Tuesday 1 November 2011

Fire! Being Creative

October's theme for Being Creative is Fire...a real gift for a felter!


 I started with a dark background.....wet felting a bit of dark blue merino and some curly black uncarded fleece from a mixed bag, there are still some curls apparent, and the uncarded wool held together suprisingly well.
I didn't take a photo of this stage but this is the finished reverse with sparks of the fire poking through!





A loose fire pattern made from orange, red and yellow merino and shetland with a hint of silk was then wet felted onto the wet background. I also included some red tweed yarn from some short ends given to me by Tracey

I couldn't have made a better autumn leaf shape if I had tried and could have stopped there....but I had a vision of fire blazing so I continued with my initial design and..






... needle felted a combination of the same yellow, orange, and red merino shetland intertwining some purply silk threads to create finger like flames with whispy ends:







I intended to write something to accompany the firey photos but November crept up quickly. 
Curls of fire, Brownie and Cub campfires,  The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, and Titian tresses, locks of flowing fiery hair on iconic Pre-Raphaelite women were images that sparked the mind of one creative, imaginative friend who had a sneak preview ....
what does it fire up for you?



7 comments:

Julia said...

Ohhhhhhhhhhh I absolutely LOVE what you have done this month! The colours and the textures on all the pieces are wonderful; I like the fragility of the leaf, and the fire is a real treat! A brilliant addition to the gallery - thank you SO very much for taking part!

Love to you
Julia x x x

Melody said...

WOW!!!! That's great! I had to look twice in the fire place, I thought you were cheating and taking a picture of real flames at first glance!! :)))
I love the way the flames curl round!
The very first picture looks like a glowing hot ember!
Well done, you have captured "fire" nicely ~ careful you don't burn your fingers!! :))))))

Amy, the Greedy Crocodile said...

That is such a good idea for an empty fireplace! And a fantastic likeness of fire! Wool is such a magical material, and you really bring out its potential :-)

Starfish Studio said...

I absolutely love this piece Ali! It's just so gorgeously cosy and autumnal.

K x

ThatFuzzyFeeling said...

I'm not sure how I missed this post, Ali - what a beautiful interpretation of fire! I love the combination of fluffy needle felting against the wet felted base: it really is very effective! Liz x

Jemma said...

This is amazing Ali! I love it! I must apologise for not being in contact for a bit, will drop you an email to let you know what's been going on. Hope you're well :) x

Donna said...

This is a lovely piece. You have captured the colours and feel of fire really well, and a great photo with the coals.