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Felt-making Background
I learned the art of felt-making
at Tapeis Gael, a fiber arts studio in Donegal, Ireland,
and came home to Wisconsin to continue my learning.
Through reading, workshops and hands-on work, I have
continued to be fascinated with the magical properties
of turning wool into art. A workshop with a Turkish
rug-maker helped me to see the possibilities in large,
colorful pieces, and I applied for, and received, and
Artist/Community Collaboration Grant from the Wisconsin
Arts Board to create a large felted installation. Working
with young people from local schools in grades 2-11,
we constructed a 4 sided "storytelling hut" of felted
wool panels, each side with symbolism and artwork relating
to seasonal changes and traditions. Much of the art
is based upon the Celtic "Wheel of Life", in which the
changes in our sun, moon and seasons are acknowledged
and celebrated. I have an Irish heritage, and have traveled
widely in Ireland and Scotland, and have instructed
Irish Art History classes in Ireland through our local
college. Called the "Seanachie Shelter" ("Seanachie"
means storyteller in the Irish language), our completed
installation will travel to schools and libraries for
students and teachers to enjoy, along with a curriculum
I have developed to enhance its use. I have taught numerous
felt-making workshops to adults, using wet felting techniques
and dry needle felting, in which we create both functional
and artistic pieces. The following workshops will use
the dry needle technique, with demonstrations on wet
felting included if desired.
As an artist, I create wool felted artwork
ranging in size from 5 by 7 inched to 4 by 6 feet, for
sale in galleries as well as commissions. On the following
pages are views of recently completed work, both my
own and the panels from the recently completed Artist/Community
Collaboration Grant through the Wisconsin Arts Board. |
Workshops
I offer several workshops based upon the felt-making
process which range from 1 day to 5. Courses can be
geared to ages 8 through adult, and workshop content
is varied and flexible. The content I love to explore
with groups can be any of the following:
- mythology and legend, and the visual depiction of
powerful story
- Celtic studies, Irish art and art history, traditional
celebrations and their meaning
- ancient rock art, stone circles, artifacts and structures
from 5000 B.C., and the related symbolism. My strongest
areas of interest and research are Native American art
and European/Celtic
-"the story of a place", which involves bringing together
the aspects that make a place unique, including its
history, geography, inhabitants past and present, ecosystems,
legends-and making art together getting to know, and
celebrating the place
Workshop content always includes presentations, discussion
and hands-on creation of artwork, and each one is different
and based upon the people, ages, and place we are working.
Below I give an example from one of the content areas
with different length sessions detailed:
1 day sample session would include:
-presentations on the Celtic year, as well as cross
cultural art history, myth and symbolism
-re-enactment and performance of one or more traditions
such as Morris dancing, Strawboy stories, Masks and
guising, The Greenman, Sun Mythology
-creation of a collaborative felted piece relating to
time of year and story
-creation of individual pieces by each participant
2 day session:
Includes the same as above with more emphasis on individual
pieces and more detail on the collaboration and process
of felt-making
5 day session:
Includes the same as above with the addition of the
following possibilities:
-slide presentation of site visits in Ireland and Scotland,
with discussion of ancient legends surrounding standing
stones, solar observatories and stone circles
-students will learn and perform several traditional
dances such as the spiral dance, basic Morris dancing
from England using wooden swords, and "Border Morris"
dances using wooden sticks, which were done to celebrate
the turn of the seasons
-students will create their own masks and disguises
to accompany performances
-poetry and drama will be incorporated through presentation
and/or performance through pieces that re-enact the
change of season, with myth, literature and legends
incorporated into each day
-discussion of the Ogham alphabet, the first written
Irish language, in which each letter corresponds to
a symbol, which also represents a tree. Examples of
Ogham carvings will be presented and students will learn
basic writing
-Traditional use of natural materials will discuss how
rushes, wheat and straw were fashioned into love and
harvest knots, Brigid's crosses, willow work, and straw
disguises
-slide presentations on elements of Celtic design, such
as knot work and triskeles. We will look at designs
ranging from rock art through the Book of Kells, and
apply to our collaborative and individual pieces.
Fees: Fees are based upon length of workshop, travel
distance, lodging, expenses, and materials required,
based upon number of people and content. Please call
to discuss.
About the Instructor: Joan Molloy Slack holds a BA in
Art Education and English, and a Masters Degree in Ceramics/Visual
Arts. She is a certified teacher of Art K-12, English
7-12, and Art at the Vocational/Technical School System
in the State of Wisconsin, and is a certified Project
WILD instructor of outdoor/environmental education.
She owns and operates Riverrun Center for the Arts,
a gallery, teaching and studio space, where she creates
her own artwork and teaches year-round in a variety
of media.
Joan Molloy Slack P.O. Box 95
715-277-4224 McNaughton, Wi 54543
riverrun@newnorth.net
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Ceramics
Background
A 25 year career in clay has allowed me to explore
functional wheel-thrown work as well as handbuilt, sculptural
forms. My love of story, myth and symbol always brings
me back to creating one-of-a-kind claywork that illustrate
in 3 dimensions. Often I will create my version of a
myth, such as "Raven Brings the Sun", or a Celtic story
of the Salmon of Wisdom. Storied are what we learn and
need to live by, and I am fascinated at all the forms
in which they can be told.
Examples of my work in clay and myth on the following
pages exhibit the wide variety of inspiration that flows
into my work- the Silver Lady of the birch trees, the
Green Man and Green Woman of the forests, the songs
of the mermaids enchanting Irish sailors. I use a high
temperature stoneware, and fire most of my work in a
wood-fueled kiln, which produces unusual and never to
be repeated effects. As the wood burns, the ashflies
throughout the kiln, landing on random surfaces. Then,
as the temperature gets hotter, the ash melts to form
a golden glaze on the ware- a true collaboration between
the artist and the kiln!
Workshops
I offer a wide variety of classes and workshops at
my business, Riverrun Center for the Arts In addition,
I travel to offer demonstrations, presentations and
hands-on workshops as follows:
1 day workshop: "Mythic Pottery" this workshop
includes demonstrations on creating a vessel in clay
that incorporate myth, story and legend. Many examples
to illustrate the process and content are provided.
Students will create small, hand-built pieces and experiment
with the application of colored slips and carving the
forms.
2-3 day workshop : An expanded version of #1,
this class will provide a more in-depth coverage of
myth and clay and cross-cultural examples will be discussed.
Several different construction techniques will be demonstrated,
with discussion about vessels and adding sculptural
elements. Clay that is pinched, coled, slabbed and thrown
will be combined to enable students to create individualized
pieces. Creating and working with colred slips, carving
forms, and slip trailing will be covered as well.
5 day workshop: In this workshop, we will
take more time with all of the techniques mentioned
above, and allow students more opportunity to explore
individually. An expansion of the story and myth component
will be incorporated into each day. Students will create
several pieces throughout the workshop, but the emphasis
will be on finding new forms of expression, exploring
visual depiction of ideas, and learning new ways to
combine techniques of construction in clay.
Fees: Fees are based upon length of the workshop,
travel distance and expense, materials required, and
follow-up firing arrangements. Please call to discuss.
About the instructor: Joan Molloy Slack graduated
with a degree in Art Education, and has taught at the
high school, elementary and college levels during the
last 25 years. She received a Masters Degree in Ceramics/Visual
Art, and has operated her own pottery business for many
years. She recently built a new facility called Riverrun
Center for the Arts, located in northern Wisconsin,
where she has a working pottery/sculpture studio, exhibits
her own work and that of over 40 regional artists, and
teaches classes year-round in a variety of media.
Joan Molloy Slack |
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