The Old School is pleased as punch to showcase the wonderful, rich, textured landscapes of felt artist Sue Mulcock.
Sue’s work is a very welcome addition to our growing mix of styles and media, representing the world that surrounds our gallery in the heart of Swaledale, and another wonderful reason to visit us and say hello. S
Sue’s artists statement follows.
Artist Statement
Whilst studying for my degree in Bradford, I spent many days, and in subsequent years- many weeks, wandering around the Dales studying the structure of the landscape and its underlying geology and history, then drawing and attempting to paint what I saw. Steeped in the use of wool, Bradford was the ideal place to learn to spin and dye and I became fas-cinated by all aspects of working with wool.
When I discovered felt-making, this proved to be the ideal medium for me to interpret my ideas attempting to show the depth, colour and texture of the landscape and the play of light at different times and in different seasons.
I enjoy the process of laying out individual coloured tufts of wool in a similar way to painting with separate brushstrokes. I use a wet-felting technique with mainly hand-dyed merino wool into which I lay a variety of natural fibres and fabrics which, combined with the wool, produce a variety of rich colours and textures. Having been felted, the piece ac-quires a different nature, the inlaid materials combining with the wool to produce some-times unexpected textures and effects, adding shine or relief to the matt wool. I then ma-chine and hand embroider to develop the features that have emerged during the felting process.
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