I’m teaching at the NYS Sheep and wool festival, Rhinebeck,NY! October 13-15, 2011

WOW … I’ve had another really great year and now I’m gearing up to teach at Rhinebeck! You can sign up for Nuno Felted Scarves, Cobweb Felted Scarves and Felted Journal Covers HERE. Or just stop by and say hello!

New England Felting Supply is now offering Nancy Dorian Silks in their felting kits!

These are great kits to have on hand … everything you need to felt your own nuno scarf. The kits include directions, bubble wrap, wool roving and one of my hand-painted Dorian silk scarves. Beginner and experienced felters will love the grab-and-go packs. Stop by and see them at New England Felting Supply … they make great holiday gifts for the felter in your life!

nuno ribbon felt scarf workshop with nancy dorian

Saturday, february 27th 2010 9-4pm at holyoke creative arts center

Shake off the winter doldrums and join me at the holyoke creative arts center for a day filled with COLOR and creative energy!

Using Nuno felting techniques, be prepared to be elated as you transform layers of silk, wool roving, ribbon and novelty yarns into gorgeous flowing fabric. In this one-day workshop we will cover layout, felting, fulling and finishing creating your own art-to-wear! No felting experience necessary.

You can register at www.holyokecac.org/signup.htm or call (413)532-0465

we had a great nuno felt workshop at WEBS

My class at WEBS filled quickly, so we added a one day workshop on sept 20 to accommodate the waiting list. what a wonderful group of talented women! everyone’s scarf is absolutely gorgeous. I still have space in my tuesday night class at Holyoke Creative arts. 6-8pm $45 plus materials.

The Ribbon felt workshops are filling up fast!

There are still a few spots left in my workshop and we want to fill the house! alchemy initiative is offering 33% off if you bring a friend. it’s a funky renovated church in the heart of pittsfield, ma that’s loaded with creative energy!

I also have 2 other workshops scheduled this month in addition to the one at alchemy initiative …

• WEBS in Northampton Sept 20th 10am-5pm (my thursday night class is full, so we added a one day workshop) you can sign up here:

http://www.yarn.com/webs-classes-events-classes-spinning-dyeing-felting/webs-felting-class-nuno-ribbon-felt-scarves-one-day/

• Holyoke Creative Arts Center Sept 12th 2009 10am-5pm

Call 413/532-0465 to register or E-mail: info@HolyokeCAC.org

Hope to see you soon, even if it’s not at a workshop!

Fall line-up of nuno felting classes and workshops

My fall schedule of classes and workshops is growing everyday.

I will be adding them here on a regular basis, so stop in often to see what unfolds!

2009 workshops

saturday, sept 26
• ribbon felt scarves •  10-4pm
alchemy initiative
www.AlchemyInitiative.org.com

saturday, oct 31
• ribbon felt scarves •  9-4pm
new england felting supply
www.feltsupply.com

classes

mondays, sept 14 – dec 14
• knitting •   6-8pm
holyoke creative arts center
www. holyoke cac.org

wednesdays, oct 7 – 28
• ribbon felt scarves •  6:15-8:15pm
holyoke community college
www.hcc.edu/

thursdays, oct 22 – nov 12
• ribbon felt scarves •  6-8pm
WEBS
www.yarn.com

people just can’t get enough of this felting stuff!!

COOL HUH?!

These workshops are soooo FUN!  And it seems that people just can’t get enough of them. Every time we offer a nuno ribbon felt scarf workshop at New England Felting Supply it fills right up and we end up with a waiting list. So what do we do? We schedule another class of course!

it’s as easy as 1, 2, 3 and voila the finished product!

Well, there is a lot of rolling, massaging and adjusting in between there. About 4 hours worth. These scarves do take a lot of elbow grease and determination to bring to completion. An average scarf can take anywhere between 6-8 hours. Quite labor intensive, but it’s a labor of love and look at what you get!

I think the may 2nd ribbon felt workshop is full, but you can get on the waiting list!

More fiber please! uhmm, I’ll take some organza ribbon and a touch of that glittery stuff over there … and the multi color ladder yarn is a must have.  Then mix in a few strands of hand spun natural silk … lets see, oh ya, I love that one with the sequence in it!

The possibilities are endless. We are actually creating fabric here folks! How cool is that!

sign up here :

www.feltingsupply.com

felt is having a very big moment according to susan brown

IF you ask her about trends in textiles, Susan Brown, an assistant curator at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, will tell you that felt is having a very big moment, finding its way into everything from fashion and product design to architectural installations and home furnishings.

It has become so ubiquitous, in fact, that Ms. Brown has organized an exhibition at the museum called “Fashioning Felt.” The show, which runs from March 6 to Sept. 7, explores the many uses of felt, from traditional pieces, like a Turkish shepherd’s cloak and an Afghan saddle pad, to contemporary objects like the “personal uniforms” designed and worn by the artist Andrea Zittel as conceptual art.

“There’s something so tactile about it,” Ms. Brown said of the fabric. “The desire to touch is strong with most textiles, but particularly so with felt.”

It differs from other fabrics, she explained, because it is made not by knitting or weaving but by matting wool fibers together using water and friction. The result, she said, “is very comforting, warm and inviting.”

This is very good news to me, since I love to felt!  Check out the rest of this new york times article at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/05/garden/05shopp.html

Her write up on the yurt exhibition is also really cool!

http://blog.cooperhewitt.org/2009/02/26/janice-arnold-sketches

About

Nancy Dorian is a fiber artist with a degree in Interior Design and Fine Arts minor in Ceramics. After a 15 year career in corporate office design, her company now & ZEN art to wear emerged from the belief that joy comes from doing what you love.

Always making and creating, Nancy developed strong skills in pottery, stained glass and jewelry. Having been taught to knit and sew at a very early age, she has fond memories of a fiber filled youth and now works primarily with fiber.

She creates one-of-a-kind wearable art garments using techniques such as Nuno Felting, Fiber Etching and Serti silk painting. Each piece is made by hand, one at a time, with unique fabrics she has created by using any number of the following techniques:

“Nuno Felt” emerges after adding a thin layer of wool roving, warm water and a little soap to silk fabric and then a whole lot of elbow grease to coax the fibers into becoming one. This results in a wonderfully textured, light weight fabric that drapes the body beautifully.

“Fiber Etching” creates gorgeous, flowing semi-transparent silk by carving away the rayon fibers of velvet or satin with etching solution and leaving sheer areas of silk chiffon.

“Serti” is a French word meaning to encircle or surround. In the serti technique, a resist is used to contain flowable dye within a design shape on fabric such as silk.

Since her work is not mass-produced, she typically attracts collectors who understand and appreciate the value of hand-crafted goods. They realize the uniqueness of what she  does. A person wears a “Dorian Original” for just that reason … to know it is a one-of-a-kind wearable work of art.

Nancy’s couture has been featured in Preview Massachusetts Magazine and can be found at galleries and boutiques throughout New England and on Nantucket. She enjoys teaching fiberart workshops and classes in her home studio, as well as the following venues :

• New England Felting Supply, Easthampton, MA
• WEBS, Northampton, MA
  
• Bead + Fiber, Boston, MA
  
• Fletcher Farms School for the arts and crafts, Ludlow, VT
  
• Wiawaka, Lake George, NY
  
• Hotchkiss School, Lakeville, CT
  
• Holyoke Community College, Holyoke, MA
• Holyoke Creative Arts Center, Holyoke, MA

If you would like to book a workshop please send your inquiries to nd@nancydorian.com