Scarf It Up!

Why Don't I Keep Up This Blog?

2020-02-03T13:23:00.000-05:00

Goggle Analytics tells me that I've had dozens of visitors to my blog in the last month! My apologies to anyone who came to take a peek only to find the last posting to be from almost a year ago! No excuses.....just other more pressings things in life! If you're reading this and have taken the time to visit my blog, please leave me a comment so I know when people have indeed visited.

The last year has had some interesting developments. A year ago I announced and showed my display at Going Local in Mayfaire. I am no longer there, although they have moved yet again within Mayfaire near the Cinema, and the shop is great! It just wasn't so for me. I do far batter downtown at Port City Pottery & Fine Crafts, and so I decided not to divide my time or product line between the two places.

But I have been producing in knit/crochet AND felting. It has been a productive year with good results. I have taken (or attempted to take) several online felting classes; I've joined a local "Slow Stitchers" group with extremely talented members in different fiber/textile arts; I've been to Nova Scotia to a Jane Thornley knitting retreat and got to actually meet my long-time kindred spirit/twin/scrabble-lover! I traveled there with my great travel buddy, Ginny Thompson, and we proved again that we do indeed make very compatible travel "partners in crime!"

I always determine to post my latest creations on FB (Scarf It Up and Louise Giordano), Instagram, and flickr, but don't always succeed in keeping up. So here are some recent photos to entice you to perhaps visit my website or Port City Pottery & Fine Crafts or message me if interested in purchasing something you see here.

New Year, New Venue, New Ideas

2019-03-05T17:41:00.001-05:00

A Belated Happy New Year to you all! It's hard to keep up with all the possible social media avenues available. Besides Facebook, Instagram, Constant Contact, for both myself and my gallery, as well as MAKING things to support two local venues now, I find little time to maintain and update this blog. But here goes my effort on a cold, dreary day in Wilmington while I'm attempting to update all my social media.

As of March 1, I am now located in another local venue, right around the corner from me in Mayfaire. It's called Going Local and has gifts from North Carolina makers for every need and taste. I am sharing a space with another artist from my first gallery, Port City Pottery & Fine Crafts in The Cotton Exchange in Downtown Wilmington. She is June Druchunas of Victorian Magpie; she creates steampunk jewelry from vintage watch parts. It is our hope that this new venue will draw many new customers from a different demographic in Wilmington. Going Local is a large venue with over 100 artists from throughout NC. It truly offers something for everyone.

Victorian Magpie & Scarf It Up!

All my latest work is at Going Local right now. That includes Featherweight Scarves, Bead Button wire Crochet Neckwraps, Pin Cushions, Felted Soaps, Felted Brooches, Dryer Balls, and a few Nuno Felt Scarves.

Fiber: Out of the Box

2018-09-03T09:41:00.001-04:00

NO, THIS DOESN'T REFER TO CEREAL!

Rather...it's a show I'm participating in that challenges the artists to stretch themselves beyond their usual techniques, materials, concepts, and imagination. Initially I was idea-less... and both awed and intimidated by the talent and creativity of my show-mates.

We were limited to three pieces, and wearables were discouraged. I couldn't imagine even one piece, but suddenly the opportunity arose - quite by chance. As a consummate repurposer/upcycler, I was determined to create something(s) that made use of "stuff" that I had already made for some other intention.

The Leaf-Fish began as a mystery knit-along from my long-time muse, Jane Thornley, renowned knitter, designer, novelist, and fellow Scrabble player! I have never done a knit-along. And for those who are not familiar with the term, it's a knitting project with clues released periodically with the resulting product unknown to the knitter until much later. The first clue had us creating what appeared to be a leaf, but HUGE! As I knitted endlessly for nights on end, I began to realize I was not terribly pleased with my results. When I learned that a second leaf was to be created, I balked! It actually was to be a front and then a back of a garment. I NEVER knit or crochet two of a kind of ANYTHING! That means NO sleeves, NO socks, NO mittens or gloves, NOTHING that requires two identical parts. And definitely NO identical fronts and backs!

Not wanting to have wasted my time, it suddenly occurred to me that this thing...this leaf....this knitted thing resembled a fish. Could I possibly create a piece of "art" for the out-of-the-box show using this piece of whatever as the body of a fish? How could I then take it beyond?

I was in the throes of a 4th amazing online felting class with the fabulous Fiona Duthie! From those classes, I produced a prodigious number of sample pieces which I have been determined to use somehow. I have made a number of thee-felt bags, needle felting the samples onto the flaps of the knitted and machine-washed felted bags. I made journal covers with others. But I still had many hanging around, and a few even had colors and edgings that lent themselves to my fish.

