Fiona Duthie- fine felt

Separate yet Connected: These words sum up exactly how we have lived in the last 10 weeks or more. On March 27th, 2020, I sent out a creative challenge to my previous online students. We have a strong and supportive group on Facebook, and this became our meeting place to discuss ideas and check in with one another, as we worked on pieces related to the theme, Separate yet Connected. The work was all made in an eight week period when all participants were living in some fo...rm of self-isolation, sheltering-in-place or lockdown. It is a wonderful, diverse, heartwarming collection. Please do take some time to view the work here: https://www.fionaduthie.com/separate-yet-connected-online-/

Creating moments for more paper trials in the studio. Just 10 minutes of each hour for creative hands on work to balance the computer time! These are beautiful lokta and kozo papers. I love feeling how the papers in different weights and fibre compositions change in relationship with the wool! These short work periods are ideal for testing the many papers I've collected from around the world. #fibrepaperink #paperfelt #surfacedesign #woolandpaper #feltingpaper#canadianfeltartist #canadianfelt #studioresearch

The scholarships for 2020 have been awarded! I am delighted to have awarded $6140.00 in scholarships this year, as part of my mission to make creative learning experiences as accessible as possible! All of the scholarship submissions are carefully reviewed, going through each submission with a scoring system established based on financial and personal need, passion, and professional development opportunity. This process was designed to make the assessment as rigorous and unbi...ased as possible. Congratulations to this year's recipients: Brenda Dickeos, Cheryl Cheney, Victoria Manns, Kate Thwaites, Betty Ann Winters, Maria Cristina Gozzoli, Sonya St-Gelais, Kate Heinzen, Elise Campbell, Debbie Denard, Leslie McFarlane , Amanda Upson, Rebecca Baker, Carmen Laferriere, Gillian Hewitt, Katarzyna Niedzielak, Maria Holst Salomonsen, Gayle Heath, Minaz Jantz, Margaret Korlak, Kerrie Dufseth, MIchelle Johnson, Renata Britez , Janice McKay, Valerie Schultz I look forward to working with you all and seeing where these new ideas and techniques take you!

Spring flowers (from Bullock Lake Farm)-a small gesture of beauty to thank you to all for your support and messages! Since mid March and the onset of Covid -19, I've been working super long hours to keep everything going here. And I am so grateful that I can! My life has not changed so much, it has just become much busier! I've received over 600 work related, non spam, non advertising emails in the last week alone, which is why you are not always hearing from me quickly ...or at all! My friend, Carol, whom many of you have met at my felting events, is going to be helping me out and responding to emails for the next week! So you'll soon be getting answers and responses! Please be patient with us! Heartfelt thanks again to you all! <3 See more

Fabulous work from Judith Colvin in the current Fiber + Paper online workshop! Paper layers in relief integrated with wool. All beautifully executed by Judith in this piece! There's one more Fiber + Paper class coming up in July!

Last day of the Color Collaboration online exhibition with @colorsofellen! Thank you to everyone for viewing our work! I'm grateful for and humbled by all of your messages and purchases! All of my pieces have sold. Thank you,! This collaboration, from the very initial planning stages, was all about joy and light and connections A celebration in color and form. It could never have been planned, but the timing could have been more perfect, running over 6 of the most challengin...g weeks many of us have known! As this exhibition closes, we wish for you all that this exhibition embodies: brightness, vibrancy, vitality, creativity and community! Thanks again for visiting and seeing our work! - - - #colourcollaboration #colorcollaboration #onlineexhibition #vibrancy #connectthroughcraft #feltfashion #feltexhibition #wearableart #gratitude

Today is the last day to submit your application for my 2020 Scholarships! I know it can be hard to find the extra finances for a workshop that can help you achieve your goals or further your own work. Workshops can just be slightly out of reach, but also just the thing you need to get that creative push. Right now people are feeling extra financial pressure, and need more beauty and/or structure to help navigate the days and changing circumstances. I know I am looking for t...his myself! That’s why I am awarding 3 need based scholarships for each of my online workshops. I've added in all the new workshops plus tripled the number of scholarships that will be awarded! You can apply for one scholarship for one class: Felt Jewelry, Fibre +Paper: April, Raised Surfaces, Foundations in Felt Garments, Composition for Feltmaking, Fibre + Paper: October, and Ink on Cloth. Read more about each workshop on my website to see if they are the best fit for you. Then you can apply for a scholarship here: https://www.fionaduthie.com/scholarships/

