DKG Arts Gallery Blog: Artist’s Spotlight: Dedra Davis – North Carolina State Organization – Alpha Iota Chapter

 An Open Artists’ Discussion on Creation, Technique & Opportunity

●    Briefly, tell me a little bit about yourself as an educator and artist?

I am a recently retired art educator, teaching both elementary and high school art. I taught elementary students in the mornings and walked across the street to teach high school art classes in the afternoon. I had the same teaching position for 31 years. I'm blessed to live in an arts focused community in Western North Carolina and have been able to teach and take classes at the renowned John C. Campbell Folk School. I received my BSED from Western Carolina University. I have a master’s degree in Instructional Technology from East Carolina University. I also received my National Board Certification in Art education.

 

●     It was a pleasure meeting you and other Gallery artists at the International Conference in Phoenix, AZ this summer. Thank you for sharing your artistic creation ‘Sunflower Angel’, at the live gallery. Tell us a little about your experience. Were you a newbie? Why did you travel so far to be a part of this gathering of exceptional DKG members?

I have attended several international conventions and conferences and had other works of art accepted into the gallery in previous years. As the NC Liaison to the International Fine Arts Jury, I just facilitated my first showcase exhibit of the International Gallery artists from NC at our state convention. I wanted to see how International handled the logistics of an exhibit during a conference. I knew I could take away some ideas to make our next convention exhibit even better. I was not disappointed!

●     Your recent entry to the Gallery is titled ‘Sunflower Angel’?  She is only 10 inches high but incredibly intricate and delicate. Tell us about her creation.

My “Sunflower Angel” was created using the process of needle felting which I discovered  about seven years ago when attending an art education convention.  Needle felting is a dry felting process. It involves sculpting shapes and figures using wool and special felting needles that have sharp, barbed blades that tangle the wools fibers into felt by using a repetitive jabbing motion. The Angel design is loosely based on a corn husk doll with a bit of inspiration from the Waldorf fairies.  I created a wire armature for support that I carefully felted around, layering the wool to form the body.

 

●     What is needle felting, as I’ve seen it done by knitters for hats but not for sculpture. You mention in your artist’s description that ‘Sunflower Angel” was created from various colors of wool roving. What is the difference? How is this done?

 

Felted hats, scarves, bags, even shoes are typically created using the wet felting process. Water soap and friction are key components of wet felting. This is not my area of concentration although I have done some pieces that I really enjoyed.

 

Needle felting is very relaxing with the repetitive movements of poking the wool. In addition to sculptures, I also have begun to “paint with wool” creating 2-D framed landscapes and florals with the layering of beautifully dyed roving just as you would layer paint or pastels. I use needles to attach the fibers to a base of pre-felt. A foam base is placed under any needle felted project so as to not break the needle or stab oneself.

 

A little history- The needles used for needle felting were not originally designed for hand crafting – they were designed for industry. At the turn of the 20th century, machines with beds of these barbed needles were created to tangle fibers into felt fabric. These machines are still being used today to make industrial felt out of a wide variety of fibers. The next time you open the trunk of your car, you will know the thick liner was made with machines containing hundreds or even thousands of barbed needles. It wasn’t until the late 1980’s that innovative fibers artists got the idea to use a single industrial needle to sculpt wool into 3 dimensional shapes. What kind of wool can be used for needle felting? There are lots of possible choices ranging from Roving, Tops, Batting…from so many varieties of sheep. You can even needle felt with other animal fibers like Alpaca. Some also use their cat and dog hairs to felt with.

 

Various forms of wool

 

Batting – After being scoured, the wool is sent through a picker to remove debris and vegetable matter (vm) which breaks up the lock structure. It is then brushed out using a method called carding. This can be done with hand carders and the brushed fiber that comes from that is known as Rolag.

 

Carding- can be done on small drum carders and commercially on large carding machines – the final product resembles quilt batting.

 

Roving – roving is similar to batting, but it’s produced into long ropes, rather than wide sheets. After scouring and picking it is brushed into long ropes – the fiber in roving remains rather messy, like batting, and should not be confused with combed top.

 

Combed Top – This is a confusing term because much of the combed top you see is referred to as roving.

Roving that has been combed so that all the fibers run the same direction. It is known as top because only the top quality, long fibers remain after the process. This is desirable for spinning into yarn and wet “felters” love it but for needle felting it is more difficult to work with than fibers that have been brushed but not combed.

·             ●     Do you work in other media, or do you solely work in Fiber arts?

 

I create using many different media. I like to draw, paint, as well as create assemblages and work in glass and metalsmithing. Needle felting is my most recent passion. I plan to enter some jewelry pieces in the next submission cycle. 

 

●     As the past arts(liaison/chair) for North Carolina, tell us a little about how the NC ladies support your creative endeavors? (What I’m trying to say is …NC has a very strong presence in the gallery…how do you ladies make it happen?)

 

NC DKG does a great job publicizing and supporting members in entering their work into the gallery. I have offered workshops and done presentations for members /chapters to make submitting their art less intimidating. Additionally, our website, chapter newsletters, state newsletter, and Facebook page all publish the submission windows and encourage our members to let their talents shine! 

●     What does the value of Creative Arts in Education mean to you?

Arts education has always been a passion of mine. Music, theater, dance and visual arts are so crucial to a student’ well -being. Access to a well-rounded arts education helps students’ critical-thinking skills, creative confidence, hands-on skills, visual literacy, self-esteem, and an appreciation of other cultures. It breaks my heart to see schools not hiring new teachers in the area of the arts when a teacher transfers or retires.  So many students live for that opportunity to create art in some form and express themselves freely.

●     Parting thoughts/Insights?

I knew from the time I was a little girl that art would always be a part of my life. I just didn’t know how big of a part it would be.  By high school I had figured out that I wanted to be an art teacher.  I was then diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis and in a wheelchair for my sophomore year of high school.  My hands as well as every other joint in my body were affected by the disease. I knew the Lord intended for me to teach art and I never let anything get in my way. Multiple joint replacements and time spent on crutches, or a wheelchair never kept me from pursuing a degree and from being the best art teacher I could be.  I have had the best career I could have ever had! Never boring or repetitive. I loved having the freedom to experiment and explore and getting to watch the joy on my students’ faces when they were in the moment creating!