I added crochet on some of the edges and sample pieces from Fiona's recent classes for fins and eye parts, a beaded eye, ribbon-stitched a piece of colorful wet-felted scarf to create a tail, wired and modpodged as necessary, mounted it (first on a rectangular piece of plywood and finally on a corrugated piece of science-fair board) and velcro-ed it in place. This leaf-fish has endured a number of iterations, but the final creation is the one at the top. It will be mounted from the wall but projected out about 2 inches. It is done, I think.

Two other pieces have emerged as well. But I'll save them for other days!

LOST time!

2018-06-06T14:09:00.001-04:00

More pressing responsibilities have kept me from keeping up with this blog, but others have encouraged me to return to it. It is shameful to see that I haven't posted since the end of 2016. Much has happened in the interim, but the details are mundane, so I won't bore you.

However, in early 2018, a flood to our condo necessitated a total move-out and 4+ months to rehab it. During that time, we lived in another unit in our building where I had a somewhat smaller studio space, no office space at all, and only some of my supplies. I suffered the loss of many supplies (roving, yarn, storage units, and some furniture). The major damage was structural to our unit and many others in our complex. The enormity of the damages and the scarcity of skilled labor left us displaced for what seemed like an eternity. We are back at home now - with a mostly brand new condo! And now I can get back to creating!

I am scheduled to do a show later this month with two others from The Wilmington Fiber Arts Collective (Jan Wutkowski, Rebecca Yeomans, Louise Giordano) at the Brooklyn Arts Center, The Quilt and Fiber Arts Show. It's Friday - Sunday, June 22-24. Please mark your calendars if you have any interest in quilting, sewing, and other fiber arts, including wearables. Jan, Becky and I specialize in wearable art in many forms. Please feel free to visit our websites or FB pages to see more of our work.

My work is also viewable on flickr, Instagram, FB, and for sale at Port City Pottery & Fine Crafts in The Cotton Exchange in beautiful downtown Wilmington NC.

Year End 2016

2016-12-21T13:17:00.001-05:00

Well, it has been almost a year since I posted here.....shame on me! Life has gotten away from me this year, but then again, maybe that is every year! I'm not complaining because my felting work has flourished. Knitting and crocheting have taken a back seat, but not entirely. A collection of Holey Cowls, based on inspiration from Jane Thornley, has emerged with many colorful designs that are terrific stash-busters! They can be worn as capelets, cowls, or hoods. Some examples below:

I've resurrected Bernadetta scarves that propelled me on this fibertastic journey many years ago. There is a story about the name on my website. They were wildly popular at the time and then not so much. I recently started to make them again, and they are selling!

And I have also been making Upcycle Scarves that were very popular several years ago. They too have recently sold very well.

But the "Pièces de Résistance" for me has been nuno felting that I am liking more and more! It is not for the faint of heart! But the results are just amazing! Here is an album of my 2016 nuno felts. I have one more that I'd like to make before the end of the year. A few special ones:

I've been so fortunate to be ale to study felting this year with one very accomplished felter, Susan Garry. She had me to her studio in Lowell, MA for a private lesson. And this is the tunic I produced:

And my favorite news of the year is that I have been awarded a grant from the Arts Council of Wilmington to study with Jean Gauger, renowned felter, who incidentally was the very first person who taught me to nuno felt many years ago. Since then she has become very much in demand around the world. So I will travel to Stuart, FL to take a two-day workshop with her. She recently told me that I was her first private student....so we have both come a long way since them - may 12 years ago.

Prolific Weekend!

2016-02-14T18:26:00.000-05:00

This is Valentine's Weekend! Nothing special planned, but had a very sad funeral to attend, and then proceeded to make felt. And make more felt!

I've been looking for a workshop that I could reasonably attend sometime this year. So far, I haven't found any that seem feasible - without spending megabucks and traveling very far. I found a beautiful something new on a FB group for felting workshops, only this was an e-book offered by Merina Lanari on Etsy. Using materials I had at home (cheesecloth, kitchen string, and of course, merino and silk fibers from my stash), I followed the directions - way mostly! I seem to never follow patterns or instructions, preferring to use the inspiration and go my own way. I think it worked! And it is a technique I can apply to other types of nuno felting. So I am happy! It's very textural and dimensional. I'm not into dyeing (yet!) so at this point, I'll be making these in natural colors (white and ecru).

