Shrine: Felt::Feutre Canada
In answering the call to artists from Felt:Feutre Canada I collaborated with Andrea Revoy of Blue Moon Pottery and Fibre Studio. Andrea is primarily a potter who dyes fibres, spins and plays felting with me. I am a felter who dyes, knits and used to play with clay. I told Andrea about the Call for Artists from felt::feutre Canada and asked if she would like to collaborate and then to quote her: “After an afternoon of friends, pizza, sangria, and sparkling wine, the shrine and its goddess came to life. Although our brains were in a fog, we managed to come up with a fantastic conceptualization of what a shrine should be. “ I love Andrea's sense of humour and whimsy- it's interesting because both clay and felt shrink and start out looking nothing like the end result. We both love colour, texture and detail and combining the pottery and the felt is an extra wow amount of textures. We came up with a rough sketch based on the measurement restrictions, talked about shape and doors and whether the shrine would sit on something or be open at the top or hang on the wall. Then we talked about the "goddess" being naked and substantial. I was happy to let Andrea make her parts with her flair and then give it to me. I worked and reworked on my parts and just sent off the shrine by Canada Post. It was a fun evolving process of asking what if we....?!
The finished work...
As the never ending winter of 2018 ravages the hearts, minds, bodies and shovels of Canadians, they cry out…”Where is Spring? When will it be Spring? I am so tired of winter!” Spring; a talisman in our minds of sun, new life, fresh green, and no snow! But, in her tree, hidden, protected and cozy waits the Goddess of Spring. She takes her own damn time, waiting for the perfect position of the sun and the appropriate number of offerings to her whims. She is changeable, and bad ass- at one moment sun and flowers and next storms, rain, and mud. She is a centre of fertility and growth of new life. We all contain some reflection of the goddess within ourselves. All wet felted- wool is hand dyed merino with some silk and cross-breed local wool for the bark. The clay was formed by Andrea Revoy and the untameable, crazy black hair is Wensleydale locks.
SHRINE is a group exhibition of individual works created by felt :: feutre canada members from across Canada.
SHRINE asks participating artists to create a portable shrine that pays homage to a belief which is intrinsic to them. This belief can be based in religion, but can also be secular; a testament to an object/theme selected by the feltmaker. The work will be constructed primarily in traditionally crafted wool felt but an interdisciplinary approach is encouraged. Participating feltmakers must include one craft medium outside of feltmaking in the construction of their shrine. This could be a combination of metalwork + felt, woodwork + felt, rughooking + felt, quilting + felt, video or sound recordings +felt, etc. This approach invites craftspeople to cross boundaries in their craft and encourages creative risk-taking. The secondary medium can be used by the feltmakers or the feltmaker can collaborate with an artist/craftsperson working in that second medium. (more info here)
