Baby jackets

Two new baby jackets available in sizes Newborn - 3months and 3 - 6 months. Lightweight handfelted merino wool on cotton muslin.

Available in Sydney for Christmas

Eucalyptus cinerea. Cotton muslin wrap/large scarf. Hand dyed and hand stitched.




Brown Onion Skins. Cotton muslin scarf. Hand dyed and machine stitched.




Old Roses. Cotton muslin scarf, hand dyed with old style magenta roses from the garden. Hand stitched.

For information re: my Sydney outlet, contact me: lismertens@hotmail.com

Donated to the Bushfire Brigade Annual Christmas Fundraiser Raffle.


The top scarf is hand felted merino wool and tissue silk. The bottom one is the merino wool/silk roving 50/50 combination. Both were hand dyed with Eucalyptus cinerea leaves, with surprisingly different results.

New arrivals

A cot blanket for Jonas Timothy, born earlier this month. Hand felted merino wool with recycled kimono silk and crochet doilies - some made by his great grandmother - and hand stitched.



This jacket of hand felted merino wool on cotton muslin is for an Italian cousin whose birth is yet to be announced.

A similar one is available from Studio Altenburg, Braidwood. Size: Newborn to 3 months.



For Claudia, born yesterday in Italy. Hand knitted merino wool.




This little jacket is a combination of hand felted wool and cotton muslin, hand dyed with old roses from the garden. The central placket is hand felted from merino wool and silk. I made this one for a little "premmie" due to be delivered this week.

Decay

Decay = decomposition =

De – compost – ition: Tote

Explores the idea of reusing the earth’s resources to their full capacity.

Hand felted merino wool with cotton muslin lining, hand dyed using leaves from Eucalyptus Cinerea (Argyle Apple), picked up from under the tree, presumably ready for decomposition into mulch.

Machine sewn and trimmed with leather to become a tote, to help to avoid the use of plastic bags which take so much longer to decompose than leaves.

(30.5 x 7.5 x 34 cms.)

Special Challenge

A scarf of the Volutidae Shell design I have been working on. This shell is found rarely, off the coast of the Northern Territory. I am entering it in the class "Australiana - any article of felting depicting our Australian beaches. It is a combination on merino wool and tissue silk.

Canberra Show, 2012

It's approaching time to hand in items for the Canberra Show early in 2012.

As well as entering the Mandala Mat in the Hand Felted original item for the home in the Professional Class, I will show a Vest, called "Forest Floor" in the Hand Felted original item for the body.



The vest is made with a combination of merino wool and mohair on black tissue silk.




Detail of hand stitching.

By comparison...

These two pieces were dyed with Eucalyptus Cinerea (Argyle Apple) leaves, flowers and buds.

The scarf on the left is one layer of fine merino wool laid out on a length of tissue silk, then bundled with fresh leaves, flowers and buds and heated on the fire one cold Spring evening.

The scarf on the right is one layer of a mixture of merino wool and silk fibre, laid out on tissue silk and bundled with dried leaves of the Argyle Apple, then solar dyed ie. pot placed in a sunny spot, in the garden for 3 days.

The wool appears to absorb the natural colours much more readily. The fresh dye material gives a much richer colour, as can be seen clearly in the detail below.



Detail

Spring/Summer 2011 - 2012

Brown Squares Scarf, hand felted merino wool on china blue tissue silk.




Red Squares Scarf, hand felted merino wool on brown tissue silk.




Blue Squares Scarf, hand felted merino wool on white tissue silk.

#4 Road Trip

Scarf of hand felted tissue silk with merino/silk roving, hand dyed with bark, leaves, stems, buds and flowers of a yellow flowering gum collected while waiting for a flat tyre to be fixed at Copley, SA.




detail

Mandala Mat Workshop with Martien van Zuilen

Detail



With Martien, I was lucky to have the opportunity to "learn to make a hand-felted rug inspired by the traditional art and design of the ‘Mandala’. Loosely translated to mean 'circle', a Mandala represents wholeness and balance; its symbolism appears in many cultures and aspects of life.

I explored felt-specific techniques for surface design and texture, including colour blending, pattern inlay, shading, and the effects of using simple stitch and incorporated a variety of fibres, pre-felts and yarns. This class guided students through the stages and process of colour use & effect, design, and mark-making in felt to create individual rugs." (from Martien's course description)

see www.martienvanzuilen.com

#3

From the kitchen - this scarf has been dyed using the skins of many brown onions!