I created the Vessel within a Vessel tutorial a few years ago as a little tangent project for students in the Surface Design Online class at that time. It’s a fun and unique project, that covers several skills, and doesn’t take much space or materials to make! It takes a bit of thinking about to understand the inside/outside eventualities from layout to finished piece. Don’t think too hard about it and follow along with the instructions, and it’ll all become clear as you come to the end! https://www.fionaduthie.com/vessel_within_a_vessel/ Enjoy! If you make one, I'd love to see it here! xo

So strong! Stretching out and into potential. This is my layered vest, part of the Color Collaboration collection. So many layers and resists used to construct this double collared vest, all in one piece, Rich blues and greens and purples contrasting with some stormy greys. Accents in ink and pencil rovings. Connecting through creativity! I'm looking forward to working on more of these complex pieces in the coming months! ... #colourcollaboration #colorcollaboration #inkoncloth #feltart #feltclothing #wearableart #canadianfeltartist #canadianfibrearts

We are all faced with so many challenges just now. Beyond the physical, there are so many mental challenges we face either from being in isolation, or just in facing the uncertainty of the coming weeks and months. With so many of us now in self imposed or required quarantines, lock downs or sheltering in place, I want to offer some support to my community online, in any way I can. Choosing to make something, be creative, use your hands, and learn something new, can be ideal... in these circumstances. Being in control of some small thing, can be enough to make the bigger picture and the day feel a little more manageable. I'll be a sharing all of the free tutorials I have written over the last few years here, so they are easy to find. I have two members challenges to post in my Facebook Group Fiona Duthie: Online Discussion Group for all of my online workshop alumni! If you have already taken a class with me, please do be sure to join that group to take part! The conversations and projects shared there are already rich and inspiring, and these challenges will give more points of connection with others working from their homes as well. I have opened registration for Felt Bags and Felt Jewelry, both of which are discounted by 50% to make them more accessible. I am adding one new online class a month- shorter classes, that are very inexpensive. Coming up over the next few months are an extra session of Fibre + Paper Online, Raised Surfaces Online, and The Process of Abstractions Online. I'll be adding the details on the new classes over the next few days and weeks, and will post about them here on my page. My goal is is to create a series of shorter, interesting, diverse and inexpensive classes, that give you a chance to explore and create, without needing to order any materials, and participate creatively with our amazing online community! More than anything- stay well! In body and mind. Reach out if you need anything at all, and I'll do my best to help! Wishing you all love, strength and resilience! <3

Bright, warm colours combined with strong contrasts in value. I Iove this combination both in individual pieces and also in images! This layered tunic is a part of the Color Collaboration between myself and @colorsofellen . In the piece, I combined many prints, layering them in tiers of felt and a double collar, so there is separation but also visual connection. A piece for these times! It was a creative stretch in working with many layers of resist.... This would be a great challenge to undertake in any project just now- multiple layers in flat felt it a vessel or even a garment! Whatever kind of form you love to work in. Separated but connected! Silk handpainted by Ellen Bakker Garment design, construction and image by Fiona Duthie Modelled by Rachel Bevington #colourcollaboration #colorcollaboration #feltclothing #feltfashion #fionasworkshops #feltart

This piece may be the most fun and uplifting in the Color Collaboration collection! Bright and cheerful, it invites movement with its voluminous hemline. The fabric can be allowed to drape creating a flattering asymmetrical hem, or it can be folded up and pinned to the opposite shoulder to create layers of angles and more of an aline silhouette. I'm sharing these images to encourage some lightness, joy and also inspire creativity. The colours in these pieces are bright and... playful, and the shapes can shift- this takes a lot of creative planning in the design stage, perfect for right now- giving ourselves some escape into creative problem solving! silk painting by Ellen Bakker garment design, construction and photography by Fiona Duthie fabulously modeled by Rachel Bevington https://colorcollaboration.com/

Gorgeous colours, and a little inevitable black and white! Rachel in my Color Collaboration Assymetrical tunic surrounded by handpainted nuno felt throws and wraps made by Ellen Bakker and myself. This vibrancy is certain to bouy your spirits!

