Zen of Wire

My life changed forever when I met Eli. Artist, Sculptor and Teacher, Eli's natural manner and gentleness guides and inspires his students of which I am part.
As a Felter I wanted to master fashioning wire skeletons onto which I would add layers and layers of merino wool and wet felt it into cats and dogs and people and whatever my mind could conjure.

Eli gave me a roll of wire and pliers and left me alone. He returned some time later to find me entangled in a mesh of wire . Oh dear, I was so clueless. And so my first lesson followed with a discussion of proportions ,diagrams, books were brought out and techniques were demonstrated. I loved that and then I was left alone while I internalised all I had learned and honed my new craft.

The weeks flew by as I cut and wound meters of wire morphing Adam into Eve , widening her hips and narrowing her shoulders until one day Eve emerged weighing close to a solid 1000g /2.2lbs of wire. She looked good, but what to do with her. Aha, it dawned on me that some years ago, my partner Faz had made a stand for jewelry. I stood her inside the tree shaped wire and she looked comfortable and at peace, but I sensed from the depths of her wired soul she yearned for company.

The idea of Adam was disgarded and over the next few weeks I fashioned four playful Wirelings to hover around her. I believe that she enjoys their company . I wanted to create a fun and interactive sculpture, something dynamic to play with, which I promise I do regularly as I pass my Wirelings every day on the way out the front door, I move them around and see that they are behaving themselves.

I felt so priveledged to have recently had Eve and her Wirelings on display at an exhibition in Israel.

Elaine

Fashion Fusion

In addition to FELT4U’s virtual store, we are excited that our nuno felted wraps are now available at the Julia milano boutique on Tel Aviv’s most upmarket shopping area, Kikar Hamedina. The Kikar (‘Square’) is the hotspot for those looking for their label fix - Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren and Gucci are all here.
Julia milano bills itself as a store for luxury basics. This is the flagship outlet in Israel for the Milan based leather goods manufacturers which started as a family business in 1950. We love the soft leather of the bags the craftsmanship and the innovative design – the straw effect Summer bag caught our eye as did the lightweight Bauletto bag in kidskin. Take a look at www.Juliamilano.com
We paired our Emerald Rags to Riches wrap with a stunning diamante studded evening dress, while a Purple Rags to Riches wrap draped beautifully over a floral cocktail dress both with the quintessential Italian flair.

Now I am hooked...

My older sister ( I have two sisters and a brother ) got an ipod for her last birthday. To be honest her daughter actually won it in a lottery and sold it to her mother and the family contributed so in the end her daughter had made some money on her lottery win to buy her twin sons their 3rd birthday presents. Money –go –round, but what the heck its all in the family. The reason I mention this is because with her ipod she subscribes to Amazons audio books and raves how wonderful it is to sit quietly, eyes closed, feet up and listen to a story being read. Almost like when you were a child and a grown up reads a story with accents and expressions.
So I went shopping and bought a SanDisk Sansa MP3 on which you can listen to stories and music. It is tiny and easily clips onto your clothes or bag without getting you too entangled. . Now I am hooked.

Today I decided to nuno felt a Rags to Riches scarf/shawl in black. . I designed it with an extra long panel of black merino wool and random pieces of flowing silk. When the scarf was complete I added a further piece to create a shawl and nuno felted them together.
The early morning sun rose as my hands beavered away at my craft. My whole being rapt with listening to The Shell Seekers on my MP3. And when the light had faded and the story had ended I marvelled at the lightness of a day of nuno felting a versatile garment.

Zen of Tides

Photo taken Muizenberg Beach South Africa 1942



For twenty odd years during the 80's and 90's the rythmic sounds of crashing waves was music that lulled me to sleep. I lived with my children, a dog, a cat and my partner Sid, in a gabled cottage on a winding street in a quaint seaside resort that had seen better days, called Muizenberg.
Over the years, my early morning walks along the waters edge enriched my life and inspired me to be fully aware of the joy of each and every moment. I observed how on stormy days the wind worried the waves into broken segments, shoving from behind and tumbling them ceaselessly and finally leaving an outline of scummy foam which dried to a dirty grey green and left in its wake pieces of driftwood, shells and debris.
At other times days, it was different. If there was a light breeze off the ocean, and the green sea had some blue in it,the foam frill that swept up from time to time was creamy white and altogether more friendly and left behind amazing etchings in the wet sand.

So why am I telling you all this. Who or what is the inspiration that Elana and I get during the process of crafting our nuno felted garments. We basically start off with a piece of white silk and talk about hot and cold colors and combinations , and should we shibori dye some pieces, and we mix and match and then choose merino wool and other items for texture and pattern. . My latest nuno felted wrap for our shop FELT 4U is aptly named Tidel Foam and was inspired by simple walks on the beach long time ago.

