The Lake Country Art Gallery presents large-scale felted works for its next exhibition, opening July 8.
Felted is an exhibition of fibre works by Art Felt Collaborative members Amy Burkard, Diane Goossens, Judith Mueller, Alice Pallett and Violet Racz, who came together in April 2014 through their shared love of felting.
“I saw the potential of felting to smash many boundaries: two dimensional or three dimensional, or anything in between,” said Pallett.
Made of natural fibres such as wool, alpaca, silk, bamboo, or synthetic fibres, felt is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibres together.
It is a very physical process that involves tools such as washboards, hand sanders, screen mesh, bubble wrap, soap and water.
Feltmaking is still practiced by nomadic people in Central Asia and ties into the stories of Saint Clement and Saint Christopher who, while fleeing persecution, packed their sandals with wool to prevent blisters. At the end of their journey, the movement and sweat had turned the wool into felt socks.
The Art Felt Collaborative meet regularly and feedback ranges from the inspiration and risk taking each artist experiences.
Goossens, for example, came to the group with more of a focus on wearable art, but has branched out to include more sculptural forms. Pallett, Burkard and Mueller all come to felting from a fine art background.
Gallery visitors will have a chance to hear about all the nuances and techniques the Art Felt Collaborative use at an artist talk July 15 at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
Gallery visitors are also invited to an artist demo day Aug. 8 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., when all five artists will be in the gallery demonstrating how they make their work.
Felted opens on July 8 with an opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. All are welcome. The artists will be in attendance. Also opening July 8 is the Lake Country Art Gallery’s new pop-up exhibition space, which will feature the work of students from the gallery’s summer art camp, Photographing Lake Country, led by Enderby artist Zev Tiefenbach.
The Lake Country Art Gallery is located at 10356A Bottom Wood Lake Rd. Visit lakecountryartgallery.ca for more information.
