KATHY FREY FIBER ARTIST

Kathy started felting when she took a wet felting class over a decade ago. Working with wool fiber immediately resonated with her and has been a pursuit ever since. Now that she has retired, Kathy is able to spend more time and energy on this rewarding and peaceful craft.

Just what is felting? The majority of felted items are made from natural fibers such as sheep wool and alpaca fiber using the centuries old process of felting. Additional fibers, including silk and Tencel, may also have been used in their creation. The origin of felt isn’t known, but is thought to date back to prehistoric times in Central Asia. The felting process involves working the fibers through wet or dry techniques to take advantage of the fiber’s natural ability to mesh, or mat, together. The wet techniques involve more than one of the following: moisture, heat, friction, agitation, and/or pressure. The dry technique is done by using a felting needle that is designed to catch and mesh the fibers together. There is no weaving, painting, sewing, or glue involved. Her felting work is comprised of both two and three dimensional items and range from felted ‘paintings’ to felted jewelry, scarfs and accessories to small creatures and other multidimensional items. A recent new offering is doing felting commissions of family dogs.

Kathy is one of the founding members of the Arts Collaborative of Wakefield which is celebrating its thirteenth year. The ACW’s mission is to support Wakefield and local community visual artists and craftsmen by providing opportunities for artists to network, meet and share ideas, display their work, and create partnership programs between local artists and businesses. For more info...www.artscollaborativeofwakefield.com.

Kathy lives in Wakefield and felts in her home on any available flat surface! Wet felting is often done on the picnic or dining room tables and dry felting is done on her work bench or kitchen table. In addition to felting, she also creates and rehab’s jewelry, and dabbles in painting.

For questions or more information, please contact Kathy at Kathy.frey1@verizon.net or at 617-791-2716.