Free Spirit

Ein Gedi, the famous kibbutz at the Dead Sea in Israel is perfect way to relax and chill out after a hectic five day Felting Master Class presented by International Felting Teacher and my felting guru Phyllis Hoffman from Australia. www.phylstudio.com
This was organized by The Israel Designer and Craftmen's Association of Israel
www.designcrafts.org.il and their very efficient secretary Tali Talmor.

A year ago we started FELT 4U www.felt4u.etsy.com and I must say felting is really unique in that it is dynamic and an ongoing learning exeperience, something like my philosopy of Life itself.

When I was in my early thirties, I met a man who was 21 years older than me. I was in the process of a divorce with two children. He was ruggedly handsome, an artist and bohemian who had been briefly married. He was so different from anyone I had ever met before and I fell head over heals in love with him. He changed my life in many ways made me into the person I am today. He taught me to be a free spirit and that is how I think of nuno felting. www.felt4u.etsy.com
Free and floating with texture, color and simple versatile structure.

Life Lessons from Craft

You could say that I am a serial craft addict. Ceramics, candle wicking, calligraphy, paper making, painting on wood and mosaic are just a few I've tackled. The only ones that I have been truly passionate about have been mosaic and for the last year,merino wool nuno felting for our own on-line store FELT 4U http://felt4u.etsy.com/

This is where you can see and purchase our shibori dyed merino wool nuno felted scarves, wraps and hip wraps. They are all handmade by nuno felting merino wool onto hand dyed tissue silk.
I’ve often asked myself why mosaic and merino wool nuno felting have been such life enhancing experiences with none of the embarrassment and frustration that came with my attempts at other forms of craft. To be honest, my battered psyche was only saved by my mother who beamed with joy when receiving a lopsided coil pot or a birthday card with the greeting written in shaky calligraphic letters.
From the beginning of learning mosaic it all felt different. There were no stars in theclass whose work we had to measure ourselves against. No piece was ever deemed a failure and all had there own intrinsic beauty and personal signature.So too in merino wool nuno felting, every creation has originality and beauty. And unlike mosaic, its easy to just keep working and changing a piece if you don’t like the outcome.After a year, every merino wool nuno felted scarf that I make for FELT 4U still seems like a fun experiment and there are countless ways in which to evolve. Mosaic and merino wool nuno felting let you play with color and liberate us from the expected color combinations.One of my favorite mosaic pieces is a mirror in orange and turquoise. Likewise, a fuschia pink and orange merino wool nuno felted scarf brightens up my day when Iwear it. I think from craft, as in life, we learn that we have to find what suits our personalities,interests (merino wool nuno felted scarves taps into my love of fashion) and talents. Usually when you find your craft you also find that like minded people surround you and beautiful friendships are built (like with my two friends Audrey and Natalie – both professional mosaic artists) and now with my partner, Elaine who sees every item we lovingly produce “as a journey in itself.”

One other tip…doing what you love with great music in the background also helps (nothing like Mozart when you are rolling your merino wool nuno felted item for the 2000th time.)
Best wishes to you
Elana
FELT 4U

Be My Valentine

Be my Valentine?
That is all I longed for during my teen years a few decades ago in the Swinging Sixties.
I hoped and silently prayed that I would get a Valentine card sent in the post with a real stamp, (which I could add to my stamp collection), from a secret admirer!

In those days, handmade/ homemade was not sought after unless you or your parents lived a kind of Hippie lifestyle.
Nobody would venture into the world of arts and crafts and actually take the time and effort to make you a card or gift.
Valentine Cards had to be bought from a store. Picked off a shelf from a Stationers Shop in an anonymous fashion. And then to top it all, the name of the sender could not be anywhere and a message had to be written in Braille!.

Anyway I never received a Valentines Card during the Swinging Sixties.
But all these years later as I mellow and grow wise, I am still hopeful!!
Who knows??

But I digress, why write a blog called FELT 4U?
www.felt4uart.blogspot.com.

So, let me introduce myself.
My name is Elaine.
Elana, the redhead is my fashion fundi felting friend and together we enjoy a creative and independent lifestyle incorporating the arts and crafts.
Our passion is felting, nuno felting in particular.
We would love to engage with you, and share our work, ideas and thoughts through
www.felt4uart.blogspot.com


With romance in the air we have created two special wraps for Valentine which are sold through our virtual store.
www.felt4u.etsy.com

My Valentine and Marshmallow ( see pix)

Perfume wafts away but a wrap will softly envelope you always with a warm and fuzzy feeling.

We will be happy to have your feedback..

Elaine and Elana
FELT 4U