Events

Sharing FeltHappiness

In December 2021, my family and I moved to Dublin, Ireland and the shed was transformed into a Textile Studio.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Two felted hats will be part of a group exhibition, 'Wonderful WOOL' of Region 14 of the International Feltmakers Association, in the Larne Museum and Arts Centre, Larne, Northern Ireland from July 6 - 27th.
A hat will be part of a group exhibiton at the Galway Wool Co-op's Meitheal, in Athenry, Galway on the 22nd of July.
August Craft Month - I will host an Open Studio, the 6th of August, 11 AM - 4 PM. Come and see the tiny shed where I create my whimsical hats! Plus, you can make your own felted mossy 'stone' using Irish-raised Jacob Wool.
As part of August Craft Month, on August 20th Feltmakers Ireland will have an Open Day, where we will share the magic of feltmaking. Come to the CIE Hall/Inchicore Sports and Social Club and learn how to make a felted flower!

RECENT EVENTS:

Participated at the Pop-Up Gallery's market at Against the Grain on July 15th, 1-6 PM.
Hid a needle felted mushroom in Merrion Square Park as part of Game of Shrooms - June 10th.
Helped coordinate volunteers for the Feltmakers Ireland guild at Bord Bia's Bloom, Friday and Saturday, the 2nd and 3rd of June, from 11 AM to 5 PM, located in area 26 of the DCCI's Irish Craft Village, in Phoenix Park, Dublin. Read the recap over at the Feltmakers Ireland blog.
Became responsible for Marketing Communications for Feltmakers Ireland. It's a volunteer position, but I am keen!
Celebrating Wool - the Legacy of Brigid. Includes fibre-related demonstrations, panel and exhibition space. I shared how a hat is wet-felted from Merino and Irish-raised Jacob wool.
Participated at Showcase Ireland, Stand C91, 22-24th January 2023 at RDS, Dublin.
Member of the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland. Also part of the Made Local campaign.
Joined the Irish Guild of Weavers, Knitters, and Spinners.
Member of RISDmade, an online source for goods from makers and designers who have graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design.
Part of a juried group exhibition, Building Bridges with Feltmakers Ireland at the Phoenix Park Visitors Centre, 5th-22nd of December.
Five fruit hats were part of an exhibition with Poppins Hats in Japan.
Exhibited a series of pods at Sculpture in Context, Thursday, 1st of September to Friday, the 7th of October, in the Wisteria Tent of the National Botanic Gardens, Dublin, Ireland.
Held Open Studio every Sunday for August Craft Month 2022.
Shared the wonders of felt at Dublin Maker Event, Saturday, 23rd of July 2022 in Merrion Square Park, Dublin, Ireland.
Demonstrated beret layout and shared my hats at the Sunday Session of the Feltmakers' Ireland Guild, March, 2022.

FURTHER BACK:

From my creatively fruitful time of living in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, (2014-2021)

