New work for the New Year

With the next generation of my family at the stage of getting married and having babies, I've wanted, for a long time, to create a family heirloom, in the way that my mother crocheted a multi-coloured afghan square blanket for my son.

Using machine-made prefelts in merino wool, I've laid out a throw of geometric shapes and am very interested to see the interplay of colours when the overlapping blocks felt together.



A scarf of silk chiffon animal print, hand felted with merino wool for those cool Summer evenings (measures 175 x 16 cm). This one is a gift for J.J.

If you would like to order one, email me.

And the winner is...

Photo by Jennie Curtis.

The entries for the Canberra Region Feltmakers Challenge for 2009 were judged by two colleagues from the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra.

The ashes of a previous group felting project in the form of a tepee which was burned in a fire, are contained in a glass urn inside the conical felted form at the front of the photo.

Lis was awarded the ashes for her fingerless gloves which the judges found "chic and practical".

The show has opened.

Kerchief in merino wool and silk chiffon.


(75 x 75 cms square scarf in merino wool and silk
chiffon.)

Studio Altenburg Gallery's Summer Exhibition opened on the
12 th November.

Lis has added extra Shell scarves to the display, this time hand felted in a square format or a smaller kerchief style.

Fore Warmed is Fore Armed

Each year the Canberra Region Feltmakers pose a Challenge.

The Challenge for 2009 is any item for the forearm (fingertips to elbow). It could be mittens, gloves, bangles, bracelets, glove puppets, gauntlets...
A 'mystery' judge will select the best response to the Challenge at the November meeting of the group, which also happens to be their Christmas Party.
In recognition of her/his creativity, the winner becomes the custodian of 'the ashes' for the coming year.

Lis has hand felted the pictured pair of fingerless gloves in silk chiffon and merino wool and embellished them with hand stitching.

Who will be the winner? Keep posted to find out after the 28th November.

Summer Exhibition at Studio Altenburg, Braidwood.

She sells...




The colours of Volutidae, a shell of the species, Volutoconus Bednalli, are captured in this hand felted silk chiffon and merino wool scarf by Lis Mertens which will be part of the Group Summer Exhibition showing from mid - November until February at Studio Altenburg in Braidwood.




This scarf reflects the colours and design of the shell, Orthalicidae, of the species Liguus Virgineus, which is found in Cuba, Santo Domingo and Haiti.
It is hand felted silk chiffon and merino wool.

Keep posted for information regarding the pre- Christmas opening of the Summer Exhibition.

Back from the desert

White Gums

Taking "Goodnight in the gully where the white gums grow" by printmaker, Jessie Traill, Australia 1881-1967, as a starting point in 2008, Lis began a series of images using merino sliver and spun yarn.
In response to a call for entries for the Braidwood Quilt Event 2009 Indoor Exhibition, she has completed an art quilt to enter in two categories ie. Lap quilt and Wall Hanging.
The two-day indoor Exhibition will be held on Saturday and Sunday, the 28-29 November, 2009 at the National Theatre,Wallace Street,Braidwood, NSW 2622.

Uluru Watercourses - Cape.

Back


Front

This is the last piece in the 2008-2009 Desert Collection. It is handfelted and hand dyed merino wool and silk chiffon and is reminiscent of the paths water and minerals make as they descend Uluru after the rains.

The Cape will be available at Studio Altenburg, one of Lis' Spring Wearables.

Cherry blossom time

It's Cherry blossom time on the Southern Tablelands.

Another birthday.

Gina celebrated her birthday last week with a red-themed party and lots of family and friends.
Lis made this hand felted and hand stitched merino wool and recycled kimono silk scarf to fit in with the red theme.

Happy birthday, Cecile.

Lis made a hand felted nuno scarf in silk chiffon and merino wool, hand dyed by Pip Creasey, as a birthday present for long time friend, Cecile.

Next workshop in Bungendore

On Sunday 25 October we hold the next in our series of felting workshops with Lis Mertens. This course is a mixed bag with participants undertaking Nuno Scarf, handbag or various other projects that they would personally like to learn. For more information on this course, $80 for the day includes morning tea; however, participants need to supply their own lunch.

