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.