Farm Fresh Felt 2023

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Untamed - Elena Kuki

People used sheep's wool during every century. The natural warmth of this material always gave them comfort on cold, rainy or windy days. In our 21st century, people still enjoy Natural wool and feel more close to nature than usual in our artificial modern world. In my work, Wool is the greatest material which permits my designs both from un-dyed or colorful wool, like wearable art, wool painting or wool sculpture. My vests for men are made from un-dyed wool obtained locally at a New York Sheep & Wool festival. Thrilling Italian wool, with vibrant colors, are used in my vests for women with the splendor of autumn colors.

Cozy Autumn - Elena Kuki

Doris - Cindy Kennelly

During the pandemic I followed a Leicester Longwool sheep named Doris on Instagram. Doris brought joy to the long quiet days of 2020. She was a little naughty (opening feedbags for others) and a bit of a diva. I reached out to the farm and asked if I could recreate her in wool.
Mrs. Hartman’s Farmhouse loved the idea and even sent me wool for my Doris. My Doris is a bit high maintenance... she uses vintage curlers to keep her locks curly and always has on her lipstick and pearls.
Doris is completely needle felted and has been seen at various Fiber shows and retreats. She always brings a smile to those that meet her. She allows others to see how felters appreciate the work of the farmers that provide the wool for our work.

Strong Attachment ll - Susan Getchell

Often seen fiercely clinging to the rocks in a tidal pool, barnacles are a metaphor for strength, adding structure to the surface that it attaches to. As we build character and strength from our experiences in life, they pile upon each other, giving rise to the individual that we have become.

Moments with Her - Nan Travers

Our relationship with our mother is complex; even the best of relationships have moments. The times we spend with our mothers can range from peaceful moments, like watching a sunset, to more difficult moments, like a mid-winter gray evening. Our emotions toward this relationship can hold no boundaries, ranging from being embraced by our mother, held tightly, or being clutched or crushed. Moments With Her represents our feelings, from the ground up and from birth until now, about our mother. This piece uses resist dyeing on silk with felted trees. The multiple layers of the background represent the different times we move through these emotions about our mother.

Moon Kisses Earth Starting the Dance - Nan Travers

The Earth and Moon are in a symbiotic relationship; each influencing the other’s orbit, rhythms, and patterns. For us on Earth, lunar cycles become our life cycles, which have been recognized from human origins to contemporary times. This piece celebrates the Moon’s pull, from the ground up, urging us into the dance of life.

Grief - Robin Blakney-Carlson

I am moved by news images of the charred skeletons of palm trees standing limp amidst the burned rubble in the aftermath of the Maui wildfire, stark symbols of horrific loss.
My daughter was one of the scores of individuals who lost everything in the wildfire that destroyed the historic city of Lahaina in western Maui on August 8, 2023. The rapidly spreading inferno took many lives and thousands of structures in its path. Gone are homes, workplaces, schools and entire neighborhoods. Many people are still unaccounted for. Putting victim’s lives back together will be an uncertain process. May the voices of the Hawaiian people guide the vision for rebuilding from the ground up, and may Maui’s natural resources be honorably managed.

Beautiful & Mighty (Human Blood Cells) - Jeanne Noordsy

Our incredible, sophisticated bodies start at such a basic level – tiny amazing cells, each diversified to carry out its own task. We “start from the ground up”: we are built from this raw material, yet endowed with the DNA that billions of years of evolution has wrought.
A series of my work, Cell Series, was sparked when, while researching a medical issue, I became inspired by the complexity and beauty of the human body, greatly magnified. Beautiful and Mighty (Human Blood Cells) meditates on the graceful and useful design of red blood cells: designed to lack a nucleus (the greater the space to carry oxygen throughout the body), the hollow center of each presents uniquely – one charmingly ear-shaped, one star-shaped, etc.
I celebrate life forms through artworks that ask us to pause, look, and be awestruck. What we can see under a microscope is wondrous: whether human cells (stunning, minute parts of the whole), or miniscule amoeba and rhizopods that perform all their functions with one or two cells. I ask us to revere life, and protect it.

