Advanced Felt

What is an Advanced Course?

At this level you will be developing your work as an individual maker to be in the position to run your own studio or teach your subject. When working at this level a high degree of self-direction is needed, the tutor taking on the role of guide and mentor.

Who is the course for?

This course is for anyone who wishes to study his or her craft area in depth. This could be for your own personal interest or for professional development. You should have studied felt in depth across a wide range of areas and have strong felt skills. You should have confidence in your design skills and working with a full range of media.

How is the course organised?

This is a 2-year course leading to an ArtyBird Certificate in Advanced Feltmaking.

Year 1: -

Design Module: - This is a research module taking a theme of your choice and developing it through advanced design techniques alongside work in textiles. Each month we will have a different focus to extend and apply the skills and techniques you developed on the Foundation and Intermediate courses. There will be the opportunity for you to focus on areas of interest to you.

  • Month 1 – Surfaces, on paper and in felt
  • Month 2 – Shape, studying Notan. Applying this using the surfaces you created in the previous month in paper and felt.
  • Month 3 – Drawing and Line, adding this new element into the mix to extend your work.
  • Month 4 – Focus on Colour, including dyeing a range of materials to use. You will select and use dye techniques and materials that are pertinent to your work.
  • Month 5 – Printing, in design and on fabric. This is a useful design tool and brings a different aspect to felt, adding to the surfaces and marks you can incorporate.
  • Month 6 – Presentation, evaluation and reflection.

A Set of Pieces:– You will look at the designs and samples that you have created and develop a set of original felt items. These should be made to a high level of finish that could be submitted to an exhibition or selling gallery. This will complete year one.

Year 2: -

Samples for Design: - You will start this project by identifying 3 craft areas that you are interested in. This may have come from a workshop you have attended, a kit you have bought and put on the shelf, a book you have read or an exhibition you have visited. They should be areas that resonate for you and can be within or without textiles. Investigating and experimenting in these areas will lead to new ideas and skills that will be taken into your felt. You will link these with your design ideas from year one. This project will take 4 months.

5 Experimental Pieces:-This module is about open-ended; exploratory sampling that develops design and technical ideas. You can draw upon all your knowledge of felt making to develop your experimental pieces. Your starting point for the samples will have come out of your studies of 3 craft areas and each piece should lead on to the next idea. This will run for 4 months.

Final Show Piece: -This final piece will be a culmination of your course work, producing a complex showpiece reflecting you as a maker. It should develop your research and experimentation so that the work produced is unique. This is a 3 month module.

Course Delivery

  • You attend at Carnforth, Lancashire
  • You will start in September and meet for a weekend a month, for eleven months, for 2 years
  • You would be expected to put in around a day a week of study to complete the course.
  • You are responsible for providing materials and equipment for your course. There is a studio fee that gives you access to a wide range of art material, tools and dyes.
  • The cost for the course will be £725 per year plus £25 studio fee. Students can pay by 10x£77.50 monthly installments each year plus the studio fee of £25 up front. Fees are reviewed every year.

Meet your Tutors

Kate Horner is a practicing artist with a B.Sc. (Hons) Textile Design (Woven Structures) and a M.A. in Design Studies (Textiles). Kate has taught in Secondary School and Further Education for many years and is a thoughtful educationalist. Her artwork explores many forms of textiles, centred on felt making. Her sketchbooks are vital to the work she makes and these are extended and explored through the computer. Her themes are about herself and her relationship with people and places. This focuses on her family and friends, and their environmental and peace work. She has exhibited nationally and internationally.

Kate Ryan was born in Scotland and brought up in Northern Ireland. She has settled in Haworth, West Yorkshire and has worked as a secondary teacher in Halifax for more than 20 years teaching Design & Technology, Textiles and Fine Art. Kate has been steeped in textiles as a maker since childhood. “My training in felt started with the American felter Pat Spark and continued with Kate Horner at ArtyBird Carnforth. My pieces are inspired by nature and informed by the photographs I take whilst walking. I am a strong believer that there is creativity there to be developed in everyone and I look forward to working with you, sharing my passion for art and all things textiles.”

For more details visit our website or telephone 01524 874306.

Dates for 2014 - 2015
13th & 14th September 2014 / 17th & 18th January 2015 / 9th & 10th May 2015
18th & 19th October 2014 / 7th & 8th February 2015 / 6th & 7th June 2015
22nd & 23rd November 2014 / 21st & 22nd March 2015 / 11th & 12th July 2015
13th & 14th December 2014 / 18th & 19th April 2015

Kate Horner 2013