Do you like shiny things? Here's a Sculptural Felted Pod in turquoise with sparkly sequins!
This is the bottom of the pod, but the top is equally exciting!
(Scroll down to see. or visit my Instagram to see video.)
Judit Pocs Workshop
Recently, I attended a 'Form within a Form' workshop with feltmaker extraordinaire, Judit Pocs. She is a talented artist who creates VERY complex, three-dimensional forms.
Check out her website, especially her sculptural hats. So inspiring!
Much Learned
Not surprisingly, creating our sculptural felted pods was demanding work. There was an intricate dance of steps, which in the beginning, we had to go on 'faith' that it would all somehow work out alright. Or at least I did, as I had never done a form within a form, within yet another form. That's THREE shapes, plus all the shiny embellishments, including sequin fabrics and beading.
Thankfully, Judit is a thorough and patient teacher. Although, there were parts where I had to scramble to keep up! Hurrying is ~not~ something that I'm used to - at least not these days!
Afterwards, she sent us recordings of the class so that we could review all the steps needed to make our pods. Additionally, she also sent a written set of instructions, too!
More Classes
In addition to teaching 'live' classes via Zoom, Judit also has pre-recorded self-paced classes which you can also find on her Workshop Page. There is a headdress one that looks intriguing!
Northeast Feltmakers Guild
This educational opportunity was organized by the Northeast Feltmakers Guild, which I only joined this past fall. Who would have thought that Covid-19 would have an upside? Honestly, I never would have been able to make the trek to New England, where the group typically holds their in-person meetings and classes. The ability to meet up virtually with like-minded feltmakers has been great. And tackling such a complex project in the company of others was instructive.
Excellent Zoom Experience
Having had a fair amount of good experiences with attending Zoom classes with other instructors, I want to compliment how excellently this workshop functioned. There is a reason: her husband, Roland, is a videographer! Hence, he filmed the class and was additionally, able to adjust any of the weird inconveniences of working with the Zoom platform. Perhaps, you have experienced them yourself?
For example, when students had questions, he was able to highlight/enlarge the speaking student's screen so we could better see them. Then, when the student was finished talking, he would switch back so that Judit was on the main screen. Having this behind-the-scenes technical support really improves the online learning experience of Zoom.
Notwithstanding how this was so good, how many textile artists have in-house tech support?
Top View of the Pod
Now, I just need to figure out how to translate all of these complex felting techniques into a hat. Maybe only one or two of them. How about a sequin top hat? Although, my project will need to have a hole.
Did you notice that there is no hole in this hollow (yet filled) pod? Truly fascinating felt!