The Start of a homemade Wool Picker

 I started off with no resources on how to make the sleigh wool picker except random youtube videos and hopeful google searches. Once I had a base line on what it should look like, I had to count the tines on youtube videos, replay them 6 million times, improvise, and then come up with a grid pattern that would work for my nail spacing and patterns. It took many pieces of paper and a few nights where I had to throw down the pen, but I have now conquered the baseline instructions. this could all change once I begin drilling and chopping, but for now, they seem fool-proof. With the help of one amazing wheel maker, Dave Paul, I have also begun making my sleigh wool picker in his wood shop. This is much more efficient than if I were to use a rusty old saw, hand-held drill, and had to file down 450 nails by hand. It can be done however, it would just take much more time. At this point I have put together the box and have begun drilling the holes for the nail beds. I still need to drill 5 more nail beds, sharpen 450 nails, create the feed tray and top, then finish it off with legs that would transform the unused wool picker into a table and still maintain it's portability. The biggest challenge for me now, is finding the time to go play in the wood shop! Below I have included some pictures of the process and ultimately when I am done, I hope that I will have a ready made plan that will be simple enough for everyone to make one. My new quest is a wool picker for every home, but first I will begin with my own home....

Why do fiber arts play an important role in the up and coming art scenes?

This past week, I did a pretty extensive search for fiber arts in the contemporary art scene, and to my surprise ,at first, I didn't find a whole lot. After taking a second look, and re-wording what exactly I was looking for, I found an interesting mix of conventional fiber use, such as spinning, knitting, quilting,  and a new approach to fiber arts that I had not considered, such as painting with fiber.  To begin delving into how fiber arts as played a role in the art scene, it is important to know that fiber arts is considered to be any type of artwork which uses a linear, pliable element-fiber, as a major material ( I would argue using fiber in any artwork). This could include stitching, weaving, dying, spinning, felting, knitting, etc. A term I came across often was textile arts, which brings up the question, "what is the difference between textile and fiber arts?" Well, they are basically the same and often used interchangeably, but if you had to differentiate, then fiber arts would be more contemporary and conceptual whereas textile refers to design, ethnics, or historical pieces.
               Many young people have begun knitting as a past-time project, in our school, we even have a couple people in class knitting during the lectures. This has been proven to help increase the attention span of those with more fluttering minds. New websites have emerged recently that are targeted at youths and young adults to create, buy local, and inspire, such as etsy, ravelry, and pinterest.
                  My take on fiber arts in the art scenes is that is growing and at this moment people are still playing with fiber as a medium for art aside from spinning, but I will be intrigued to see what people come up with. One popular fiber activity is called yarn bombing or knit graffitti, people knit swatches or designs for objects around cities and cover them with their knitted creations. I can't imagine spending so many hours knitting something and then having it taken off to be thrown away, but I wouldn't mind doing a small project, who knows, maybe you will see a little yarn bombing from me.

Here are a few web sites that I found to be the most helpful and interesting. Also, don't forget to check our the amazing pictures below of yarn bombings.
www.suta.com/misc/fiber_arts.html
www.indieknitandspin.wordpress.com

Introduction

This semester I have chosen to do an independent study in fiber arts tools. The focus will be on the planning and creation of a sleigh wool picker, a homemade hackle and diz, and a brief history of fiber tools and how they relate to us in this day and age.This week the focus will be on the history of fiber arts tools, with the question being "Why do fiber arts play an important role in the up and coming art scenes?" I encourage questions about any of my posts or information that you would like to know about fiber arts tools or their history.