Countdown to convergence!

I'm really excited to be going to the 12th Southern Hemisphere Feltmakers Convergence, it starts on Sunday!  It is a biannual event and a big thing for Felters across Australia.  I can't wait to meet some Australian artists that I've long admired like Anita Larkin who has curated an exhibition at the Woollong University art gallery 'Feltportation' to coincide with this event, and Martien van Zuilen. Two well-known international artists will also be tutoring at convergence, Anna Gunnarsdottir from Iceland and Leiko Uchiyama from Japan.

All of these artists do some great sculptural work, and the sculptural potential of felt is something that really fascinates me and what first got me really excited about feltmaking, so I hope to learn a lot. Already I get the feeling the convergence will have a sculptural bias!  To help fund the next convergence we were asked to take part in a fundraising 'swap' of a 3D piece that will be displayed through the week.  Recently Ive come across the work of Dutch Feltmaker Annemie Koenen, who adds amazing 3D surface texture to many of the items she makes.  I still have some way to go before I really suss out her technique, but in the process maybe I will develop a technique of my own!  Here is the item I have made to 'give away' at the convergence, I have called it 'Strange Fruit', I'd love to hear from you if you take it home :)