AMALANA FELT — ‘When Feathers Come Together: A Global Chicken Collection’
AMALANA FELT | Argentina
The pleated feathers on Maru and Belén’s chicken little sparked the idea for this global collection. These delightful women have been encouraging our studio online through social media for several years and, in return, I have enjoyed seeing the beautifully crafted work and creative community they are developing. When an image of those black and white pleats popped up on my screen I thought, “If only I could have those on my table to pin on a chicken…” The rest is now history! Thank you for joining us in this adventure, ladies. Besos! — Sally
ARTIST BIO:
Belén and Maru Pearce are sisters that live in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Passionate about crafts, they created Amalanafelt and work with the noble fiber of sheep and wool, which allowed them to develop their creativity, thus creating new original pieces. Once the technique was perfected, the two sisters focused on teaching and spreading their craftsmanship through various workshops. Nowadays, many of their students have successfully learned innovative techniques and are capable of creating pieces of their own.
ARTIST STATEMENT:
We were excited about the exhibition of these wonderful hens! We finally decided on the Nuno and Pleated felt. The Nuno fills us with emotion because one never knows exactly what the result will be! The marriage of wool and silk is perfect! By gathering the silk, irregular and undulating textures are achieved that stand out on the surface of the felt, giving it a dynamic movement.
All this is achieved by melting merino wool with silk. In contrast, we use Pleated felt, by tying the felt cloth onto a rigid surface that we then press with great force to produce straight folds and firm edges! The colors are achieved by dyeing the piece with the ties, in this case, we use the natural color of merino wool and black. Wavy lines versus straight lines, these two techniques form a lovely marriage!
Why did you say ‘yes’ to this collaboration project?
When we receive the proposal, we accepted it with a big YES, without hesitation! We were very proud that Sally and Carly considered that our work was on the same level as such a good artist. We believe that "The City Girl Farm" project is wonderful, so we were thrilled when we got the opportunity to be part of it.
What was your inspiration and process in creating your feathers?
When we began to devise the hen, several ideas arose since there are so many different techniques that could be used to craft it!!! Pleating is so innovative because felt is associated with organic and rounded shapes and this technique proposes the opposite, STRAIGHT LINES AND EDGES! It's a contrast of nature.
What was the most challenging aspect of the project?
In our experience, choosing the right felting techniques to capture our proposal "organic lines versus straight lines", was extremely challenging.
What have you enjoyed about this project?
What we enjoyed the most was being able to show our work to the other side of the world. And above all, being part of such an incredible project, as well as being paired together with other artists that are so recognized for their excellence.
MATERIALS:
Pure Merino wool in the natural color of 20 microns
Silk Gauze
Silk-chiffon
Cotton Gauze
Silk fleece
Black and red dye
J’ai déjà croisé sur mon chemin des poules confectionnées avec des sacs plastique de super-marché ou autre, mais je n’avais jamais vu ces superbes objets de soie et de laine qui m’ont coupé le souffle. Je suis en admiration devant vos œuvres et j’ai terriblement envie d’en acheter ou d’en réaliser moi-même.
Avez-vous l’intention de publier un tuto de ces charmantes bestioles ? Ce serait formidable.
Bravo, bravo encore. Merci de partager votre talent.
Once again, I am in awe of your artistic talent and adventurous spirit. What fun you had with women from another world.
I am happy for you and us too.