Thursday 3 March 2016

Hands At Play

More fun at our 'Felt' workshops, or more like messy play for Grown-ups.  Some educational psychologist once said that we learn most, whether adult or child, when we are playing... our brains are relaxed, and using our hands the 'what if' questions of experimentation and creativity start to flow.

We are wrapping stones and bars of soap with wool, and then felting the wool to the shape.  Felting around a bar of soap, is very bubbly...


Felting around a rock to make a paper weight.



 Using Gotland fleece with a few colours makes the warm colours leap out, here a big stone is being felted to make a door-stop.  An integral handel has been added, which only just shows in this picture.



Felt beads, each hand-rolled, arranged look like the planets.



A treasured bead, a work in progress.




This pebble became a felt wrapped 'rock pet'.




Next week we will start to design bags to be made of felt.  So we will be looking at shrinkage, template resist design, and laying out on a larger scale.  So far most of our felt pieces have been quite small.  We will need to work over a couple of weeks as we only have the morning to work in.  Some pieces will have to be transported soggy.  More messy play.

Each week we learn something different.  As a facilitator I learn that being playfull is the easiest way to learn, but also that everyone's creativity is completely unique.  All have access to the same wool, the same water, but the hands are different, the 'what-if' questions are different.

I heard a story about Einstein.  He was asked how come he was so clever.  He answered that he kep asking questions.  Thought provoking.


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