Felting is the process of agitating fibers, in a solution of soap and water, causing them to cling to and embrace each other forever. When felting wool to silk fabric, the fibers not only cling to each other, but some of them first move through the silk, including it in the eternal hug.
The garments Althea Bilodeau felts are made from the fibers of the industrious silkworm's cocoon and from the beloved sheep’s coat. She starts with white fibers of each, and then she adds color. You will also find natural colored wool, small amounts of mohair and wool yarns, and other bits of specialty yarns felted into her garments.
Her natural draw to color and fabric was nurtured in her youth having been surrounded by the yarns and fiber collected and artistically combined by her mother, Gloria Scannell, a fiber artist well-known in the weaving community. A young student of sewing and weaving, Althea pursued her interest through fashion modeling, design and construction, and also costume design and creation. Her garment designs, geared for the construction of wearable art, have been purchased by other artists.
Felting has been the spark for an amazing culmination of all the experiences Althea has had to present. As if every path she pursued, each being a tiny rivulet made of raindrops heading as one down the mountainside, have come together to create a "stream" of energy, bounding down, growing in power...making noise. This power describes her enthusiasm for felting and the new life it has inspired; a life which cannot be denied. She can feel the current...and the many more felt creations which cannot wait to be born.
Mission Statement
