I've wanted to capture my process for a bit now... and even more so after the ATA BlogTour last month. I know, from all my work with glass, that as I become comfortable with the medium the process by which I make a piece changes. Consequently, I wanted to catch my early attempts with needle felting because I know they'll keep changing and developing as my experience with the material grows. That's part of the fun of the creative process. So I thought I'd start with my inspiration. We had a 2nd full moon in January in Michigan and it was a beauty. An iPhone photo doesn't do it justice..but the mornings, in particular, were just stunning with the moonlight washing over everything across the snow.
So I broke out the fiber last weekend and started poking!!
This is laying in the background and the horizon line. Note that I decided to do this on a grey felt backing. Wanted to keep it dark through the whole work.
Here's the tree line going in...and an attempt at getting a full, bright moon but then realizing it stuck out a bit far from the surface!
Adding in some clearer trees and brush to give the tree-line a believable depth.
But not forgetting the foreground. I've found that at a certain point in a landscape work I have to keep reminding myself to work across the whole piece so no one spot gets overly detailed.
That said, let's not forget the foreground! My little stalks look a bit stiff, don't they?
I always try to do a few cross checks between my original photo and my emerging piece...did I catch what I wanted to? Do I need to go back in somewhere to add (or remove) something?
And so I thought I was done...mocked it up in its frame and then realized...OMG! the stalks in front look weird because they aren't snow covered! that's what my brain was trying to tell me. And what on earth is going on with that lumpy moon? Good thing I hadn't locked this one down to the frame, yet.
So back in we went...added some snow on the foreground stalks, added some white spots on the snow in the foreground...cleaned up the edges of the moon. Viola!! Winter Woods and a Full Moon, 2018 can be declared complete.
NZ Corriedale Wool on 100% wool felt background.
Not yet framed. (I have a plan...)
And, at least for this piece, the process is finally recorded!
I leave you with a few other works-in-progress for another weekend...
Bare Bears!!!!!