The Guinness Book of Records has said that the huge knitted wool map of Ireland, created by a group of knitters at Carnew Community Care, in Co Wicklow, is the largest 3-dimensional knitted scene in the world! The map is 5 by 4 metres, took over four years and thousands of hours to make. It includes buildings and places iconic to Ireland.
There is also a short, cute video on the above website – so many cool details!
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There’s an interesting trio of exhibitions in the Brabant region of the Netherlands devoted to the work of sculptor/installation artist Magdalena Abakanowicz.
The TextielMuseum in Tilburg, Het Noordbrabants Museum, and Provincial House of Noord-Brabant, ‘s-Hertogenbosch – are the three institutions.
“Abakanowicz was fascinated by the texture of textiles and the structure of natural fibres. She used this fascination as a basis for her weavings, but also to depict the human body. She travelled all over the world to set up her exhibitions herself and placed the sculptures in the middle of the space to create an ‘environment’, a world of her own. With this spatial concept, she was one of the forerunners of installation art.”
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“Orla Kiely is one of the UK and Ireland’s most successful designers. Her stylised graphic patterns are innovative, influential and instantly recognisable. With a global audience in thrall to the rhythms and repeats of her designs, this exhibition explores the power of decoration to transform the way we feel.” – From the DCCI’s website.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
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Winner of Feltmarker’s Ireland’s Educational Bursary of 2024, Adrienne Dempsey, attended Lindsey Tyson’s online course, ‘Transfer Printing onto Felt and Other Fabrics’.
I would like to thank Feltmakers Ireland and guild member Doris Reinisch for the generous bursary prize of €250 award for 2024. Doris’s name was originally pulled from the draw at our annual AGM. However, due to her having previously won the bursary prize, Doris kindly permitted us to randomly select another name from the draw and give the prize to another member. {You can read about what Doris studied HERE on the blog.}
To my surprise and joy, I was informed I had won the bursary prize. I chose an online course, ‘Transfer Printing onto Felt and Other Fabrics’, with Lindsey Tyson. The bursary prize money contributed towards this course.
I first saw Lindsey’s printed felt products on Instagram and her website, Lindsey Tyson Art. Lindsey had a successful career in textiles, has been printing on felt for many years, and has developed her own techniques. I am amazed at her printed felt products and how she mastered such clear, precise and detailed images – especially onto felt. The course is not a felting course; it consists of How to Transfer Prints onto Felt and other Fabrics. Lindsey has produced a comprehensive pre-recorded course to share her expertise. Lindsey’s video tutorials provide hours of demonstration, which is backed up by documentation that can be printed out, which I found really useful.
I pondered for some time before signing up for this course, as I knew this printing method would involve a certain amount of equipment and software. I decided not to rush out and buy a laser printer or a heat press. I used local resources around me, as I had access to a laser printer that I could use. I had been a member of a print studio, and I arranged to use their textile heat press to get me started.
The course covers in great detail how to design and manipulate images. It includes tutorials on using free software as well as paid software like Photoshop. I had an old version of Photoshop on my desktop that I could use, and I had great fun at the start trying to remember how to use this software, as it’s been a few years since I used it. I found Lindsey’s Photoshop tutorials a great guide, and I hope to get more proficient using Photoshop.
I’ve enjoyed all the course content very much, especially the fabric design elements. I was delighted to find a way of combining my line drawings, paintings, and photographs. I learned how to design my own imagery and patterns so that I could transfer my designs onto felt. I also learnt about fabrics suitable for printing.
This course taught me the importance of choosing the right type of paper to transfer onto felt when using a laser or inkjet printer. I used Lindsey’s paper recommendations and purchased paper from her website.
I experimented a lot. I had several prints with which I was not pleased with the print quality. I discovered that the quality of your print can be down to not using the right temperature, pressure, and trimming on the heat press.
I felted large squares of felt in white 19-micron Merino wool, and I also bought prefelt Merino wool in preparation to print. To practice printing onto felt, I used free image resources recommended in the course, my photography, line drawings, and paintings.
The First One
For my first attempt at printing, I used free images printed on 19-micron Merino wool.
Floral Experiment
Next, I worked with a flower photograph that I edited in Photoshop, ready to print and transfer onto extra-fine prefelt. I wanted to see how clear I could get this image from a photograph printed onto paper and then transferred onto felt. I hoped this image would pick up the shadows and colours that I liked about the original picture. It was interesting to see the printed results when transferred onto felt.