Vended at ArtRider's Fall Crafts at Lyndhurst, in Tarrytown, NY in October 17-19, 2021.
Vended at A Fair in the Park in Pittsburgh, PA, September 10th-12th, 2021.
Vended DoorsOpenPittsburgh's Homestead Neighborhood Event, at 309 E 8th Ave, on June 26, 2021.
Vended Handmade Arcade Virtual Market, November 28- December 6th, 2020.
Hat exhibited London Hat Week Exhibition, London, UK. Oct 8-11, 2020.
Sold felted hats and purses at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts Shop.
Vended at Handmade Arcade's Winter Market at Market Square, PGH, Dec 28-31st, 2019.
Vended hats at I Made it! Market @ The Block Northway, PGH, Dec 14th 2019.
Vended hats at Handmade Arcade in PGH, Dec 7th, 2019.
Vended hats at Bazaart at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, MD, Nov 29th & 30th, 2019.
Vended hats at RISD Craft, Providence, RI, Oct 12th, 2019.
Vended hats at A Fair in the Park, PGH, PA, Sept 6-8th, 2019.
Runway Designer at StyleWeekPittsburgh Fashion Show, Aug 17th, 2019.
Part of the MarketPlace at StyleWeekPittsburgh, Aug 17th, 2019.
Art hat exhibited at BeanieFest, Alice Springs, Australia in 2019.
Vended hats at Crafts Alliance, Chautauqua, NY, July 12-14th, 2019.
Vended hats at Mid Ohio Fiber Fair, June 1-2nd.
Vended hats at Three Rivers Arts Festival, June 15-16th, 2019.
Vegas Creamsicle Hat was part of a group show at XTerrace's World Garden Exhibition during London Hat Week, April 3rd -12th, 2019.
Contributed one felted hat to Contemporary Craft's annual, Out of Hand fundraising auction on March 30th, 2019.
Vended hats at the PGH Creative Arts Festival's Pop-Up Makers' Night Market on Saturday evening, March 16th, 2019.
Vended at Indie Knit & Spin @ Ace Hotel, February 23rd, 11-5PM.
Vended at Handmade Arcade, December 8th, 11-7pm, 2018.
Vended at The Center of Harmony’s Christmas Festival, November 10th, 9-6pm. and November 11th, 2018.
Shared the Magic of Wool at the Cleveland Mini Maker Faire, November 3rd, 2018l
Hat Evening at Etc. Wheeling, West Virginia, November 1st, 2018.
Exhibited one of my hats, ‘Fragile Earth,’ in the Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh’s juried exhibition, Inspired, September 23rd-October 18th, 2018.
Vended at the Wearable Art Market, at Eton Chagrin Blvd, October 14th, 2018.
Taught a one-on-one Felted Vessel Workshop to the winning bidder of AssemblePGH MakerDate October 9th, 2018.
Vended at EuroFest 2018, Posvar Hall, University of Pittsburgh, September 15th, 2018.
Participated in MakerDate2018 to benefit AssemblePGH at the Ace Hotel Pittsburgh, September 14th, 2018.
Vended at A Fair in the Park, Mellon Park, September 7th, 2018.
Taught a Felted Vessel Class to the Butler Spinners & Weavers Guild in July, 2018.
Vended at Three Rivers Arts Festival, Point State Park, Pittsburgh, Booth #207, June 8-10th, 2018.
Vended at Neighborhood Flea, in the Strip District, 26th & Smallman, May 13th – Mother’s Day, 2018
Taught how to make a Felted Earth Day Vessel at PGH Knit and Crochet Festival, April 8th, 2018.
Taught a Felted Treasure Nest class at Creative Harmony Books & Arts, Harmony, PA, March 31, 2018.
Taught how to make a Wet Felted Hat at Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA, February 24, 2018.
Sold felted hats at Steel City Con in Monroeville, PA, December 8 – 10th, 2017.
Sold felted hats at Handmade Arcade in Pittsburgh, PA, December 2nd, 2017.
Demonstrated feltmaking at Maker Faire Pittsburgh, October 14 – 15th, 2017.
One of my hats was included in the exhibit, Blue at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Aug-Oct 2017.
Participated at A Fair in the Park, in Pittsburgh, PA, September 8 – 10th, 2017.
Demonstrated and sold hats at Art in the Wilds in Kane, PA, June 24-25, 2017 in Evergreen Park.
Had a booth at the Three Rivers Arts Festival, downtown Pittsburgh. June 9-11th, 2017.
Three hats were exhibited at Wearable Expressions 7th International Juried Exhibition, Palos Verdes, CA, February 10 – April 16, 2017. They were also included in the catalog.
Demonstrated carding wool and sold hats at FutureFest2017, in front of Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, April 29th.
A table full of hats at EuroFest 2017 at University of Pittsburgh, Posvar Hall, Saturday, April 4, 2017.
Felted Nest Workshop at Creative Harmony Arts & Books, April 1, 2017. See http://www.harmonyartsbooks.com/
4th Annual Gift Gallery at Spinning Plate, 5821 Baum Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA. December 7th- 12th. Fri 7-9pm; Sat 10am-5pm & Sun 12-5 pm.
Felted Treasure Container Workshop at Creative Harmony Arts & Books, December 3rd, Sat 1-3pm. See http://www.harmonyartsbooks.com/
2nd Annual Maker Faire Pittsburgh demonstrating wet felting. October 15-16, 2017.
Participated in A Fair in the Park, Mellon Park, Pittsburgh, PA, (USA), September 9-11, 2016. Won the prize for ‘Outstanding Originality.’
Three hats included in the book ‘Worldwide Colours of Felt.’
Accepted into the Craftsmen’s Guild of Pittsburgh, February 2016.
Became a member of Surface Design Association. January 2016.
Popup shop in front of Penn Ave. Pottery, 1905 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, (USA), December 12-13, 2015.
Meet the Maker at Barnes & Noble’s Mini Maker Faire, in Pittsburgh, PA, near the airport. I demonstrated the mysteries of wet felting on Saturday, Nov 7th. The event ran from Nov 6 – Nov 8, 2015. For more details go here.
Finalist for the Seagull Hat at The Crafty’s in the category of Felt Crafts.
FeltHappiness hats and accessories had a showing at Hat Box in Austin, TX “Helping keep Austin weird.”
Nine hats were part of ArtWear Fashion Week in Fort Collins, CO on October 23rd, 2016.
Demonstrated feltmaking at Pittsburgh Maker Faire, October 10th & 11th, 2015, Children’s Museum.
Became a member of the prestigious art group TAFA, Textile and Fiber Arts list. See profile here. January 2015.
Six hats in “Hat or a Crown?” a group exhibition at Ausrine’s Arts Room in Evanston, IL, (USA). February – March 2015.
After living almost a dozen years in Norwich UK, moved back to the USA on September 12th, 2014.

Before that. I lived in Norwich, UK (2003-2014) - see link

Arts Organization Memberships:

Joined Feltmakers Ireland in January 2022.
Joined International Feltmakers Association in February 2021.
Joined Northeast Feltmakers Guild in November 2020.
Joined Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh in 2015.

Continuing Education:

In Spring 2022, I took Fiona Duthie's Colour Studies in Feltmaking.
In May 2022, I took Judit Poc's Bud Hat Class.
In April 2022, I took Zsofia Marx's Brimmed Hat Class.
In June 2022, I took Judit Poc's Reversible Bohemian Hat Class.

During to the Coronavirus quarantine, I took the opportunity to expand my feltmaking skills. I attended several stimulating, online felting classes. These include Zsofia Marx's Stunning Hats, Fiona Duthie's Fibre + Paper, Lena Archbold's Loop de Loop Infinity Scarf, and Judit Poc's Form within a Form Class, via the Northeast Feltmakers Guild.

Additionally, I have watched, via Zoom, many fascinating textile artists' presentations organized by the Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh and the Northeast Feltmakers Guild.

Formal Education:

Graduated from San Jose State University, MLIS in Library and Information Science.
Graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design, BFA in Textiles.