RioBravoFineArt® Gallery Truth or Consequences, New Mexico
  • HOME
    • ABOUT RBFA
    • Gallery Calendar 2023
    • Rererence Index Gallery Calendar 2022
    • GALLERY GIFT SHOP
  • CURRENT EXHIBITION PREVIEW
    • Darlene Olivia McElroy & Paul White >
      • More About The Artists
    • Gregory Montreuil
    • The Border Artists
  • WORKS FROM H. JOE WALDRUM TRUST
    • Exhibition Preview
    • Paintings Linocuts And Etchings
    • Polaroids
    • About Joe
  • GALLERY ARTISTS INDEX
    • Roy van der Aa
    • Martye Allen >
      • Martye Allen Profile
    • Wiz Allred >
      • About Wiz Allred
    • Dave Barnett >
      • Dave Barnett Resume'
    • Delmas Howe >
      • Delmas Howe Resume' And More
    • Sandy Hopper
    • Noël Hudson >
      • Noel Hudson Resume'
    • Katharine Kreisher
    • Julia Masaoka
    • Tyler Mason
    • Darlene Olivia McElroy >
      • About Darlene Olivia McElroy
    • Donna Monroe
    • Gregory Montreuil
    • Graham Murtough
    • Deborah Mushock
    • Leo Neufeld
    • Susan Noreen
    • Ricky Padilla
    • Miguel Pino
    • William Bertrum Sharp
    • Joel Smith >
      • Joel Smith Resume'
    • Rebecca Speakes
    • Nolan Winkler >
      • Nolan Winkler Resume'
  • RECENT PAST EXHIBITIONS
    • Nolan Winkler REVISITED +
    • LANA DURA/Minna White >
      • Art and Legacy of the Navajo-Churro Sheep
      • About Felt
    • Leo Neufeld Exhibition
    • Jeanne Rundell & Nolan Winkler
    • Roy van der Aa 2022 Exhibition
    • Noël Hudson
    • Suzanne Pointon
    • Julia Masaoka Exhibition
    • In A Small Way
    • Tyler Mason Exhibition
    • Mannequin Mayhem >
      • Mannequin Mayham Artists Index
    • Nolan Winkler Blooms Exhibition
    • Susan A. Christie From The Studio Exhibition
    • Sandy Hopper Interweaving
    • Delmas Howe Guys and Canyons
    • Santa Fe Community College Show
    • Tondo Rotondo
    • Rebecca Speakes
    • ​Gregory Grafwallner Exhibition
    • Wendy Tremayne Exhibition
    • Martye Allen Exhibition 2021
    • 2021/22 GALLERY ARTISTS' SHOW
    • Donna Monroe Retrospective >
      • Curator Statement
    • Graham Murtough
  • AVAILABLE COLLECTIONS
    • From The Winkler Collection
  • PURCHASE INQUIRIES
  • BLOG/EXHIBITION/ REVIEWS
  • ARTIST SUBMISSIONS
  • LINKS WE LIKE

Lana Dura
Minna White 

Giving Sheep A Job!
Picture
Photo Courtesy of Minna White
​How Does It Work? Uniquely Felt by Christine White
Picture
Detail by Minna White/Lana Dura
Felt is alive, and every wool speaks a slightly different language. This may sound daunting because there are hundreds of types of wool, not to mention other animal fibers. But there is one simple key to unlocking the language: Hold still and listen: In feltmaking, listen means feel. Experienced felters understand this, and beginners, with practice, soon understand that hands and fingers will know what to do.

Many types of animal fibers will felt. In the broader definition of felt as “a sheet of matted or fused material: even things like plant material and man-made fibers might be included. Traditional feltmakers work with wool partly because it is and always has been readily available in many parts of the world. But it also happens that of all the animal fibers, sheep's wool is particularly well suited for entangling, due to the overlapping scales on the surface of the fibers. Many types of fibers have overlapping scales, but it is the well-developed (even exaggerated) texture of wool scales that makes it felt. It helps to understand how fibers move around on a microscopic scale, since these movements often hold the key to why different wools behave in different ways. 

