Project 1: “Who Are You?”
My painting: West Coast Mists
So, for my project all about “Who I Am” in November, I am thinking of embellishing this lovely felt bag my dad gave me a decade or so ago (it was from his office). I’d like to put a wet-felted version of one of my paintings on one side. Over this felted stormy-sea and mountains image, I’d like to embroider gold “cracks”, in the style of Japanese mended pottery, Kintsukuroi.
Photo of kintsukuroi bowl obtained from:
https://www.lifegate.com/people/lifestyle/
The felt bag would represent:
-my dad’s presence in my life, with the bag that came from his interior design company
-my adoration of our west coast beauty
-my love of painting
-the belief that my tough times have made me stronger
As I was working to create the wet-felted image, I was becoming frustrated. As always, my skills in a new area do not match the vision of what I’d like to create. At times it seemed as if my felt would never stick together and and parts of it were thin and weak. I had to remind myself not to give up. I practiced breathing deeply and I tried to remind myself that it is only reasonable for things to be hard the first time you try. The art that I admire that others put on display was achieved by countless hours of time spent honing their skills in that area.
Above is a picture of the layout I have so far for my bag. I have trimmed my wet-felted image to fit the bag and I have figured out a method of mounting the image with felt trim so that it appears framed and finsished-looking. Next, I will attempt to put my new-found embroidery skills onto play by creating the Kintsukuroi ‘cracks that make a piece stronger and more beautiful’. In reality, this embroidery will serve to attach the felt more firmly to the bag, making it more durable.