The Sydney Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef

The photo shows a sample of crochet coral models produced by the group, Hyperbolic - Bloom in Canberra, of which Lis was a contributor.
Workshops like this were held around the country and the final installation at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney incorporates almost a thousand models of coral, kelp, sea slugs and anemones in material ranging from wool to plastic bags and fibre-optic cables, produced by more than 300 people.
The installation weaves art and community craft together with environmental activism and marine biology and runs until August 30th.

On the town

Red yoryu silk chiffon and merino wool hand felted scarf.



Merino wool and vintage kimono silk with hand stitching.

These two new scarves are destined for display in Studio Altenburg to coincide with the latest exhibition, a retrospective of the work of Christoph Altenburg, silversmith and painter, who founded the gallery.

Exhibition opens this Friday, the 14th of August.

for those cold mornings on a motor bike...

A double layer of merino wool, hand felted with a personal logo, as in this scarf made for my friend, Matt, should do the trick.


Check out Matt's blog at Machineshed. (see links)

Student nuno felt.

Italian polyester and merino wool.
Jungle - silk chiffon and merino wool.

Juniper - chiffon and merino wool.






Autumn Leaves - red yoryu silk chiffon with merino wool.

Nuno Felt scarf workshop at School of Arts, Bungendore.

Felt

During the month of August all products made of felt will be reduced by 10% in the Kiku Arts Gallery shop. If you would prefer to learn how to make your own beautiful felt-wear then consider registering for the Nuno Felt Scarf Course for Sunday 9 August. The price of the course is $85 (less than the purchase price of one scarf in retail outlets) and includes course instruction and a two course light luncheon. Participants need to purchase any silk and wool tops from Lis Mertens, the instructor, but can bring any wool, silk and other materials they wish to use from their own supplies.

If you would like to take part in this workshop,

Contact: Wendy Shanley at Kiku Arts

10 Gibraltar St

Bungendore NSW 2621

P: 02 6238 1971

M: 0409 368 814

or leave a comment with your contact details.

and more hats...

Lis will run a felt hatmaking workshop in Braidwood on Thursday, 23rd July.
Participants will learn to make a hat resist of their chosen style, lay out, dry felt and full a hat in their choice of colour on the day.
Directions will be given regarding design, including using two colours, as in the pictured hat, and adding embellishment to the brim.
Interested?
Post a comment with your details to receive more information.

Hats

Beginners Workshop at the Bungendore School of Arts

Lis ran a Beginners Workshop last Sunday, the 28th June. The workshop was facilitated by Wendy Shanley of Kiku Arts Gallery, Malbon St., Bungendore.
Participants came from within a radius of Bungendore and brought with them enthusiasm to make their own felt . Students learned to lay out, either a headband, or a sample to be later made into a wallet. There was much discussion and experimentation of surface design possibilities.
Are you interested in learning about the process of feltmaking and to make your own individual pieces? Simply post a comment with your contact details to find out about future workshops.

Alice Springs Beanie Festival Competition 2009

Testing the Fibre: Ancient techniques and new ideas: 2009 Alice Springs Beanie Festival exhibition.
This year the festival will be celebrating the United Nation's International Year of Natural Fibres. Along with renewable fibres value is placed on the handmade. Textile techniques- knitting, crochet, felting, weaving are easy to learn and difficult to master. Amazing levels of technical skill can be developed to make ideas come alive. This is when the ordinary beanie becomes extraordinary. Exhibitors were invited to test the possibilities of their creative fibre and the fibres they work with.

The Fashion Parade

This patchwork skirt is hand felted in alpaca, mohair and silk with a merino waistband. It was shown in the Rapt in Felt Fashion Parade on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the Exhibition.

Rapt in Felt 2009

Members of Canberra Region Feltmakers held their Annual Exhibition, Fashion Parades and Buyers' Bazaar this weekend at the CSIRO Discovery Centre.

Lis Mertens exhibited three pieces including a Pademelon wrap hand felted in merino wool on hand dyed silk chiffon.

A popular exhibit was a Peacock Feather hat hand felted in merino wool with sari silk loom ends.

Melbourne Scarf Festival 2009

After a short hiatus, the very popular Scarf Festival is back and is moving from its former home at Craft Victoria in Melbourne to its new location at the National Wool Museum in Geelong, from 19 June to 19 July.

"Transformation - Scarf Festival 2009" has been developed in consultation with Craft Victoria.

* The Transformation Showcase is an exhibition of original, handcrafted scarves created by entrants, and featuring a range of awards for the best scarves. All scarves entered will be displayed in the exhibition and most will be available for purchase.