Repeat Patterns
Experimenting with a repeat pattern, tree images were transferred onto a 19-micron Merino.
Three-Dimensional Work
I really enjoyed making the below nature-printed pebbles and brooches using core wool and 19-micron Merino wool. I am pleased with the finished printed results.
Line drawing flower printed onto a felt pebble.
A robin painting printed on three felted pebbles, with a free robin with a holly branch image transferred onto a felted brooch.
Conclusion
I highly recommend this course if you want to learn to print onto felt and other fabrics. The beauty of the pre-recorded online course is that you can access it indefinitely, always revisit parts if you are unsure, and can take it at your own pace.
Ongoing course support is great. There is a private Facebook group where you can share your ideas, questions and any problems you may have, and Lindsey is always on hand to answer your questions and ensure you have all the information you need to succeed via email and Facebook.
Lindsey Tyson is having a Moving-On course sale on ‘Transfer Printing onto Felt and Other Fabrics’. She is moving away from feltmaking and printing to focus solely on her painting practice. NOTE: Registration for the class closes on the 30th of April. But once you purchase this course, you will have unlimited access.
Feltmakers Ireland would like to thank Adrienne Dempsey for her lovely report and congratulate her on these brilliant course results.
We will hold a raffle for another Educational Bursary at our AGM in May. If you have not done so already, please renew your membership for a chance to win!
Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.
‘Timelines Growth and Catastrophe’ is a collaboration between eight contemporary Irish tapestry weavers. It showcases one large tapestry and eight individual works. The artists are the following: Muriel Beckett, Tish Canniffe, Pascale De Coninck, Frances Crowe, Lorna Donlon, Terry Dunne, Catherine Ryan, and Heather Underwood.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.
The Contemporary Art Modern Project Gallery (CAMP Gallery) invites fibre artists to submit proposals for the 7th edition of their annual exhibition, ‘Women Pulling at The Threads of Social Discourse: Don’t be Absurd’.
“The exhibition will explore absurdism, referencing Franz Kafka, Albert Camus, Simone de Beauvoir, Jose Saramago and/or Samuel Beckett. Artists will apply the ideas and concepts in these works to our modern world, through which industry and politics are still and often dehumanised. Sub-topics include but are not limited to childhood in industrial societies, sexuality, gender, women’s rights, and education. We asked artists to create circular fibre works to symbolize the continuation of hope in our present experience as we strive to overcome a certain sense of nothingness.” – the gallery’s website.
They ask that artists submit a proposal first, detailing how their piece complements the chosen text, with an accompanying sketch and/or render. Please do not make any pieces before notice of acceptance.
The exhibition is in North Miami, Florida (USA) and runs from the 10th of October – the 20th of December 2025.
Last day to submit proposals for large-scale work – March 15, 2025 Last day to submit proposals – April 15, 2025
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
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Feltmakers Ireland guild member Helena Mc Guinness is presenting a solo exhibition of her multidisciplinary work at the Ballyfermot Library Gallery in Dublin. The exhibition, titled ‘The Journey,’ reflects her creative path, which began at the age of nine when she sold her first three knitted garments. Over the years, Mc Guinness has explored a variety of artistic media, now coming full circle as she returns to working with wool.
When: The exhibition runs from the 4th to the 28th of February, with the official opening on Saturday, the 8th, from 2 to 4 PM. Feltmakers are warmly invited to attend!
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
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We’re sorry for posting this one at the last minute, as it closes on Saturday, but this art exhibition looks inspiring. Online sources are filled with excellent pictures and information if you cannot instantly travel to London in Dr Who’s TARDIS.
The Alison Jacques Gallery presents ‘Lenore Tawney & Toshiko Takaezu: A Remarkable Friendship’, which is a two-person exhibition dedicated to the work and 50-year friendship of Lenore Tawney (1907-2007) and Toshiko Takaezu (1922-2011).
According to Tawney’s website, her “career as an artist did not begin in earnest until the age of fifty.”
Kim is a former feltmaker, who now focuses on basketry. She has a long-running and informative blog that is worth following.
Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.
The CAMP Gallery in Miami is hosting a live chat, ‘Let’s Talk Fiber,’ between art historian and curator Carrie Scott and artist and writer Danielle Krysa (of ‘The Jealous Curator’) as part of the gallery’s mission to celebrate and elevate fibre/textile arts through exhibitions and meaningful conversations.
Tune in LIVE TODAY, this Friday, 12/20, at 12:30 PM EST on Instagram. (That is 5:30 PM Dublin Time!)
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.
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