Then....I decided to make some pin cushions, using supplies in my stash or given to me by other artists. All four are made differently from one another and turned out to be different sizes and consistency. But they are all fun, functional, and cute little gifts.

And then I decided to make a black, gray, and white nuno felted scarf including an experiment with cotton threads as a surface design element. VERY effective, as it just pops on the black and gray wool. The other side has a number of different silk fabrics in the color theme. Happy with all these results....but not a little tired!

I'M BAAAAAAAACK!

2016-01-21T13:27:00.001-05:00

This morning I received a lovely message from someone who must have inadvertently stumbled upon my last post - NOVEMBER of 2014. So perhaps it is time to resurrect this blog and at least bring you up to date with my happenings. And there have been numerous happenings in my life!

It's so interesting to me that my last post was about the disarray of my supplies for all my creative endeavors. Because in May of 2015 we put our house on the market, intending to downsize - for numerous reasons. In July we purchased a condo (1000+ less square footage than our house!), and in September we moved. We had as one of our goals to still have a studio space for me, and surprisingly, the new space is actually more convenient, more compact, and more amenable to felting, knitting, crocheting, sewing, and more in a lot less space. I am actually quite pleased with this new set-up.

Our condo is in a wonderful location, close to shopping, cinema, restaurants, groceries....just about everything, and 15 minutes closer to my gallery. My galley kitchen provides a perfect space for felting on a very long counter with upper ledge to keep materials dry, but an adjacent sink for the wet work. Only drawback that I can see is not being able to engage in very large projects. If and when I want to do those, I will go to a friend's studio.

We had a beautiful storage unit with counter built in what is also my study and sitting room (also with pull-out couch/bed) and affixed a counter in the very large closet for my sewing machine and lots of other supplies. It is all so much more efficient than what I had in my house. And the kitchen has more cabinet space, so my most used felting supplies are right there. Only the fiber and fabrics are in my studio/den which is only a few feet away. All in all, this move has had a a positive impact on my art work.

I have been focusing on nuno felt wraps or scarves that can also be used as wall hangings and table runners. I have one hanging on my wall in the living room; when I want to use it as a table runner or wear it, I simply pluck it off the wall. It is equally functional as wearable or decorative art. In addition, my newest work includes felted journals, felted soaps, and an attempt to use up yarn stash by knitting and crocheting Cozy Cowls, Holey Cowls, and other neckwear.

So....I'm back! Moved and settled in and able to create better than before. Condo living also makes for less indoor and outdoor work, so my time is freed up more. We are happy!

As always, you can see examples of my work on Flickr, FB, the Scarf It Up website, and the Port City Pottery & Fine Crafts website.

MOJO RETURNS!

2015-11-08T13:14:00.001-05:00

No kidding! I feel like a new woman, but one with so many ideas now and no time to pursue them. THAT frustrates me enormously!

I attended the Carolina Designer Craftsmen Guild show at the Raleigh Convention Center yesterday. What a beautiful show! Now filled with inspiration and new ideas, I am experimenting with a small felt today, but I also want to finish my Jane Thornley knit creation so I can wear it to work tomorrow at Port City Pottery & Fine Crafts. And it's Sunday, so my usual chores remain (changing sheets, all the wash, and making a trail down the middle of my place - at least.

I have wondered recently why I have no ambition to entertain, and now I understand why. I had thought it was due to the upheaval (literally and figuratively) of moving, but now we are mostly settled, so it's time to devote to me and my craft. Tough decision! Need to nurture friendships and maybe develop some new (that's a completely different story!) in our new environment. I would much rather just make my felts and keep on knitting. I wonder what that all says about me and my priorities.

Here is the Jane Thornley design in stages of progress:

LIFE HAPPENS!

2015-11-05T07:54:00.001-05:00

March 4 was the last time I published anything on this blog! That hardly seems possible, but then a few things have intervened:

Prepared to downsize and sell a house
Bought a condo but hadn't sold the house yet (June) - never a great idea!
Prepared the condo (painting, electrical work, custom unit for living room, custom studio design for me!, sliding screen door, reupholstering some furniture, etc.)
FINALLY sold the house (September!) and moved
Granddaughter's wedding in SC (August)
Trip to MA, CT, PA (August)
Visits from family from France (October)
The passing of a dear friend and neighbor (October)

That's enough to recall for now. Meanwhile I'm still trying to get settled in the condo - downsized from almost 2900 to 1800+ square feet and manage to create some new work in felt, knot, and crochet. My sales have been good for the past couple of months, so that is inspiring me to get going. I've found space in the new place to do it....as always it's a question of blocks of time to do it. And it still involves using my kitchen counter once again, and in this galley kitchen, that means working around meal prep times and having it cleaned up nice and tidy!

