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.