Saturday 19th February Wool Painting Workshop- Raya Brown

Ten happy and relaxed members went home with completed wool painted poppy landscapes from the Raya Brown workshop on February 19^th.

Raya’s clear instructions and step by step teaching approach enabled the group to confidently tackle what, at first, seemed a daunting task.

The starting point was to identify and outline the horizon on the backing cloth, then tease out and place overlapping fine layers of white wool fibres above the line.

We were then able to create a sky by overlaying the white with our choice of appropriate colours. Finally, we made and applied clouds to create the overall effect.

The same process was repeated below the horizon line to create hills and meadows, before adding details such as distant trees and grasses in the foreground. Finer detail was introduced through creating and placing stems, leaves and flower heads.

Finally different colour combinations of very short twisted wool fibres were used to create meadow flowers and introduce variety in the foreground.

Throughout the process we were encouraged to check our work by placing the picture frame glass on top of our landscape, and to experiment with colour and composition.  Raya was always on hand to offer advice and technical support.

A really enjoyable and productive workshop.

Saturday 5th February - Raya Brown - Her creative journey

Raya Brown is an artist and feltmaker. She started her lecture by telling us about her journey which started in St Petersburg where her mother, who was an artist influenced her early work. Raya showed us her early art work. She studied at art school and then University to study fine art and textiles

 

She came to this country and then 16 years ago she discovered wool.

Raya started wool painting using merino wool tops, together with viscose and silk to create highlights and lustre. The technique is a dry technique where the fibres are arranged on a fabric background and then are trapped under glass. The mages are created in watercolour first and then translated into wool painting.

  

Raya also uses dry and wet felting techniques . As with her pictures she incorporates other fibres in her pieces,

She makes sculptural pieces with needle felting, where no stitch is used.

Her work includes clothing, bags and shawls which are made using wet felting techniques

 

Raya has also been doing Nuno felting where the wool fibres are incorporated into fine open weave fabrics.

Raya has certainly been on quite a journey both geographically and artistically!!

Thank you for guiding us through this journey . I know several of us are looking forward to her workshop in a couple of week's time.