Specifically, wool fibers, have an internal, elastic core surrounded by an outer cortex. During the felt making process, the outer part of the fiber softens in response to warm, soapy water and to heat from the friction of fiber-to fiber contacts.This softening allows the whole fiber to behave more dynamically as it moves, releasing some of its stored elastic energy. This results in increased tangling.

When moving thru a pile of wool, fibers will migrate toward their root end, because this is the direction of least resistance. They migrate around the pile and begin to entangle, They can’t move backward – at least very easily. 

Once the fibers start holding together many beginning felters will stop felting. To the naked eye, the felt looks coherent, but experienced hands can feel the trapped air pockets and elasticity still present in the fibers. Depending on the felt’s intended use, this might be fine. For a more durable felt that will not stretch, however, it is necessary to keep working the felts to further the process.
*******
CLICK HERE TO VIEW EXHIBITION
Picture
Eduardo Alicea, Owner - Director      H. Joe Waldrum, Founder in 1998
Gallery Hours
Closed Monday & Tuesday
Open Wednesday – Sunday
Noon – 5 p.m.
And by Appointment
​

riobravofa@gmail.com

RioBravoFineArt® Gallery 
110 Broadway Street,
​
Truth or Consequences, 
NM 87901
Phone: 1.575.894.0572 


Picture
Webmaster: WBBrownStudio.com
  • HOME
    • ABOUT RBFA
    • Gallery Calendar 2023
    • Rererence Index Gallery Calendar 2022
    • GALLERY GIFT SHOP
  • CURRENT EXHIBITION PREVIEW
    • Darlene Olivia McElroy & Paul White >
      • More About The Artists
    • Gregory Montreuil
    • The Border Artists
  • WORKS FROM H. JOE WALDRUM TRUST
    • Exhibition Preview
    • Paintings Linocuts And Etchings
    • Polaroids
    • About Joe
  • GALLERY ARTISTS INDEX
    • Roy van der Aa
    • Martye Allen >
      • Martye Allen Profile
    • Wiz Allred >
      • About Wiz Allred
    • Dave Barnett >
      • Dave Barnett Resume'
    • Delmas Howe >
      • Delmas Howe Resume' And More
    • Sandy Hopper
    • Noël Hudson >
      • Noel Hudson Resume'
    • Katharine Kreisher
    • Julia Masaoka
    • Tyler Mason
    • Darlene Olivia McElroy >
      • About Darlene Olivia McElroy
    • Donna Monroe
    • Gregory Montreuil
    • Graham Murtough
    • Deborah Mushock
    • Leo Neufeld
    • Susan Noreen
    • Ricky Padilla
    • Miguel Pino
    • William Bertrum Sharp
    • Joel Smith >
      • Joel Smith Resume'
    • Rebecca Speakes
    • Nolan Winkler >
      • Nolan Winkler Resume'
  • RECENT PAST EXHIBITIONS
    • Nolan Winkler REVISITED +
    • LANA DURA/Minna White >
      • Art and Legacy of the Navajo-Churro Sheep
      • About Felt
    • Leo Neufeld Exhibition
    • Jeanne Rundell & Nolan Winkler
    • Roy van der Aa 2022 Exhibition
    • Noël Hudson
    • Suzanne Pointon
    • Julia Masaoka Exhibition
    • In A Small Way
    • Tyler Mason Exhibition
    • Mannequin Mayhem >
      • Mannequin Mayham Artists Index
    • Nolan Winkler Blooms Exhibition
    • Susan A. Christie From The Studio Exhibition
    • Sandy Hopper Interweaving
    • Delmas Howe Guys and Canyons
    • Santa Fe Community College Show
    • Tondo Rotondo
    • Rebecca Speakes
    • ​Gregory Grafwallner Exhibition
    • Wendy Tremayne Exhibition
    • Martye Allen Exhibition 2021
    • 2021/22 GALLERY ARTISTS' SHOW
    • Donna Monroe Retrospective >
      • Curator Statement
    • Graham Murtough
  • AVAILABLE COLLECTIONS
    • From The Winkler Collection
  • PURCHASE INQUIRIES
  • BLOG/EXHIBITION/ REVIEWS
  • ARTIST SUBMISSIONS
  • LINKS WE LIKE