Lis Mertens will have two entries in the exhibition.

The first is titled "Autumn Eucalypt" and is hand felted in black chiffon silk and merino wool.

The second is a hand felted black silk chiffon and red yoryu silk chiffon and merino wool scarf.

Autumn Vacation Nuno scarf workshop

Nuno felt is the term used to describe the combination of wool and fabric, usually silk or cotton voile which were both used in today's workshop. Polyester or rayon fabric can also be used: the success of the combining of the wool and fabric depends on the openness of the weave.

Autumn Vacation Beginners Workshop

Enthusiasm and concentration were high at
yesterday's Beginning Felt Making Workshop with Lis Mertens, held in Braidwood.

Students were a mixture of Adults and Primary kids who inspired and motivated each other.

Participants made a range of items from a bracelet, wallets, a seamless mobile phone holder to scarves.

As you can see from the photos, some very pleasing results were achieved.

Incidental Art Exhibition

As part of the Two Fires Festival taking place in Braidwood, NSW, this weekend, 28th and 29th March, the Braidwood Regional Art Group in collaboration with the Festival organisers is staging an incidental art exhibition, in an effort to bring works by local artists to the public.

Works can be seen hanging at various venues around town including The Serrated Tussock and The Criterion restaurants. On display amongst works by various artists at the Eureka Pizzeria on Wallace Street is a hand felted vest made by Lis Mertens which is a depiction of Fire Scars on the Tanami Desert, N.T., as seen from a satellite orbiting the Earth.

Needle-felting

Lis attended a Needle-felting workshop which was part of the Selling Yarns 2 Conference held at the ANU on the 8th March.

Gay Epstein, the tutor, has been a workshop convener at 'Beanie Fest' in Alice Springs for the past 6 years and has worked with women in remote communities making felt mukata (beanies).

Participants were shown examples and images of needle-felting from Australian Desert communities for inspiration. They first worked on design, then learned the technique of needle-felting and correct finishing whilst exploring the creative possibilities of the technique. There was a focus on Health and Safety and participants left the workshop with a finished embellishment on a beanie or item. There was also be discussion on other applications for needle-felting.

A winner!

Lis took out 3 firsts ( one in each category entered ) at the Royal Canberra Show.

Hat ; "Desert Smoke #2"

Entered in the 2009 Royal Canberra Show, Felting Exhibition in the "Hand felted original item for the head" section is "Desert Smoke #2", a hat hand felted by Lis Mertens.

2009 Royal Canberra Show
Exhibition Park in Canberra
27,28 February - 1 March, 2009

2009 Royal Canberra Show

In 2009, there will be a new category for entries in the Feltmaking section of the Show, namely a "hand felted original item including recycled material(s)". Lis Mertens has hand felted this piece using an Indian silk scarf with a block printed pattern in traditional colours.

New Year, new work.

This image is of a handfelted merino wool and stranded embroidery cotton rendition of "Fire Scars on the Simpson Desert, N.T." as seen from a satellite orbiting the Earth.
It will be made into a vest and displayed at the 2009 Royal Canberra Show along with other work by Canberra Regional Feltmakers in the Special Challenge class with other articles depicting an individual interpretation of Astronomy.

Vacation workshop

During the summer vacation, Lis Mertens ran a Beginner Feltmaking workshop in Braidwood. The group was made up of a mixture of adults and Primary-aged students. Most of the participants made a sample of felt large enough to be made into a hairband when finished. Some worked with a resist to make a round or square oven mitt. After lunch, students chose to make a range of items from bracelets to scarves. The emphasis of the workshop was to make well-finished felt items that students could use and all students achieved that objective.

2009 Tilba Now Exhibition

The 2009 Tilba Now Exhibition commences in the Big Hall, Bates Street, Central Tilba on Thursday 8th January. This annual exhibition showcases works by local artists.

In winter 2008 Lis Mertens made a road trip to Central Australia, taking in th Alice Springs Beanie Festival.

She took part in an introductory basket making workshop with aboriginal women organised by the Tjanpi weavers group.

For the Tilba Now Exhibition, Lis has created a hand needled raffia basket with lid, decorated with ininti seeds ( from the bat wing coral tree ). This basket was begun by the campfire in the desert and completed while holidaying on the NSW south coast, with finishing touches added while staying at Central Tilba.