Breaking the Boundaries of FeltJanice Arnold has been redefining the boundaries of handmade Felt for over 25 years. Her work is a confluence of ancient and modern methods using traditional and unexpected materials. In this presentation, she will share peeks into inspirations and processes for Woolen Clouds, Homage to the Forests, and other large-scale works.
This lecture is a part of the Phyllis Huffman Fresh Ideas Visiting Scholar Series in Design and is co-sponsored by the Department of Design Studies.
About Janice Arnold:
For over 25 years Janice Arnold has been creating textile art, immersive installations and community participatory events centered around her handmade textiles. Born in Vancouver WA, Arnold received her BA from the Evergreen State College, and learned feltmaking by studying and working with nomadic artisans of Central Asia and Mongolia.
Arnold exhibits and lectures nationally and internationally about her art and the deep history of indigenous nomadic feltmaking. She recently founded The FELT Road (thefeltroad.org), a non-profit with a mission to build a global community around wool-based textiles and foster intercultural understanding and respect through traditional nomadic felting processes.
Her work is in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, and public and private collections worldwide. She was the only American artist commissioned for the Smithsonian’s Fashioning Felt Exhibition where she created the installation, Palace Yurt, the acclaimed centerpiece. She has received numerous grants and awards and was nominated and received an American Craft Council Rare Craft Fellowship Finalist Grant.