I make all of my felt from Merino rovings. I dry felt my work using felting needles. The needles have lots of small barbs that agitate the fibers when they are pushed and pulled through the surface. As the needles agitate the wool, and bind the fibers, it becomes felt. It can be a very tedious process depending on the number of needles and tools being used. Once I create a piece of felt I cut my shapes and patterns. Then using the felting needles, I felt my designs into one solid piece. It is a process of building and layering. All of my pieces are 100% felt, I do not sew any seams or layers. I also like to add bits of recycled sweaters into some of my work. I full the sweaters by washing & drying them, and then needle felt bits of them in. I love the texture of the knit wool, and the idea of giving these old sweaters a new place in my art.
I throw all of the large porcelain rings on the wheel. Oval rings are thrown and manipulated once they are leather hard. Smaller ones are extruded and hand cut and finished. All of my porcelain is glazed in a clear Celadon that I mix myself from raw chemicals. I fire each piece twice. First to cone 08, then they are glazed and fired to cone 9. I have a 40 cubic foot gas kiln.
When the kiln is cooled and unloaded, I lay out my rings and design the "skeleton". I then make my felt to fit the piece. I use foam core under the felt to hold it in the porcelain frame, and once everything is secured, a hard industrial felt is adhered to cover the back. The pieces are easily hung and much lighter than you would think. Some large groupings also have aluminum reinforcement.
