My interest in working with new types of media has led me to working with Botanical Contact Printing, where I gather leaves and vegetation from my surrounds and wrap this organic matter up in luxurious silk, merino and hand-made felt. These bundles are then tied tightly and boiled for hours to extract color directly from the organic matter; season, age of the plant, the acidity of the water used during the heating process, all these and many other factors influence the final color of the textiles.
Handmade Felt with Botanical Contact Prints.
This was my answer to a call from the St. Johns, Florida Cultural Council in the spring of 2024 for artworks inspired by William Bartram’s Travels in East Florida, 1774 - 2024.
Coreopsis (tickseed) is recognized as Florida’s state wildflower. I collected the flowers used to dye this piece from my backyard. It gives the most wonderful golden color when steam printed and used as a dye.
Botanical prints on vintage linen with gold leaf.
Merino and Silk organza Nuno felt, printed with botanicals and copper leaf.
Hand felted and hand-dyed with botanical prints and lightly stitched.
Hand felted and hand-dyed with botanical prints and lightly stitched.
Hand-dyed botanical printed organza nuno felted with merino and silk blossoms.
Hand screened silk with stitchery.
Botanical Contact Print/Dyed background silk with wet felted blossom and stitchery. 'Autumn Blossom' 26” x 34”
I am obsessed with Botanical Contact Printing (also known as eco printing), especially on silks and wool. In 'Autumn Blossom' my intention was to create depth with layers of my hand-dyed botanical printed leaves all wet felted together.
This is a very large triptych which measures approximately 8’ X 8’. All of the silk was hand dyed and botanical printed and then hand felted. This piece was a huge undertaking that took a good part of a year to complete.
Nuno Felted Wallhang, 27” x 70”
with botanical printed silk background.
'Windfall' was quite a process, as are most of my artworks. I let the materials and pieces speak and take me along for the doing. Some of my works are never finished, or "done" but rather caught up in an all evolving thing... However, 'Windfall' is finished, and I am delighted with her! ALL NATURAL, The process involved felting the base with gorgeous ultra fine 14 micron merino wool which is as soft as cashmere! I then Eco Printed the felt with casuarina, ferns and rose leaves whilst dyeing the edges in onion skins. I hand stitched around some of the rose leaves with and flowing lines of the casuarina with silk and mounted.
Welcome to my fanciful floating poppies. These are hand felted flowers in brilliant colors (hand-dyed) that can float from the ceiling or be hung on a wall. No two flowers are exactly the same size, shape or design. They are made to order. You pick the colors and I will design them. Each flower shown is approximately 20" diameter.
Triptych of high-density acoustic absorbing foam insulation covered with a wet felted background all of which are covered with hand felted poppies made with hand-dyed Merino and Locks. The three panels are wired for ease of hanging.
A chromatic exploration and explosion of poppies. I started ‘Poppy Palooza’ by felting a bunch of scarlet poppies for Veterans Day in November and pinned them on the wall. I liked the effect and continued making and adding more poppies in different mixes of hues, values, shades, tints, tones, and textures…
My felted floating flowers have evolved into a mobile. Now they revolve! The flowers are light enough to move, spin and sway in the air while retaining their shape due to stiffening the center of the felt discs. No two flowers are the exact same size, shape or design but they work well as a balanced whole. Watch the VIDEOS!
Commission for Jane
These fabulous felted floating flowers were designed for above her bed headboard.
This is a felted floral grouping commissioned for Jane's bedroom.
Dune Daisies are my attempt of creating the various Gallardia and Correopsis (Indian blanket flowers) in felt. They are the Florida state wild-flowers and I see them often on my daily wonders to the beach. Each felted flower is approximately 15" diameter. They are fun to hang as a grouping or are even more dramatic when hung from the ceiling with mono-filament to catch the air and add the sensation of movement.
Dimensions as a grouping- 48" x 54"
This section of felt works is dedicated to my 'Network Tapestries.'
I aspire to create lively and interactive artwork in which the interplay of light and shadow speaks to the viewer. 'Luminosity' is translucent. Light and air move through the artwork. Also, the reflective capabilities of the silk fibers and the gold leaf shimmer and create highlights.