Lava Flow - Kerstin Katko

A very literal interpretation of the theme-representing the ground being formed as lava cools. Geological formations are full of fascinating patterns and textures, like the colorful striations of canyon walls and smooth hollows of weathered sedimentary rock. But nothing is as exciting as seeing ground being made-lava seems alive!

Tiébélé - Sue Getchell

My inspiration came from the amazinground village of Tiébélé in the west African country of Burkina Faso. Here, he men and boys create homes from earth, wood, and straw...all local materials. the women and girls create elaborate decorated walls with geometric patterns mixing dirt, chalk and manure. but these patterns serve much more than decoration. The walls under this treatment now become protected from the rain. From the ground, the house is born, from the talent, it becomes beautiful and protected.
The wool is from my own sheep. The mill that processed the wool does not use carbonization to get ride of the vegitable matter. I choose to leave it in, creating a likeness to the original walls of Tiébélé.

Cleft of the Rock - Joy Muller-McCoola

Every protest movement has a beginning. It starts and builds from the ground up as stones rise from the earth. This summer I heard Kyshona Armstrong sing “Cleft of the Rock”. It struck a chord within me. We all need that place to rest while gathering strength to march for what we believe in. I wanted to create a rock strong enough to support our weight. Please feel welcome to rest on this rock.
Full lyrics:

down in the soil
deep down in the water
theres a crack thats breaking backs
we can’t mend it all alone

come along you weary
gather round you strong
we will give a voice to peace
when love can be our song

nOoooo
nOoooo
we ain’t gonna go
gonna rest our bones in the cleft of the rock
then we keep on marching on

climbing higher and higher
up the rough side of this mountain
no we will not say a word
til’ we get to the other side

nOoooo
nOoooo
we ain’t gonna go
gonna rest our bones in the cleft of the rock
then we keep on marching on

one by one
two by two
hands behold me and you
3 strands, strongest chord
pull us through
down in the cleft of the rock
we gone make this mountain move.

nOoooo
nOoooo
we ain’t gonna go
rest our bones in the cleft of the rock
then we keep on marching on

Our Universe - Catherine Stebinger

From the moment we are born, our life travels along paths of infinite possibilities. Our molecules, our cells, the air we breathe, the water we drink have been here for millennia. We travel through space and time, very much a part of and connected to the planet - the earth - that we were born into. Yet, it is our internal universe that determines the path we follow.

Untitled at the Moment - Dayna Talbot

Creativity requires one to break new ground and new work and ideas start from the ground up......

Scorched Grassland - Joy Muller-McCoola

Climate Change has resulted in increasing fires and floods. Although most of my work focusses on water issues, it was difficult to work this summer while listening to reports of Canada’s multiple fires and hoping our frequent rainfall wouldn’t put the fires out. More recently, Maui’s fire devastated Lahaina and was part of our daily thoughts. The US department of Agriculture lists 18 grass species brought to the island through colonialization that contributed to the fire. Buffelgrass, Molasses grass, Gamba grass, Cogon grass, and Cheatgrass have played their parts in Maui and around the globe. Gamba grass can grow 13 feet in height!
A senior researcher from U Amherst, Bethany Bradley, wrote, “Climate change more than doubles the likelihood of fire, human ignition triples the fire season, and now we can add invasive species fueling fires.” Where invasive, non-native grasses have taken hold fire risk has risen 150%. These invasives smother out the native species even on mountainsides in thin soil. In addition to Maui’s fire, last year’s fire in Superior, Colorado, Oregon’s fires, and the Camp Fire of California can attribute their quick spread to invasive grasses.
We think of “from the ground up” as something positive growing. In this instance I’m focused on the potential of fire from the ground and grass up and across our states.

