My mixed meida piece and updates on my angelina fiber and felt

Hi. It has been awhile since I've blogged, but I am continuing to work on my art. So far my experiment with using the prefelt as a sort of facing for extra reinforcement to the back of my felting into the linen is working quite well. I can't wait until the piece is finished. It is a commission and the subject matter is a spiritual expression of motherhood and her bond with twins. I will put a picture on here of it when it is complete and I will also add it to my web site.

In July I am going to learn Japanese tie dye called Shibori and experiment with combining that with the wool felting. If it goes well I will move towards that with the evolution of my art.
I can't wait for that experience. So far my mixed media approach with the oil painting and felt looks really good.

updates

It's been awhile since I've been on here. I have received a special order for my new concept mixed media piece of oil painting and wool on canvas. So, for now I have put aside the angelina fiber piece. The wonderful thing I am finding about working with felting is that many of the pieces I have made get sold almost as soon as I complete them. I sold my first two and the second was a special order as well.
My website is finally up as well it is janinekurzinger.com. Parts of it are still under construction, but I should have the final up to date details added soon.
With my first two mixed media pieces, I have been working on linen. While linen looks nice to frame up the work, I find that I prefer the durability of cotton canvas, as the linen requires more sealer and gesso to create a stable ground. So, for the next project, I will see how the needle felting works in the cotton canvas. The linen looks good and works fine with my current work, but I think the use of cotton is more a matter of preferance than anything else. The linen is also a great material to needle felt into.
For anyone who oil paints. I highly recommend Golden brand's GAC 100 sealer as a protective ground for either cotton or linen. It stops oil penetration and firms up the support. One can either buy a preprimed canvas and then put two coats of the GAC before adding additional coats of gesso. One needs to add additional layers of gesso because the GAC has a smooth glossy surface. Golden claims that GAC has been found to be more durable and longer lasting than the traditional rabbit skin glue. I am very happy with the results of the GAC as a ground.

Also if one is going to needle felt onto canvas it is a good idea to get some prefelt wool sheets to place on the back of the canvas so that essentially the canvas or linen is sandwiched between layers of wool. This method is similar to the concept of applying facing to the back of a garment when doing embroidery. This just adds another layer of protection to the back since it is open due to being on a stretcher frame. It will also create a cleaner look. This is the first time I am using this technique, so I will add a picture once I get to that stage.
The piece in my previous post is pure needle felting applied to a prefelt sheet of wool.