienced felters from abroad during the workshop in the zoom meetings and through online chatting on the course platform. Participating in this workshop opened up a new perspective on using the felt technique for 3D sculpting, and it was new experience for me to participate at a felt workshop online. Not just the outcome of my final sculpture, but also the journey involved was very enjoyable. I thought I’d share a little insight about my participation at the contemporary dancer workshop with you. If you have any questions I am here for you and you can contact me by email: dorisreinisch@yahoo.com. Many thanks to you all. Best regards, Doris
Feltmakers Ireland would like to thank Doris for her lovely report and gratulate her for a brilliant result from the course.
We will raffle another bursary in the next month or two, so make sure to renew your membership in time to be in with a chance!
Talk: Launch ships and burn towers: Beatrice Elvery and Patrick Pearse
Upcoming Needle felting landscape courses at The Muddle
Talk: Launch ships and burn towers: Beatrice Elvery and Patrick Pearse
It explores the fascinating relationship between Patrick Pearse and the artist Beatrice Elvery. Several of Elvery’s paintings hung in Pearse’s school, Scoil Éanna and she also illustrated Pearse’s book, ‘Íosagán agus Scealta Éile’. The talk will also look more generally at the central role which art played in Pearse’s innovative and experimental school. Hopefully these stories will inspire you and be just what you need to get your creative juices flowing and help you beat the January blues. The talk will also look at aspects of the history of early 20th century Irish stained glass and will help you in finalising your ideas towards submission for Keep Well Felt with Us Felt Stained Glass Exhibition scheduled for launch in Pearse Museum in April. The Pearse Museum and St. Enda’s Park are managed and run by the OPW.
For the online class you will need a basic kit which you can order on the website or collect from the shop. The kit is provided for the inhouse class. Here are the two links.
The muddle is also planning classes this year in natural wool fibre preparation, wool washing, dyeing, carding and spinning.
They are also starting Kids after schools classes and adult weekly mixed craft sessions. Also on the website. The classes will differ each week depending on the tutor. Like a plethora of art and craft, tasters sessions etc.
