Hello there,
Now you're probably wondering what I'm doing going over old ground again, but what I'm trying to do is take the pictures I've done, and tell you their story...
THE SILENT STARE
Believe it or not this was my first attempt at felting after the stroke! I'd done a wee bit of soap felting but nothing like the pictures I used to do.
I wanted to do something safe and secure (feeling a bit vulnerable) but couldn't decide what. In the dining room where I keep all my wool sat a calendar, several years old. I looked through it and was bewitched by this little pussy cat which sat looking at me on the page. So I decided to felt it, just as an experiment, and the rest of the picture - the blues and vegetation - appealed to me as well....(think the poppy idea was my own though!) You see, after you've felted a picture it becomes your own because it changes according to how it's felted.
But it wasn't pretty what I felted. I almost felt inclined to pack the whole thing in BUT decided to persevere. And it took quite a long time with my felting needle to get it looking shipshape (ish!) again. It's tough working one-handed. Took a while to workout how to thread a needle let alone the embroidering and beading stage!
I also knew for this exhibition I wanted my pictures to be framed, so after visiting the framer, I armed myself with some A1 grey board, and swathes of polyester for lining.
I freely admit I got someone involved when it came to measuring the sides of the picture (Maths was never my strong point), drawing straight lines (something I find rather difficult at the moment) and cutting everything up (I have a fear of finality!) I did however successfully manage to stitch the lining to the back of the picture!
And there we have it....my SILENT STARE