I'm going to try to update this blog more frequently going forward - TRY!!! I very recently documented my nuno felting process, and will post that in the next couple of days. Many people have asked me how it's done, so rather than talk about it, I have photographed it. That plus the resulting explanations will follow very soon. Above is a taste of the resulting work.

2015-03-04T21:49:00.001-05:00

Ww WON!!!! Thanks to all who voted for us and to those who support us every day of the year!

SCORE Small Business Championship!

2015-02-08T09:01:00.003-05:00

Port City Pottery & Fine Crafts is honored to be entered in the SCORE Small Business Championship, in which two small businesses from each state have an opportunity to win $1000 from Sam's Club, an all-paid trip to a SCORE celebratory symposium/training, and a full-year of additional SCORE mentoring. Since SCORE Wilmington was involved from the start of Port City Pottery & Fine Crafts eight years ago, we have grown and flourished under their guidance, workshops, and more. We are on the "Top-Rated" list's first page right now in this championship and could use your vote! Please watch our video and vote here.

You can vote now through February 12 when the voting ends and the judging begins.

Let me tell you the story of creating our video! Pat Holleman, President of Port City Pottery & Fine Crafts, and I determined to make this video, restricted to 30-60 SECONDS! We prepared the script, she delivered it, and I served as videographer…..I with absolutely NO video experience (except what I produced for a brief demo for a SCORE workshop many months ago, thank you Toya Wilson-Smith.)

So we met last Sunday at our gallery, ready to do it with script, iPad, and tripod in hand, and we determined to do it BEFORE the gallery was to open at noon. Since neither of us have video-editing experience, it had to be one take! But of course, there must have been 20+ takes in a 2+ hour span of time. But first there were issues with my iPad brightness and then sound, her Galaxy and my tripod, barking dogs in the hallway and at our favorite coffee shop 2 doors down (Java Dog), people walking in before we opened, getting the tripod NOT to creak as I turned it to view most of the gallery, and on and on. There was a lot of laughing and groaning together (we can be silly at times!), and this is the final result!

So now we need your help to keep us in the running. SCORE Wilmington has been instrumental in our success, and we are very grateful to Sara Raleigh, our lead mentor, for the support and encouragement shown in our short but successful 8-year enterprise.

WISH US LUCK!!!

We will certainly let you know the results!

Port City Pottery & Fine Crafts

2015-02-07T08:21:00.001-05:00

2015-02-05T11:32:00.001-05:00

You can go directly to the link below or click the "Watch Video" button on our FB Page @Port City Pottery & Fine Crafts or @Scarf It Up! to vote for us in the SCORE Small Business Championship. Please add your vote(s). http://championship.score.org/entry/8431760

2015-02-01T19:48:00.001-05:00

Port City Pottery & Fine Crafts in the SCORE Small Business Championship! Please vote for us: http://j.mp/1BMWVmO

Remember the ROADKILL????

2014-12-13T16:04:00.002-05:00

There's always a story! I told one of them a while ago about the REAL roadkill. Today I learned of another, once again relating to my work. If you haven't read the first one (or if you just haven't got the stomach for it!), here is another.

I had coffee with my friend Sandy today, and she is a hoot! She had asked me a while ago to make her a nuno felted brooch to "match" her array of animal prints. I gladly complied because I had a number of such prints in silk that would felt into the wool nicely. Here it is - er….um….was!:

Today she told me that she wore it to some friends' house on an evening when she had outfitted herself from head to toe in animal prints. Some time later, she realized that she didn't have he brooch but had no idea where she might had left it or lost it. After scouring everywhere, she gave up on it - and never told me…UNTIL TODAY!

Months later, she returned to this same friend's house where friend produced an almost unrecognizable "animal!" What happened, you might ask…..it had apparently fallen off while she was entering her car after the dinner, where it subsequently was run over by her own car and probably several others before being discovered in the driveway. Such is the outcome of the Roadkill Brooch - not to be outdone by the roadkill scarf!

I think I'll have to make her another with care instructions included. You can't leave your "animal" in the driveway and expect it to survive!

The Perfect Rationale!

