Learn how to make your own colourful Spring hare fibre art ‘painting’ using a variety of fibre materials with experience fibre artist, Ushma Sargeant.

In this day workshop you will be making your own colourful fibre ‘painting’ of a hare using a variety of fibre materials. Your finished piece will be approximately 15cm square and mounted ready to frame.

You will be introduced to the tools and materials and shown how to use them. You will be guided to create your own piece, from choosing your materials and colours through to the techniques and process of building your picture. Your tutor will be on hand at every stage to demonstrate and advise you while you work on your piece.

You will have the opportunity to add your own details and embellishments using the wide selection of fibres on offer including wool, silk, camel, alpaca, llama, angora, flax, seaweed, bamboo and nylon.

You will learn the techniques of needle felting onto a flat surface including safety when working with felting needles, how to use the various felting needles for different effects, the properties of the different fibres and how you can use them, use of colour and texture and composition in fibre and how to finish a fibre piece.

meet your tutor

After years working as a Structural Engineer, Ushma pursued a long-standing interest in Art. She completed Painting, Photography and Illustration modules at The Open College of the Arts to develop her self-taught skills.

Ushma came across fibre as an ’easier to clean up’ alternative to paint and immediately took to it. She found ‘painting’ landscapes much more intuitive for me in fibre.

She uses needle felting methods with a variety of fibres including wool, silk, camel, alpaca, llama, angora, flax, seaweed, bamboo and acrylic, always looking for the right fibre for the details and enjoying the challenge of learning as she goes

Ushma enjoys sharing what she has learnt, teaching workshops that are designed to show you how to use these materials and methods to create your own artwork. She encourages you to experiment and bring your voice to your work, while being on hand to demonstrate and advise as needed.