Inheritance - Kerstin Katko

There are insidious concepts firmly rooted in our history and culture that continue to do harm in the present. Wounds extend beyond lifetimes and will continue into future generations if not acknowledged and confronted. A perpetual system of injustice that is just considered the natural order of things goes unnoticed by the favored and is passed down through generation after generation. Recognizing behavior patterns and internal prejudices in ourselves is integral to bringing about a more just world.

CALM - Cari Clement

A unique blend of alpaca/camel with a touch of silk I bought from local farm reminded me of the colors of sand. I spend a couple weeks each winter in St Augustine FL and this piece was from a memory of the wave-shaped sand, sun-sparkled foam and soft ever-changing sky; starting from the "ground" of sand expanding up to the softness of the sky.

Plankton Sample No. 375 - Debbie Penley

My piece focuses on the vast number of organisms that exist everywhere fresh water is, but yet are invisible to the naked eye. Drinking fresh water unfiltered is pretty much guaranteed to include at least a few organisms along the way. In the same way, the food on our table is more than just the store it came from or the ingredients that went into the preparation. The adage "you are what you eat" is proving true in surprising ways as research is showing that plastic particles and other non-biodegradables, as well as chemicals higher than a normal threshold, are being found in our food chain all the way to the top. Substances in the ground are drawn in by plants and get trapped within, eventually making its way into our own bodies upon consumption. Fish consume our garbage and runoff from factories which stay in their systems to become part of whatever consumes them, including humans. Being aware of what is in our environment, even the things we can't see, if vital to our health as human beings and to society as a whole.

All the Bits: Pod Series - Sara Pearsall

Undergrowth and the tangle of roots of all the things growing in the woods provided the inspiration for this felted landscape. When I wander through the woods in the Adirondacks I often stop in the woods to examine intricate bark, unique fungus, and textured rocks. These small elements are represented in my work and balanced by the beautiful vistas seen through the trees and from the mountaintops.

Transhumance - Sibel Adali

Every year sheep and their human guides take long trips searching for
better grazing fields called transhumance. Sheep walk the earth,
improve the soil and enrich the human story with their presence. This
pieces features naturally colored wool from twenty sheep breeds in
their honor.

Rooted, 2023 - Sara Pearsall

My Garden Gate - Cindy Kennelly

I am a member of the "Shave 'Em to Save 'Em" program and often use their suggested wools in my work. This program recognizes fiber artists who use wool from breeds on their Conservation Priority List while connecting shepherds of heritage breeds with customers.This piece includes dyed Leicester Longwool locks which is one of the breeds highlighted in this program. These locks were provided by Iris Creek Farm in Scotland, CT. Other woolsused in this piece are Merino wool (flowers) and Coopworth wool (flowers stems). The luster and shine is provided by viscose fibers.

Sunflower Garden - Helene Kusnitz

This piece celebrates the bounty of summer and the beauty of fresh flowers in my garden.

Dawn - Miriam Young

When I think of fiber "from the ground up", I think of local fiber, sustainably grown and processed. Also included are repurposed materials - fiber/fabric can be obtained from articles that would otherwise end up in landfills. Transforming raw wool into washed roving into felt is a slow, creative, labor intensive process. My felted wall hanging contains local wool, repurposed silk and cotton fabric, and hand stitching, all components of fiber "from the ground up".

Unexpected Upheaval - Judith Daniels

My piece, Unexpected Upheaval, has emerged from the “ground” of my unconscious. In my felt wall pieces I like to work intuitively to see what springs forth from my internal world. As the colors and shapes emerge I have a dialogue with them to decide which path to take in the work. The process involves hand painting the silk with textile paints, wet felting and then finally free motion embroidery to emphasize various parts of the piece. Through this process I learn much about myself- where I find joy and excitement and where I need to break through fear or boredom etc to allow the piece to be born into the material world.

Oasis Scar - Susi Ryan

The flooding in Vermont devastated many of our farms that tend to be close to our rivers. Vermonters think of our beautiful waterways as oasis that nurture our animals, crops and humans. This summer the oasis swelled and created apocalyptic landscapes and then receded into its original oasis channel. This piece represents our farms on the Intervale who lost everything this year.