2014-11-09T08:30:00.001-05:00

I've been absent from blogging mostly because I've been so busy - lots to report! The result of the "lots to report" is that my house - truly almost the entire house - is in disarray due to my new passion for wet and nuno felting! I don't have a studio per say; I have storage and some work space upstairs in the bonus room (called a FROG - Finished Room Over Garage in NC!). But the only place I can do the wet felting is in my kitchen. Here is where and how I must store my supplies:

The merino wool roving and other fibers are in the laundry room.
The silk and other fabrics - which consist of thrift store scarves, dresses, skirts (the larger size the better!) - are both in the laundry room AND in an under-bed storage container underneath the bed in the bonus room (which also serves as a guest room when needed where I can actually sleep SIX if needed!)
Yarn, buttons, beads, sewing machine, threads, recycled jewelry, etc. are upstairs.
Most of my knitting needles and crochet hooks are in my everything bag with some additional ones upstairs.
Felting tools (bubble wrap, solar pool, cover, rug mats, palm washboard, netting, pool noodles, towels, soap) are stored in both the laundry room and in one of the cupboards in the family room (right off the kitchen!)
My work space for felting has to be in the kitchen because I have a large island at counter height on which I can spread the pool covering. It is still not large enough to consider doing another seamless vest, so that may be a one and only. More about that in another post! And I need access to hot water!

I think that covers it! Thinking I'll need to stash it all today as we are having some guests over tonight for dinner. Planning my precious work time and space is critical (but really I'd just like to leave it all in place so I could work at my leisure!

To be continued……….!

Customer Appreciation Day Celebration at Port City Pottery & Fine Crafts

2014-10-28T14:00:00.000-04:00

2014-10-10T21:01:00.001-04:00

Felting workshop with Beth Marx coming up soon. Sooooo excited!

The Finished Scrap Bag aka The Salvage Bag

2014-10-07T07:43:00.004-04:00

Salvaging a Disaster - or TWO!!!!

2014-09-30T10:57:00.000-04:00

The trials and tribulations of a felt artist! Too many disaster recently, so I'm trying to rectify the errors but also to experiment even more to create something good from disasters.

First Disaster: I bought some wool yarn at one of my favorite thrift shops in town, Bargain Box of Wilmington. It was marked 100% wool, but it did NOT mention "Superwash." For those unfamiliar with that term, it means washable wool. It WILL NOT shrink or felt. Two nights knitting it to make a bag; two cycles through the washing machine and absolutely nothing! Not one iota of shrinkage. Not willing to throw it away (just yet), and liking to repurpose materials, and focusing on hand/wet felting now, I decided to experiment with it.

No photos to show the subsequent process! :(

I covered the bag with ALL the scraps of BFL roving that have been hanging around for years, deciding to call it "The Scrap Bag!" No easy task, because truly the pieces were smallish and rather shaped like pencil roving, so it took forever to cover it. Two layers on each side with a resist inserted inside the bag. I had hoped the roving would merge THROUGH the knitting, connect to the layers underneath, and create a grid-like patterning throughout. NOT SO MUCH!!!

I started on Sunday, felted it yesterday, and by this morning, I came to the astounding conclusion that this will not work! So…..this morning I pulled out the knitted bag (it was attached but not securely), and I've been working on fulling it every since.

Once I pulled out the knitting, I actually had a bag that I thought could be worked. It has some holes and a few strange configurations, but it looks like it can be a reversible bag once I finish with the fulling process, decide on and add embellishments, repair (somehow!) the holes (maybe freeform crochet and needle felting!), and make a strap.

I am determined to make this work. And next time, I will follow the specific directions and videos provided by Fiona Duthie in her current Felted Bag workshop. I'm getting inspired to try again after seeing some of the bags created by fellow workshop participants. I'll get to this AFTER the Beth Marx workshop in mid-October.

BTW, I threw the knitted white "bag" in the trash this morning!

FINAL photos coming later, after I figure out how to finish it and add a strap!

Stay Tuned!

State of the Art, Art of the State at Cameron Art Museum - September 20 - February 12

2014-09-24T07:59:00.000-04:00

It only happens every three years, an event that features artwork from anyone in NC! The work is accepted (no jurors, no fees) during a 24 hour period only, and the opening reception takes places only hours later. It is an enormous opportunity to display one piece of art, speak with world-renowned curators, and see the huge variety of mediums, talents, and scope of creativity that exists in NC.

The event itself is awesome. The process is daunting. The video posted on Cameron's website is of the 2011 event, when they gave themselves just ONE HOUR between accepting artwork and the opening reception. More sane this time, but just as crazy for the staff, artists, curators, staff, and many volunteers!

