MATTISON SHIRLEY
Why Felting?
How Does Felting Work?
The secret to making felt lies in the matieral itself. Wool, and other mammalian fibers tends to mat together when it gets wet or agitated. Why does it do this?
Wool is comprised of individual fine strands, where each strand features a solid core with a scaly surface. These scales are invisible to the naked eye and point away from the root of the fiber.
The scales are long and pointy, and can even resemble thorns when observed under a microscope. At rest, these thorny scales lie close and flat to the solid core of the wool strand. But when wool is rubbed, or wet, the scales flare outwards from the solid core. These naturally occurring scales hook and become entangled with other fibres. The act of felting, regardless of the felting process, bonds wool fibres together and compresses them, making a dense, flat and warm fabric with all kinds of uses.
Process
Wet Felting is a technique for transforming wool and other animal fibers into the dense fabric known as felt. Warm, soapy water is applied to layers of wool positioned at 90-degree angles to one another, causing them to hook together into a single piece of cloth. Following the completion of the wet felting process, the felted object is finished by fulling or agitating the fibers against a rough surface such as a washboard or industrial felting machine.
Wool roving used to start the felting process.
This drum carder is used to open the fibers and lines up each individual fiber in the same direction. This tool is for blending different types of fibers and colors together.
After making multiple layers of wool, I start to make the colorful composition.
Placing the wool composition on the industrial felting machine.
This is an image of the industrial felting machine used to finalize the felting process. Once the machine is closed, the two panels shift from side to side causing friction to allow the wool fibers to knot together to create a solid peice of fabric.
Felting first sparked my interest in that it is the most ancient form of textile art. Its process is unique and complex in how the fiber's scales open and knot together when heat and friction is applied. This process is also irreversible, and the knots in the felt, form itself. The felting process ends with a new material, different from before.
I am fascinated by felts versatility. From its form and multifaceted uses. Each work of felted art is unique, in that no one piece can be exactly replicated. Felting is an organic and natural process that has a mind of its own. This material provides durability as well as withstanding intense heat and pressure. Wool can also be felted with other fibers, adding to its many properties.
I believe throughout the felting process, the felt becomes more and more itself, even through all the changes.
Understanding the process in which felt is formed, is what makes this material truly unique. As the artist, I have little power over the composition of carefully positioned colors once the felting process begins. The final work is truly a product of nature runing its course.
These felted canvases aim to reinvent traditional paintings with a modern twist. These pieces live in a modern and traditional interior space that are also applicable to many different environments. The vivid colors and exaggerated textures stand out against the simplistic design elements of a modern home, along with providing a perfect statement piece. These pieces can be sold individually or sold in multiples. The sizes, color, and textures provide an interchangeability to be able to group and mix and match them together.