"... True art lies in a reality that is felt." ~Odilon Redon~

Did he say "FELT"? Yes, I know that Redon means something that is"felt", as in feelings not wool roving, but I'm sure that he probably wore something that was felted... shoes, a vest, maybe a hat. Maybe he recognized the similarity of meanings.
Did I use his words "true art"?  I'm I verging on having enough courage to call myself an artist? I don't know. I feel very vulnerable about calling what I do "art". Someone might say "You're just learning what someone else already figured out." Maybe so, but it's a beginning. and it's becoming  a passion.... I'm feeling this new creativity inside of me. It's a freedom of thought and ideas.  So... Can this be called "art"? I think it can.
If I could never use a camera or watch something magically turn into felt ever again, my life would probably be less for it. I might even have to take up reading. But, would I channel this new found feeling of creativity into some other form or function? Probably.  If we can't call ourselves artists.... what then? I have begun a journey of creative indulgence and we will see where it goes. I don't have a whole lifetime to do this but it's the process, like felting, that I find interesting. It's the "journey" not the destination, as they say.
So I'm sharing my artistic ventures with all of you because I'm learning to be an artist. Please indulge me.

This is a wood frame that I covered with some handmade fabric that I felted. I started with gray and purple roving and I experimented with adding ribbon to the wool when I felted it. Then, I cut it up and glued it to the wood frame.
 My friend, "C", in Sacramento, gave me the idea when she sent me a link to some felted frames. They were pretty but I wanted mine to be more dimensional so I cut some pieces and glued them on top of the felt to add depth and create a more organic look to the frame.

The latest "scarflet" was an experiment in using hand woven wool yarn  that was hand dyed and very curly ( from County Living in Amador City, CA.). I found this very difficult to knit. I used a simple garter stitch on large needles. The knitting in between the colorful fuzzy part is a combination of wool yarn and ribbon. . The ribbon is the same one I used in the felted frame. It's a gold, silky, open weave ribbon that was combined with two different green wool yarns and it was pulled tight in the felting process. I love this scarf. It's like wearing a beautiful lamb or goat kid around your neck. It is soft, organic and because of the sparkle in the ribbon and shine in the yarn, it looks very luxurious.

 Thanks to Sandy at Country Living, I have a very unique source of yarn and hand dyed roving that blows most yarn out of the water.

This scarf is a work in progress. I have recently added some crocheted edges to it so it looks a bit different now. This was what I would call a "sampler" scarf  because I did each section of it in different knitting stitches. It was a great opportunity to practice my stitches. One of my favorites is the one above, on the upper right. It's called an Andalusian stitch. It think it's beautiful and it's not difficult at all. Doesn't the sound of the name just make you want to try it.... ANDALUSIAN... such a beautiful word.
The clasp is a vintage leather belt cinch. The yarn is Lion's Vanna's Choice in Barley. Very inexpensive. It's 92% Acrylic and 8% Rayon so you can't felt this yarn but it's light weight, very easy to knit and I love the way it looks.

The other day I picked up this Love of Knitting magazine at the store and  saw this....

So I'm making a "Spring flowers" scarf. But I think, since I'm making this out of knitpicks.com wool yarn, that I will felt it. I love what the article's first paragraph says..
"Spring is just a flower away with this colorful and unusual scarf reminiscent of your favorite garden. Knit a posy or two... or a dozen... and sew them to the easy I-cord stem.  NO WEEDING NECESSARY!"
Isn't that cleaver. Very appealing to all of us who have been pulling weeds like crazy this spring or all of you who WILL be pulling weeds at some point. A flower garden without weeds....That's a wonderful idea.

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!