I arrived at about 8 PM hoping it would be less crowded. I had number 455, and they were only at 360 or thereabouts. I had forgotten my phone but had my iPad and the museum's wifi, so I knew I could settle in and wait. After talking to some artists I didn't know, I found a group of artists from my gallery, Port City Pottery & Fine Crafts, sitting at a table in the café right near the bar. They had numbers before mine, but I knew I'd be well-entertained at least for a good while. Thanks to Dick Heiser, Marilyn Blackard, Melanie Walter, Dianne Masi, and Pat Holleman - and then later to Pat and Harry Hart - for making it an TRULY enjoyable experience! Much laughter and discussion, serious and not so serious!

I decided I didn't need to speak to a curator - although now I'm sorry I didn't - so my wait time was only three hours! My erroneous rationale was that they probably didn't know much about felting. My entered piece is this nuno felt wrap/shawl/ wallhanging/table runner, called Sea Inspiration. I brought it on a hanger for display, knowing they would not have space for a mannequin. In addition, I didn't want to be minus mannequin through Feb 12 when this show ends.

Imagine my delight when I saw the TOP panoramic photo on FB with my piece centered in the image! I does indeed have a very nice and prominent spot, which I noticed the moment I walked through the entrance to the exhibit. AND….there was NOTHING else like it in the display of almost 700 artists. HAPPY!

2014-09-23T07:10:00.001-04:00

New, extended hours on Sundays at Port City Pottery & Fine Crafts - at least through the holidays. Mon-Sat: 10-5:30; Sun: 11-5

Felting Frenzy!

2014-09-14T08:10:00.002-04:00

Why is it that some creative endeavors and experiments become passions? I've found that happening with felting. It has elements of design, color, texture, mystique and mystery, sensuousness, tactile pleasure and aggression, and so much more. The play of silk (and other fabrics) and wool is magic. The surprise results keep one going even when exhausted, because its physicality endures long and hardy. I CAN'T STOP FELTING!!!

This could be a problem, as the only place in my house where I can do this type of fiber artwork is in my kitchen. I can manage to keep the mess for several days, neglecting most everything else, but then it's necessary to clean it all up. I wish I had a permanent space to keep the mess, so it's always ready and available for even small amounts of time when I could dabble with design, give a roll, rub, or throw here or there, or even pull out potential material combinations for the next project.

Yesterday I started a new Fiona Duthie online class - this one in bag-making. I've taken two other classes on seamless bag-making, but I've never repeated the process enough to feel I have a handle on it. So….true to my "do it yesterday" modus operandi, I couldn't wait for the videos that accompany the class to be released today, but plunged ahead using only the written and photographed materials. I'M STUCK!!! Not sure if the instructions were unclear or if I just messed up, but I have an unfelted bag with resist on the kitchen counter, wool, bubble wrap, towels, soap, etc. all over the kitchen. AND….I have to go to work today, so my felting time is limited!

To be continued……..!

Oh, and BTW, someone asked me if the wraps could be used decoratively as well as wearably, such as table runner or wall hanging. While I think it would be difficult to decide which side to show, here are photos of these pieces on my dining room table. What do you think?

No Photos But………..!

2014-08-30T06:55:00.000-04:00

I neglected to take photos of the class I taught last week on Felting with ArtFelt Paper. But thanks to Toya Wilson-Smith of NexGen Digital Marketing Services and SCORE, and a very good class on SEO and Google+, I was able to produce my very FIRST video! I chose to do it about Felting with ArtFelt Paper.

And I am about to purchase an iPad device to be able to use a tripod to do so much more for my own artwork production and Scarf It Up!, but also to promote Port City Pottery & Fine Crafts. More to come soon, I hope!

DUH!

2014-08-25T16:44:00.000-04:00

Just taught my class in Artfelt and forgot to take a single photo! DUH!!! I can't believe it! And it was a GOOD class! Two students and a lurker! 2 and1/2 hours later, each had a cuff and a square sample from which to make a brooch on their own. The students were thrilled - as was I!

I've just emailed them both to see if they could photograph their pieces right away to show the felting and then to show how they have finished them for wearing or selling. I think the results were stunning, and I know once dry and fashioned into a cuff and brooch respectively, they will be knock-outs!

In the meantime, I can only show my pieces….using wool roving and colors that I was happy to part with. Not a fan of pinks and purples (except hot pink), these are not my faves. Tomorrow I'll finish them as brooch (left) and cuff (right) and show photos.