Over the course of the summer the Felted Flock has been set up at four different pubic events. When I sit down to my table to work on felting sheep I am often reflecting on the immense feedback of both fans and critics. Since I’m often reflecting on it I thought I’d write out a few thoughts from my perspective as the maker.
I felt immense nerves going into each event; each time my hands were shaking as I opened the first box and began setting sheep on the table. It takes time to set up over one hundred characters and people begin to notice well before I was finished. Onlookers sidled up to the table to look, some stopping to chat as I dipped back into my box for yet another sheep.
There has been a multitude of responses to the Felted Flock, and opinions on what should happen with it at the conclusion of the project. Some people gave it a glance and passed right on by, the look on their faces suggesting they determined it to be come cute toys on the table. But the magnitude of the project, the sheer number of sheep on the table, grabbed the majority of people and gave them pause. Those who stopped to look further were delighted to see the variety of felted characters when they thought there was only sheep.
The wee fox has been a highlight every time and I’ve lost track of the number of people who have asked to purchase her. The pair of coyotes in the stand off with a pair of guardians receives an exclamation of some sort and is often pointed out to a friend to be sure they see it also. The sheep are a delight too many people, and they will notice how they all seem to be individuals with individual expression and personality. People will look over and over again and eventually find their favourite sheep. The shearers with sheep sat in position between their legs astonishes many viewers. Very few people find all the guardian dogs in the display which gives me no end of satisfaction. And the response to the scene with the dead ewe have been as varied as they come, from furrowed brows and a huff of displeasure, to a dawning realization that what is on the table is a visual display of a full circle story of life,
For me, the Felted Flock is a display of all that takes place before fibre ever reaches our hands. Some viewers miss this story line altogether but I would say the majority of fans take notice that a story is being told here. Many, many people lean in to ask questions about time invested, how they are made and purpose of the project, and when it is further explained they are further astonished.
As the maker standing at the display of her making, I am as astonished by the depth of responses as the viewers are by the display. After any showing of the flock it takes me a couple days to absorb what has occurred and it feels more and more as though I am now on the periphery of this project, looking in at it as a viewer might and watching to see it what it does next.
I have not counted how many felted sheep there are for awhile now, my preference is to keep my head down and felt away because I’d like to be done. I am afraid of not being far enough along to finish even though I am not beholden to any finish line except the one I gave myself. I think the urge to finish is not so much to meet a timeline as it is to wrap up with a project that has consumed two years of my artistic timeline. As I inch closer to finishing I must continually remind myself to slow down, to let myself feel the enormity of this project and enjoy being part of it while still pushing to the finish.