now & ZEN

my laugh-in scarves will be selling in the berkshires this summer!!

I taught a great nuno ribbon felt scarf workshop at the hotchkiss school in lakeville ct last saturday. there was a grandmother/ mother/ daughter/ niece, a mother/daughter and an aunt/neice in the mix which made it really nice. As usual … ALL the scarves were beautiful. I haven’t seen any that weren’t beautiful yet. on the way home I decided to stop in great Barrington mass to see if I could find any new wholesale accounts. and there was EVERGREEN. Barbara, the owner happened to be there and loved my ponchos, so I’m sewing some up for the 4th of july weekend. then i figured i was on a roll, so i stopped in at the purple plume in lenox mass. the owner, judie, gave me a very cheery welcome and ended up wanting to carry my laugh-in scarves! I’ve been in the back yard painting up a storm on these gorgeous summer days. It doesn’t get much better than this!!

website changes and ribbon felt workshop at new england felting supply in easthampton, ma this weekend

I’m making some changes to the website so don’t be surprised if things look different … it’s still the now & ZEN blog, but the main website will be merging with it.  add web designer to my job description … along with marketing manager, sales manager, production department, accounting department and president.

AND

Come join us at NEFS for a ribbon felt workshop Saturday, May 22 from 9-4:30pm

you can register  here or call (413) 527-1188

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!

look what first time silk painters did in my new class

Just goes to show … we are all artists if we can just step out of the way.

My new class is running Tuesday nights at Holyoke Creative Arts Center this fall. We will be exploring all things fiber, including nuno felting, hand painted silk scarves and custom dyed yarns.  I’m also teaching at WEBS in Northampton, Holyoke Community College and New England Felting Supply. My classes have been filling quickly, so I’ve added other venues.  Get your spot now!

Hand-painted silk yardage anyone?

Love, love, love creating this luscious yardage! When the weather is nice, I’m outside dyeing and felting. So inspiring being out in nature with all the great colors and textures. Can’t help but take my inspiration from it. Many are like Monets on silk! I’ve been offering my silks by the yard at New England Felting Supply and to my students when I teach. This stuff is so wonderful to felt on. I use it for my base in some of my scarves. I’m going to sew up some silk ponchos or wraps with it, too!

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!

my work was displayed in preview massachusetts magazine!!

One of the most exciting thing to happen to me this year was having my work featured in Preview Massachusetts, a local magazine put out by the Valley Advocate.  Every month they showcase local retail talent in the “window shopping” section and my work appeared in the October issue.  The hand painted shibori dyed poncho and nuno felted string scarf are but two of the many items that emerged from the now & ZEN studio at eastworks this past year.  It is in part due to the retail exposure there that has really helped my work take off.  AND don’t forget to visit Snow Farm during the next 3 weekends in November to see my fiber art in person!

Scarves shipped to Nantucket last week – Nuno felted and string scarves

Shipped off an order of scarves to the Island ….. these are nuno felted with some using different fibers on the felt to give a woven look. Beading on the ends. Love all the color! They are at Benji’s Boutique 27 Easy Street Nantucket, MA …. get them while they last.

Benji wants to keep the white one for herself. Thinking about doing a whole series of whites. It starts with a delicate layer of silk gauze, then some fine wisps of merino wool/bamboo blend and topped with railroad ribbon accents and natural silk fibers … and of course beads.

Check out her spot on GenoTV!! Benji”s on TV

Since I got back from the Island, I’ve been working on a very colorful series of serti painted scarves on china silk. More like the laugh -in scarf and some really cool under water stuff! This is a close up of part of a jellyfish.

That’s it for now. Need to get back to making. Just took some yardage out of the steamer. What to get back to doing some felting next. And … try my hand at fiber etching!!! Inspiration is everywhere and the ideas keep on coming. Which reminds me … you have to check out Chris White’s book Uniquely Felt for great ideas and tons of info. Her ribbon dress was inspiration for the string scarf series.

Stay tuned for fiber etching pictures ….

Happy Making!

Nuno Scarf Workshop with Jean Gauger of Sugar Plum Originals

Spent all day Saturday at a great workshop learning some of the possibilities of nuno felting. Amazing! Jean is a natural and I feel so fortunate to have crossed paths. The workshop was held at New England Felting supply in Easthampton, so we had all that luscious merino wool and beautiful hand dyed silks to choose from. Owner Chris White is a renowned felter and author and a wealth of information. Now I’ve been bitten by the nuno bug and have all sorts of ideas brewing. Can’t wait to stop documenting and start playing! I love the way the felt gives way to the windows of shear silk. My first nuno scarf is at left. I used my hand painted silk for a canvas and then “painted” with merino wool. Reminds me of stained glass only softer.