Petroglyph inspired #1

Looks like this is going to be the year of the bad blogger!  I am SO behind with my posts.  No joy with the lions mane yet.. I tried something which was not succesfull, but have another plan in mind.. so more to come soon (hopefully).  SO, back to my original posting plan..

Another theme I wanted to work with this year was PETROGLPHYS and PICTOGRAPHS.  I felted a couple of bags last year which were inspired by petroglyphs, and its something I have been wanting to come back to since then. I had a boost when a lovely lady in New Mexico brought one of those bags and told me that she and her husband liked it so much that they were going to hang it on the wall when it wasn’t being used – what a lovely compliment! She asked me whether I had considered making petroglyph wall hangings.. which I had been planning for over a year and just hadn’t gotten around to. This gave me a nudge to GET ON WITH IT.

My new friend in Mexico has sent me lots of links and photographs of North American petroglyphs and pictographs, which have been very inspirational. One thing that amazes me is how SIMILAR many of the images are from different continents. Everyone perceives things in their own way, but some images (for example sheep) are depicted in almost exactly the same way, there are images which are wildly different – but its the similarities that pull at me.

My first wall hanging is very richly earth tones; gold, reds and browns. I made a thick piece of merino felt – 7 fibre layers; mostly gold but with a red border around the very outside. I didn’t want a solid band of colour but more mottled fading in and out.

On top of the 7th layer I added some hand dyed silk cap in terracotta and brown.. then 'drew' the pictures on in brown and burgundy merino fibre.

It made a lovely solid piece of felt.. (oh how I love the pebbly texture you get with merino!) Its a long, narrow piece – would of made a good table runner to be honest.

I decided to mount it on canvas to hang on the wall, as I didn’t have a box canvas the right size we made one. Gary made a wooden frame for me, and we stretched first calico and then Irish linen over the frame, stapling them (calico first, then the linen) at the back stretched as tight as a drum. Once that was done I could sew the felt into place.. I used an invisible stitch to attach it (I think its is called ladder stitch but I’m not sure – its one that you can’t see from the front anyway).

Hanging in the dining room (aka my felting studio :)
Measures about 3ft wide

I love the silk..

This picture is a keeper.. Gary and the kids took a shine to it and its a nice splash of colour in the dining room :)   The next wallhanging I make is going to be hung from a rail so it can be posted more easily.. I really must get to work on that soon! 

Next post: Petroglyph shoulder bags - nice n bright :)

xx