Felt sculpture: from peanut guy to alien with serendipity
If you follow me on a regular base, you will know by know how much I’m interested in the creative process and how to get you and me inspired. Today I like to share an example of how inspiration and my creative process are connected by introducing you my alien peanut guy.
I guess I also have also repeated more than once how much much inspiration I get from teaching. Teaching for me is a connexion and exchange. Learning never just goes in one direction! I’ve feel grateful for the extraordinairy exchanges online teaching opened for me!
Inspired by my students
During my last online hat workshop, one of my students send me her inspiration photo she found on Pinterest: beautiful weathered wheels in a intriguent layering.
Inspiration hit me immediately, provoking a strong desire to create something in the shades and shapes of these rusty wheels.
Serendipity
When I arrived at my working table a peanut guy template was waiting for me. Initially had intended to create another peanut guy this day!
This is what’s called a moment of serendipity: things coming together by themselves - like by magic!
I have learnt that trusting in these coincidences - allowing me to go with the flow allows my best creative me to have fun! Most often am also pleased and satisfied by the outcome but this is not what I’m really concerned by - I am creative because I love the process!
Going with the flow
So here was the evidence: I would superpose the peanut guy and the rusty layered wheels.
I nearly never look on the inspiration images, I love to work from my memories. This way I focus on my souvenirs, what impressed me most. I don’t aim to reproduce anything existing.
What I was impressed by, was the intriguing layering of shapes and openings as well as the shading.
In order to allow the layering, I tripled the original peanut shape, using the resist felting technique. Then I choose the fibers in colors that felt would allow me to achieve the rusty look.
Without the image, I would never have chosen to mix orange and turquoise! My mental image also suggested me to add brown and teal. Again I didn’t looked at the image and I guess this is because when I think of rust, brown is the color which pops up in my mental imagery. So here the inpsiration image was mixed up with my souvenirs of rust.
Isn’t it fun how souvenir and inspiration are interweaving?
New shape – new possibilities
Once the shapes cut and the felting process nearly finished I started to play. Pushing the layers in different direction, turning them inside out and upside down. First a kind of onion girl showed up:
– I liked her, but felt it was not the form this sculpture wanted to be. The next one already felt more “right”:
but I went on playing and suddenly a pair of alien eyes were looking at me!
Creating is exploring & discovering
It’s so satisfying when on one point everything feels in place and I discover under my hands something I wouldn’t be able to imagine before.
My goal is the process not the result
Once finished I love to compare the stimulating photo with the outcome. This gives me so much information and new ideas. Things I like on the alien, things I like on the original shapes, the merging of both...
This is the moment when I try to persuade myself to work in series. ONE DAY I will!!!
Unfortunately I’m get easily distracted by the thousand other things I feel inspiration for - like writing this post about the process for example. So I’m just keeping in the flow, curious about what’s coming next….
I-N-S-P-I-R-A-T-I-O-N = breathing, = feeling alive!
Wishing you an inspired day!
Love,
Ariane