ANNA sum09 USA11

ine feathered friends

Artur Renet I form m her studio

Designer Renee Harris finds her voice by creating narratives in hand-felted wool and cotton embroidery

ABOVŁ fOGHI Ihe artist s took bose dyed wool. embroidery Hoss. sossors and netdlts ABOVE. ~folongtng' hand-felted wool and embroidery RIGHT: Designer Rente Harris begms eoch creation by drawing her ideo on paper in błoci linę

As artist Renee Harris describes herselt "For as long as 1 can remember I have had :he need to make thmgs. I loved the thought of being able to create an idea to hołd in my hand and share with someone.' As such. she attendcd the Corcoran Schooi of Art in Washington, DC, for a year before deciding that The Art Academy of Cincinnati better suited her goaJs of strengthemng her sense of cołor and her communication skills. She graduated wilh a major in pamting and pfmtmaking and a minor in illustration.

While worlang in galleries and as a freeiance illustrator after college, she bnaily found her real vorce—being able to dra w and paint with fclt fabric—a vcrsatrlc fiber canvas that could easily accommodate the unconventional drawing tooi of hand embroidery. From that moment on, Renee has created narrauve, one-of-a-kind pieces that are intuitive responses :o her mterests in folk art, illustration, naturę and garderung. Writee and editor Kitty Co* interviews the designer.

Q: You have said. 'I supposc. I havr always been an illustrator." But you talent has veered from the morę iraditlonal pen-and-mk on paper and/cr print making to one-of-a-kinj naratires in hand-felted wool and cotton embroidery. Ho* and when <frd thrs transihon come about’

A: The natural transition was from appard-l had sewn my own dothes and embroidered jean pekets at an early age.

But after I was mtroduced to fełt makng.

I immediately wanted to use it as a canvas and to draw on it using embroidery threads instead of penols At first. after eiperimenting wlth this new tcchmque. I Adrit use embroidery so much. Instead. I created abstract mages by couchmg metal and other materiał v like window sc^reenn§, to add ten turę to the felt. After that I deoded to senously coneentratę on embroideting onto the fełt surfaces

Q. What is you creative fascmation with beds. fish. naturę and folk art?

A i’»e always been an outdoor person and an and gardenet Since Tm always eiposed to birdcalls and b*d antics, l'»e personified lirem in my wori. Tłiere is such a huge rangę of tołors.

10 Anno Surrmcr 2009