Monday, March 23, 2009

fashioning felt; an exhibit in nyc

the cooper hewitt design museum currently has an exhibit entitled 'fashioning felt' that is all about felt! the image above is from the exhibit website, and features the work of andrea zittel, one of my all-time favorite felt artists (white felt dress, center top) and also the lovely felt/lacquer work of jorie johnson (lower left) as well as other stunning felt creations.

it's so great to see felt getting showcased like this. from their website:
This exhibition will explore the varied new uses of felt—an ancient material, believed to be one of the earliest techniques for making textiles. Made by matting together wool fibers with humidity and friction, felting requires little technological expertise and is an extremely versatile material. The exhibition will begin with historic examples of felts, showcase innovations in handmade felts, and feature contemporary uses of industrial felt in a range of fields, including product design, fashion, architecture, and home furnishings. The exhibition is being organized by Susan Brown, assistant curator, Textiles.

check out their blog about the exhibit to see a comprehensive felt video that serves as the introduction to the show.




and also these fabulous sketches by feltmaker janice arnold who has created a mongolian style felt yurt for the exhibition! yes, that's right, a yurt. awesome.

this shows looks like it is truly amazing. it will be at cooper hewitt through september, and i think that it may travel after that.

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