Tracy Porter's Influence

Tracy Porter...have you heard of her?  She creates clothing and home accessories.  I really like her spring collection....sort of Bohemian.  She mixes different colors and textures...very eclectic.

I didn't know that she would influence my art.  These Tapestry bowls I've been making seem to reflect her theme....interesting to me.  Maybe I should send her a few photos...I'll have to think on that.

http://www.tracyporter.com/

Here is what I mean...

Here are some specific items I like:

Sorry, these photos are not that clear...you'll just have to go to her site

Materials I Use

I wanted to share some of the materials I use for wet felting.  I've been doing it for awhile now (like one year) and have finally settled on the tools I most enjoy using.

Here are the old favorites for wet felting:

bubble wrap
bamboo mat
tule
Palmolive liquid detergent
towels
rolling pin

and

wallpaper roller (very small)
crumpled up plastic grocery bags
crab mallet (huh?)  a mallet to smash crabs.

I find the wallpaper roller takes the place of the rolling pin when I'm doing something small - more force in a concentrated area.  I can also control it easier.  When I'm making one of the small vases below, it help to get the edges felted.  I just go around the edge (usually I have my hand inside for support).

I just discovered the crab mallet last night.  We never have crabs (well, we must have one time).  When I have stuffed the bowl with little wads of crumpled plastic bags, I go around the bowl and tap, tap, tap.  This gets the fibers to lay down and behave...it also adds to the fulling process.

So, there you have it - some of my favorite utensils.

I did three little vessels today.  Two are very small and one the size of the guys below.

Here's a few more pix, too:♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