Looking backwards, looking forwards

So, it's been 5 months since I posted here and so much has happened that I haven't known where to start. To try to get a sense of that, I looked back at the past entries in this blog and was really surprised to see that I had been fairly conscientious in keeping up with the posts. Even more surprised to see I had been blogging since February 2005 on my River Daughters blog page which is still there. (oops, forgot to take it down.)

So 5 months is pretty long, even by my standards. It's great to look back and see how excited I was doing my first samples and classes, and I am still really excited by what I am doing. Moving to North Carolina has shifted everything and in the right direction, so it was definitely the right thing to do, however arduous.

There are several feltmakers here, so I have a little competition but their work is different from mine, so it's all good. The house/studio I've moved into is incredibly perfect for felting and giving classes. I have many "connections" here and they are already paying off in opportunities. And, the weather is perfect for felt. Even today, mid-May, the temperature was in the 60's and chilly.

So while my time in Tampa was fun and I'll miss the winters! It's obvious that I am here in North Carolina to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. I would be very open to coming down for a group class (especially during the winter), but no more informal drop-in classes, I'm afraid.

I am, however, far closer to Atlanta now, so I will continue to offer felting classes in North Atlanta at Spruill Center for the Arts, and please check their website for the updated class list, http://www.spruillarts.org.

Will I be keeping the company name, Florida Felt? For the time being, I'll keep it but the only site I will be updating regularly will be my gallery site, so be sure to bookmark it for class and show updates there.

Will I be keeping this blog? The answer is yes, for the time being as well. I'll probably change the name though :)

New Year's news

Happy New Year to all! Here's hoping that 2008 is better than 2007, wishful thinking that it is!

I had a great time with the Christmas Open Studio, and some fun projects came out of those sessions! Thanks to all of my friends who came by to roll with me!

I've been working on some new pieces and have applied to the Gasparilla Arts Festival as an emerging artist; cross your fingers! I made some cute capelets in alpaca that I just love, in my Atlanta Sunset series. One is shown here, and the others will be posted as made and photographed, in the Gallery section.

And now for the biggest news: I will be moving my studio up to the Asheville, NC area in March. There are countless opportunities to have my work seen in Asheville, as it is a fiber arts mecca in the Southeast. I still expect to travel to Georgia and Florida regularly to do shows and classes, however, and I will keep you all informed about future events, never fear.

I will host one more Introduction to Felting class in my South Tampa studio on February 2nd & 3rd, and I hope that all of you who have expressed interest in learning felting will be able to come. The specifics are on my website in the Classes section

Because of the move, I have cancelled my March classes at Spruill Arts Center in North Atlanta, but I have two classes scheduled in May and June, and then, starting in the fall, I'll be close enough to do weekly classes there. I'll keep you posted, or you can check the Spruill website.

Thanks for your interest in the feltosphere! I'll stay in touch, and let me hear from you!