Detail of Blackwood, a wrap/shawl/large scarf hand felted with fine tissue silk and merino/silk roving and dyed using bark, leaves, seed pods and blossoms of Acacia melanoxylon.

Eco dyeing #2

A Wrap/Shawl/Large Scarf in hand felted tissue silk and merino/silk roving, hand dyed using Eucalyptus cinerea.



This silk and merino scarf is hand dyed with eucalyptus leaves which displayed a deep pink blush at the end of winter.



Hand dyed with eucalyptus bark picked up on a bushwalk, this silk and wool scarf has added merino wool slashes where the bark may have peeled of the trunk.



One of the first signs of Spring, wattle leaves and blossoms were collected to hand dye this silk and merino wool scarf.

These smaller scarves are now available at the CraftACT Shop, Level 1, North Building, 180 London Circuit, Civic, ACT.

Interior design

Published in issue 68 of (inside), the interior design review, is the magazine's Design Excellence Awards shortlist for 2011.
Included in the Hospitality section is Matt Darwon's fitout design for Pony, at Neutral Bay.
The above curtain defines the private dining room at the back of the restaurant. It is double sided and hand felted using fine cotton muslin and merino wool.
Check out the magazine for a better view of the space, with its "free-form curving timber-lined ceiling" incorporating five kilometers of timber slats!

Hat, hat hooray.

I have created this contemporary Snood in charcoal and purple merino wool with vintage button to enter the Hat Hat Hooray Competition organised by Bosom Buddies, ACT to raise funds to support those affected by breast cancer.

Hats will be on display at the National Convention Centre in Civic, ACT on the 1st and 2nd of October .

For Art's Sake 2011

FOR ART'S SAKE - It's anonymous, inclusive and all in the name of art!

One Gallery
Over 400 anonymous artworks
One starting price of $65 per canvas, no matter the artist
Opening Night Auction of select high profile Contemporary Artists

Now in its third year, ‘For Art’s Sake’ is an exciting and thoroughly enjoyable annual fundraising initiative that believes all people have unique and inspired contributions to make towards Sydney’s creative community. It promotes art as an expression that transcends age, culture, physical and intellectual disability, and in doing so, provides an equal and legitimate platform by which artists of all abilities can exhibit their works without the stigma associated with their perceived limitations.

Professional and emerging artists, celebrities, friends, families and people with a disability are all invited to attend FRANS annual 'For Art's Sake exhibition and fundraiser of over 400 anonymous works of art, hosted by Julie McCrossin at Sydney College of the Arts, Rozelle on Wednesday September 28, 2011 from 6pm to 9pm.

'For Art's Sake' celebrates the creative works of a range of artists in an anonymous art exhibition of over 400 canvases of the same size all for the same starting price of $65 which can be doubled, tripled, etc !

Designed to promote Art for Art’s sake, artworks from people with disabilities will hang alongside professional & emerging artists and the wider community. The anonymity means each piece is judged on its artistic merit and allows art lovers and investors the wonderful possibility of purchasing a bargain that they will truly enjoy.

This year, FRANS is thrilled to have pieces contributed by renowned artists such as Mambo artist Reg Mombassa, former Archibald winner Garry Shead, internationally acclaimed surrealist Mike Worrall, Wynne finalist Paul Haggith, Indigenous prize winner Jody Broun, and contemporary artists Lindy Lee, Daniel O'Toole, Christian Morrow, Merilyn Fairskye, Deb Fineberg, Paul Smith, Ro Cook, Keith Hansen and more.

All funds raised from the exhibition will go towards maintaining and enhancing the level and quality of innovative support programs, while furthering the independence, access and inclusion of the people and their families that FRANS cares for.

For Art's Sake 2011

Disability support group FRANS will hold an anonymous Art Exhibition & Fundraiser at Sydney College of the Arts, Rozelle from Wednesday 28 September - Saturday 1 October.

In past years the event has featured over 400 canvases by a range of artists of varying skills and background, all for sale at the same starting price. Professional and emerging artists, celebrities, hobbyists and people with a disability were asked to create and donate works for the exhibition.

Entrants were provided with a blank canvas on which to paint, draw, paste, plaster, sculpt or sew.

I chose to hand felt a landscape entitled Afternoon Walk - Budawang, using hand dyed tissue silk and merino wool and silk rovings, which was then stretched over the canvas.

