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Wordless Wednesday

Elf by Edwina Sutherland

Art as therapy

Art isn’t just a painting you hang on your wall. For the person who painted it, it was cathartic. If you look at a painting, not just the picture but the actual brush strokes and lines, you can get an idea of the artist’s mood, and how the subject matter made them feel. You can even tell if the artist was an impatient person. Judging from subject matter and colour choices you can also learn if he was depressed or had a vibrant personality. You can pick up a lot just from looking at a painting.

Now, pretend you are the artist.

Art can be the perfect outlet. You don’t have to be talented. No one expects you to be the next Pablo Picasso or Claude Monet. It may surprise you that sometimes a piece of artwork’s imperfections are its most intriguing attribute.

Being creative is a great way to release tension, and express yourself. You can think of it as a type of therapy. The creative process involved in expressing one’s self artistically can help people to resolve issues as well as develop and manage their behaviours and feelings, reduce stress, and improve self-esteem and awareness.

You don’t have to limit yourself to one visual art form either. There are so many ways to express yourself. You can choose from painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, or a variety of other types of visual art expression.

If you choose to draw, there are a number of different mediums to choose from. You can use pencils, ink, charcoal, pastels, etc. There are more types of paper out there than you ever imagined as well. Whatever you choose, don’t be afraid to set the pencil to the paper.

Painting can be a lot of fun. There are paints geared to the amateur all the way to the professional. There are different types of paints such as tempera, acrylic, and oil. You can paint on paper, canvas, wood, etc. You can paint on pretty much any surface you wish. You just have to make sure you have the right paint for whatever surface you choose, as well as the proper brush. Each brush stroke tells a story.

If you prefer, you can take photos of different subject matter. The way you express yourself is in the way you capture your subject. In photography you can lose yourself in nature, or the architecture of your city or town. You may enjoy portrait photography, capturing the emotions expressed on one’s face. You can create a whole new world through the camera’s lens.

Have you ever thought about ceramics? You can get right into the thick of things. You can choose to begin from clay and mould your own sculpture. You can spin your own creation on the pottery wheel. Or, if you are uncomfortable working from the raw material, you can buy already finished creations and paint them so they become your own.

Needlepoint is an art form as well. It is simple and low impact and the work can be framed and hung for all to enjoy. Cross-stitching is done to a piece of fabric, creating a design or picture. You can purchase templates at craft stores, or you can paint a picture on the canvas, then use a cross-stitch technique to go over the top of the painting.

It really doesn’t matter what you choose. You can decide to show your work by hanging it up or hide it away in a chest or workshop. It isn’t showing it to people that helps you, but the act of creating the work.

You can create on your own or in a group dynamic. There are classes held all the time at local arts and craft stores. Staff at hobby stores can be very helpful so don’t be afraid to ask for help and advice.

It’s easy to bottle up your emotions but you don’t have to. And the best part is, you can let everything out. Art is an outlet, and can be interpreted so many different ways. Someone might see your creation one way but only you need to know what it really represents.

Source: ehow.com and 50+ Ottawa

Wordless Wednesday

Stones

Photo by Edwina Sutherland

Have you tried Felting?

If you haven’t tried the many styles of felt making, you are missing a big part of the textile arts experience.

The hottest trend in the fibre world right now is felting. To take beautiful colours of wool fibre and turn it into something useful, like slippers or a bag, or something sculptural like a vessel, is to witness the most amazing transformation. Let me introduce you to the different methods of felt making available to today’s fibre artist.

Wet felted bag

• Wet felting is the oldest form of felting. Using wool fiber, the magic of wet felting will produce a small bag, a vessel, any shape you want! Wet felting is the process of removing air from the wool fiber, which is stacked in organized layers, wetted with water and soap and massaged, rubbed and finally formed into a felt object. This magic process makes fiber into felt. Dating far back in human history, felt has been there, providing warmth and comfort. Clothing, tents, yurts (a round shelter) and many other practical items have been produced this way.

Pied Piper - needle felted

• Needle felting is one of those arts that have evolved from industrial uses. The humble felting needle is secured in a bed by the thousands and used to produce things like carpet underlay, felt boot liners, insulation and quilt batting. Taken by itself, it becomes a very versatile tool for the fiber artist. Without stitching a shape or stuffing, a figure can be built, layer by layer with wool fiber and one simple tool: the felting needle. A face can be detailed entirely with colored wool using this method. The possibilities are limitless!

• Knitting - Many knitters are having fun with felting: knitting hats, bags, mittens, etc. with wool yarn. These are then placed in a washing machine to shrink and become felt. This process is properly called “fulling,” though it is commonly referred to as felting. It results in felt fabric, which is strong, warm to wear and beautiful.

• The Embellisher machine - The newest comer to the felt making scene is the embellishing machine. An embellisher is a sewing machine of sorts, without thread or feed dogs. Felting needles do the work of needle felting, inserted singly or in groups in the needle holder of the machine. Using the machine, flat pieces of felted and embellished work can be made. Many fiber artists and quilters are creating wonderful work with this single-purpose machine.

So try playing with wool if you haven't already. There are so many styles to choose from. I love it and am very passionate about felting in all it's forms. You can find kits and supplies on my web site, Edwina Dolls.

New doll pattern ready!

Here's Tilly! No longer silly.

I dressed her in 1812 style, to test out my online class once more.

I've had some great comments from those who have taken the class.

Tilly as a doll pattern has been sent off to Cyndy Sieving at AFIC. Cyndy is preparing a booklet of designer's patterns for those attending this event. I'm honoured to be included in this collection.

Once I get my new website ready, I'll be offering Tilly as a free pattern.

My next project with Tilly is to dress her in modern clothing or maybe convert her to boy figure. The pattern works either way! It's a juvenile figure, do can easily be a 10-12 year old boy or girl.

My Edwina Dolls web site is still up and running, so orders will not be delayed in any way by the re-do of the site. I'm pretty excited with what my designer has come up with. Louise Ingram

also creates fabulous glass beads, under her Fireseed name.

Marliane Verhelst class

My friend Katuma and I signed up to take Marlaine Verhelst's online class, Sculpting a doll in air drying clay. We get together when we have a free Sunday afternoon and work on the heads. It's sometimes tough to get our schedules to match, but we keep trying!

Here's what we have done so far. This has its challenges! The clay dries as you work, so you need to be aware of that and add some water to prolong the working time. The proportions are not perfect, but this is our first attempt. At least I can see what's wrong with mine.

The heads began as clay over a Styrofoam shape. Since there is no baking, this is safe to use. Keeping the head on a stick means less handling, except where you are sculpting.

The heads will need painting at the finish, which may require another class! I'm used to colouring with pencils on my cloth heads or using coloured fibre in my felting.

Right now I have too many half finished projects. Time to get cracking on finishing them!

New costume for Annabella

Here's Annabella! The doll was made with my Annabella pattern, so she's a cloth doll. I have been playing around with wired ribbon to use in my dolls. Here's one idea I had. I sewed the ribbons together to create the skirt. The wonderful thing is, you can use the wire to shape the outfit!

I am pleased with her face, even though she's a little serious looking. The hair is not finished, but it looks a little like mine!! Don't they say we reflect ourselves in our dolls? It must be true, as I often see my own eyes looking back at me when I create a face. Those are the ones I see most often in the mirror, after all!