Felt Natural

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About Kathleen Macneish of Felt Natural
My interest in textiles and nomadic people was first awakened through exposure to the colours and textiles of Afghanistan and India, where I was travelling in the early 1970’s. Wool became my obsession with its comforting utilitarian warmth, first through spinning and weaving rugs and later after developing my skills at the Dovecot Studio in Edinburgh through weaving tapestries. Then, ten years ago while spending a winter in New Zealand, I discovered felt and a passion began for this tactile and hands-on approach to manipulating wool into shapes and textures undreamt of in weaving. I loved the way the visual impact is so immediate and liken it to painting with wool.
Felt has its origins in Central Asia where felt is used for housing (yurts), clothing and carpets and where it was appreciated for its warmth and comfort. In 2003 I went with a group of Scottish felters on a research trip to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the home of felt, where we stayed in yurts and observed the women’s traditional ways of felting. Felt making is a very labour intensive process, involving the rubbing and rolling of sheep’s wool with hot water and soap until the fibres felt together.
My felted works are felted in one piece and are therefore seamless with local fleece and shells incorporated into their design. At home on Arran I like to experiment with local fleeces, combining them with merino to create interesting textures and usable articles such as rugs, bags, slippers and wall hangings, and also using the technique of needle felting to make sculpted animals and objects.

Tel: 01770 600538 Email: kathleen@feltnatural.co.uk