Neptune's Garden

Volutidae (Velutoconus Bednalli) is long scarf in hand felted merino wool and silk embellishment on tissue silk.



"Marine Elements" is a large kerchief of hand felted merino wool, merino yarn and hand dyes tissue silk.

These pieces, along with the Soft Orange Coral, Fan Coral and Kelp and Shell Neckpiece, will be on show at the studio@flinders gallery, Mornington Peninsula, Vic. in September.

They reflect an appreciation of the colours, textures and vitality of the sea as a natural force.

Kelp and shell neckpiece.

Hand felted merino wool, shells attached with hand stitching and button closure

A scarf for Celia

Celia is an artist who just does it. No planning, no design. She follows an idea. At the moment she's wearing a hand knitted cardigan which is a "work in progress".

I saw the variegated wool I've used in this scarf for her and it reminded me very much of the warm earthy tones she favours. When I began to make it, I decided to follow her method of working and see where it led me.

I hand dyed the tissue silk in the microwave, then laid out all the wool I had in random stripes. I like the way the wool shirrs the silk.

Fan coral

Merino wool, alpaca yarn and tissue silk selvedges hand felted on black tissue silk.

Soft Orange Coral

Ready for Spring, a lightweight hand felted scarf in hand dyed tissue silk and merino wool.

Coasters

West MacDonnell Ranges and Dry Creek Bed
Hand felted merino wool and silk with hand stitching.
(10cm x 10cm)

Ecodyeing demystified.

I had a great opportunity last week to learn about ecodyeing from Sandra, a natural. She has committed to memory so many plants, where to find them, as well as the results obtained when using them in different seasons and whether used fresh, dried or frozen.

This first one was done using two different coloured roses, petunias and iris, all frozen last summer. I laid out a piece of white tissue silk with one layer of merino and silk roving. This was rolled and fulled before placing the flowers on in a concertina fold, tied around a rusted metal bar and boiled up in a cast iron pot for a little over an hour.



The small scarf below is a pre-hemmed silk scarf laid out with dried cinerea eucalyptus (Argyle apple) leaves, then rolled around a chromed pipe, tied and boiled.

Happy Birthday, Alex.

Where in the world...

Someone asked me not long ago, if I did anything else as well as make felt. At the time, I thought making felt, part-time teaching and family and friends, with a little travel thrown in when possible, might be enough to keep one person busy.

Later, I decided, maybe I could just try my hand at collage...

(Click on image for an enlarged view.)

Another Portal - a hat this time.

In creating pieces for the Portal series, I've enjoyed using the mixed greens from a Finnish wool producer, called Pilku.

As the colour Indigo is no longer available from Fibre Fusion in Victoria, I attempted to create my own version by laying two layers of black wool over a bed of mixed blues from Pilku. Did it work? You be the judge.

Alice Springs Beanie Festival

The Fire Beanie depicts colours and patterns which remain after a desert fire storm has passed. It is hand felted in merino wool with embroidery cotton detail.

From Friday 24th June to Sunday 26th July, Competition Beanies will be on display in Gallery One, Araluen Centre, Alice Springs cultural Precinct, Larapinta Drive, Alice Springs.

This year the Competition will be celebrating the beanie's ability to ascribe to the Elements: Earth, Wind, Fire and Water.

Sharing my work

Check out some "Desert" work on:

http://feltfashion.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/share-your-work-lis-mertens/

Winter Warmers

"Moss and Indigo": unisex scarf hand felted in merino wool with recycled silk shirting.



"Verdant and mixed greens": hand felted wrap/large scarf in merino wool with vintage button.



Snood: hand felted in merino wool with vintage button. Apple green finds its way from the inside out through the black exterior.

The pieces in this show are part of a larger exploration of the colour green, the pervasive colour of the natural world, and its ability to soothe and relax both mentally and physically.

The combination of wool and silk creates an invitation to wrap up in these wearable garments and contemplate the interaction one has with the space in which one finds oneself as well as the sense of renewal and harmony to be discovered within.

On display at the studio@flinders Gallery, Mornington Peninsula, Vic. from 11th June to 3rd July.

Fashion Parade ensemble.

Pademelon - Midnight, wrap or large scarf, hand felted merino wool and tissue silk.



Hand felted seamless merino wool skirt with incorporated tissue silk lining.

Photos by Kelly.