Techniques:Silk Organza hand-dyed and degummed then nuno felted with merino fiber in a woven pattern. I then added the gold leaf and hand stitching.
Materials:Hand-dyed and degummed silk organza and tussah silk fibers, fine merino fibers, composition gold leaf, and silk embroidery thread.
'Connecteclect'. 28" x 72", is a felted network tapestry. In designing and fabricating this tapestry, I was thinking about connections to others throughout my life. No matter how brief or obscure the encounters may be, the quality and attention of our connections to others flows forward affecting and connecting all.
Network felt with morning glories.
24" x 62"
'Africa, What's Beneath the Surface' is a handwoven tapestry stretched over hand-felted fabric. This piece is made with merino and silk fibers plus various novelty yarns, leather and diamond crystals. 16" square.
Love Bubbles is an award winning Shibori dyed and hand felted wall hanging made for the Tactile Art Show at the St. Augustine Art Association in 2015. This piece won "Best in Show" and was also a favourite of the children from the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind.
'Feel the Love' - Hand-dyed and felted wall hanging with sculpted and hand-felted Braille letters.
This piece 'Feel The Love' I designed and felted for the Tactile Show at the St. Augustine Art Association in October. It is a very special multi-sensory show and they bring in classes from the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind to experience the artwork. I even won best in show!
Wet felted with Kozo paper.
Shibori dyed silk organza, Nuno felted with fine Merino then gold leaf on top.
I Hand-dye my silks both fabrics and fibers, and then use the hand-dyed silks in my felt works.
'Ecclesiastical' is rich in texture and saturated color. I think the complimentary colors work well together and it glows with the copper leaf.
'Ecclesiastical' reminds me of a cleric's robe plus it is holey.
'GIverny' started out as an idea for a nuno felted shawl but I kept adding texture and elements that made it the perfect weight and feel for a wallhanging. I limited the palatte to dusky blue/green merino wool fibers and pinkish/purple hand-dyed silks. I work intuitively and really dont have a preconceived idea until I see it. This turns out to be reflections of a cloudy sky in the water lily ponds at Monet's Giverny.
'Anemone' is a combination of shibori dyed and textured silk with felting. This piece was great fun to create! I love to experiment and combine techniques to get strong textural and colorful effects. This won best in show at the St. Augustine Art Association Cutting Edge show in 2013. It measures 22" x 50".
This hand-dyed and felted silk organza with curly locks. silk thread and tussah silk fibers. This ethereal sunrise hangs beautifully off a piece of drift wood.
50" x 60"
I love vintage textiles, especially handmade laces. Arabesque is made with hand tatted collars of which I embroidered on top. The center piece is what I call fiber fusion that is hand felted onto a piece of hand-dyed organza all on a piece of stretched jacquard fabric which I designed as well.
20' X 32"
Fifth Dimension is dyed and felted silk with vintage lace and wool, and is mounted in layers with hand felted Moebius pieces on the sides. This piece also won an award at the St. Augustine Art Association.
I love to create these felted tiles with layers of colors and textures inspired by Fiona Duthie and her “Creative Sparks”.
Hand-dyed and wet felted silk velvets.
‘Spring Sparks’ 20” x 20”
Wet Felted with Merino wool fiber and hand-dyed silks plus many fibrous bits felted in as surface designs. The ‘sparks’ are mounted on a black canvas which is framed in a floater frame with wire on the back.
‘Spring Sparks’ is a purely playful and experimental piece. I made a large piece of prefelt using split-complementary colors. By using color work, repetition of forms and elements with common materials I created a harmonious set of tiny felt tile artworks. Finally, by admixing them and mounting them together, they formed a more complex and cohesive whole.
Hand-dyed silks, velvets and merino felted together.
Wet Felted Tiles
12” x 12”
'Flora Orba' is the beginning of a series of felted globes which are able to be lighted with LED lights. When lit it gives off a cosmic effect. And when not lit it has a beautiful porcelain look...
