Treasure Hunter

From the little crow head I posted last week, comes this project I’m calling “Treasure Hunter”. I didn’t know where I was going to end up with this, so I just started and kept going.

The techniques used are, needle felting, clay sculpting, and mixed media with felt and cotton. In 2007 I did a class with Allison Marano (so sorry she’s not designing anymore), and I learned this technique that I used to make the vest. It’s made with a layer of batik, overlaid with Kunin felt. I stitched diagonal lines in two directions, then blasted it with the heat gun until the felt began to melt. It takes a while, but the wait is worth it.

The Kunin felt is not like the National Non Woven you might be used to. This is “100% ecospun polyester made from recycled post consumer plastic bottles” When sewing, you have to use 100% cotton thread.

Once the fabric was finished, I designed a simple vest front pattern. To trim it, there are sequins and beads, small buttons, and a string of black half side pearls. (plastic, but they look shiny and nice ;o) On his chest is another shiny bobble he’s found made with pearls and rhinestones. The shoes are part of the polyester challenge I’m in, but they needed to be made before being posted in March.

Here’s a side view of the Treasure Hunter, so you can see his vest from another angle.

From the first picture of the crow head holding the a shiny bit in his mouth, I ended up making him a top hat, stuffed with feathers and some black real fur trim around his neck.

The body is needle felted. The legs are partly needle felted, the extra wire inserted into the body to attached his legs.

There is a layer of felt between two layers of feathers top and bottom. Along the center back of the wings is a strip of the fabric to break up the amount of black, there is also a cuff of the same fabric at the top of the shoes. The back and tail feathers complete the look.

Treasure Hunter will be available at the gallery show in March. More info on my website. http://norhbrookdesigns.ca