Coloured Abstract

Felt is a lovely medium to draw with. It gives you instant blocks of colour, but can blend, act as a see-through filter to diffuse colour intensity and trap threads, lace, and fabrics. I also love the fact that you have to be a bit more spontaneous when drawing with fleece. Although there is definite care taken with balance of composition, detail and colour palette, I find it more expansive a medium to draw with.


This piece starts looking at abstraction, colour and drawing landscapes with felt and the intention is to take these initial studies further with stitch and collage embellishment. But I think I like this one as it is. The majority of the fleece is hand dyed shetland and wensleydale (curly bits) with some pre-dyed merino. I also have some silk tops I'd like to dye and use as a cobweb filter in places too.


The amazing thing about felt is the detail that the fibres give you close up - they could even be mini compositions in their own right. I also like the fact that felt isn't precious. If it doesn't flow as well as you intended then you can always take a viewfinder and find a new composition within, then chop it up!! I haven't done that here - this one is a birthday present - but the one before this has become a smaller composition, a birthday card and three small cards. Hey, it's flexible!


Another quandry I have with felt though is how to present it. Felt by nature tends to produce uneven edges and I like this element but I also love wall to wall colour with no white to distract the intensity/depth of colour. So, edges or no edges? (compare pic 1 and pic 5)
Also should it be behind glass or suspended as a wall hanging? Textiles as wall decorations will trap dust and are then difficult to clean so maybe glass should be used but then it acts as a barrier to the textile itself and it has such a tactile quality - touchy feely. Thoughts anyone?


So more of these to follow. I would like to gather some more source on natural forms and abstract elements in nature or landscapes - microscopic aspects would work here too. More development in the sketchbook and more playing with felt, I think!

Happy Birthday John! I hope you like your felted abstract landscape:-)