It's been a hectic week with workshops, postponements and reorganizing of retreats and classes for the coming months plus serious family health crisis, but through all of this, I've had the pleasure of editing some images for the Color Collaboration online exhibition with Ellen Bakker. I hope you'll enjoy seeing some of our work here: https://colorcollaboration.com/ I'll post a picture or two everyday- some lightness through fibre art, as we all adjust to the current circumstances.

Foundations in Felt Garments: Registration is Open! In this online workshop, we work through four simple garment styles, building in technique and complexity, in each of the four projects. We work with simple and complex resists, making exotic and nuno prefelts, ramie fringes, composition ideas for surface design on garments, plackets, godets, box pleats, armhole shaping, pockets, sleeves, collars and hoods. A myriad of design possibilities, with variations on each garment style. This is a very full course, but with lots of time (2 weeks) in between each project to finish or explore another variation. I'll post some of the amazing pieces made by previous participants over the next few days! For more information, visit my website here: https://www.fionaduthie.com//foundations-in-felt-garments/

Color Collaboration: Ellen Bakker and Fiona Duthie It's going to be a fabulous celebration in colour this week in our workshops and exhibition. The online exhibition launches on Monday!

Register now for Composition for Feltmakers this year! There are a few spaces still available in this workshop that starts on June 5th. https://www.fionaduthie.com//composition-in-feltmaking-on/... Each week we cover 4 elements of design. As the foundation for all of our other composition decisions, having a strong relationship with colour is very important. We spend two weeks exploring colour- the first week delves into colour theory, and the second week explores exercises to develop our design interactions with colour theory. Then we look at Form and Line in Composition. This class includes very supportive and encouraging critiqueing. This process allows you to improve your design work while discovering and/or deepening your creative signature. Working with each week’s design elements and answering the questions prompted during the class, illuminates your own preferences and style. You will end this course with a stronger understanding of design theory and the language of design, and a defined personal creative signature. I hope you'll join me in this creative adventure!

Online Scholarship Opportunities for 2020! Community building, artistic integrity and technical excellence. These are the foundations of my workshops. I want to make these as available as possible to everyone. Sometimes life is challenging either financially or due to personal circumstances, and time dedicated to creativity can be what is most needed, but may not be attainable.... I have set up this scholarship series for 2020 to help you get that creative boost you need this year, even if you felt it might not be possible. Deadline: April 15th, 2020 Selected recipients will be notified between May 1-3rd, 2020 Full details and the form to apply can be found here: https://www.fionaduthie.com/scholarships/ Please do share this post if you know someone who could use this opportunity!

We had a super fun photo shoot this morning! Outside, just above zero, but lots of wool and colour, and finished before the rain started! Now to try and choose which pictures to share! Photos for the Color Collaboration exhibition opening online on Monday! I'll post more over the weekend. Rachel, my model, is just amazing! Thank you for being a part of creating these images! ... #colorcollaboration #colourcollaboration @colorsofellen #wearableart #canadianfeltartist #fiberart #fiberartnow #vibrancy

Two reversible felted wraps, with colourful suspended felt icons. These are part of the #colorcollaboration collection that includes work by myself and @colorsofellen. These pieces will be shown in an online exhibition that will be launched on March 9th. These wall hangings/wraps include many of the parts I've been showing you over the last few weeks. Dyeing, painting, prefelting, painting, steaming, felting, stitching. Lots of processes to get to the result. I love these, and would love to make some more pieces that combine these elements! #colourcollaboration #colorcollaboration #inkoncloth #abstract #contemporaryfelt #canadianfeltartist #surfacedesign #markmaking