Work is Fun, by Barbara Matthews

Fantasy Footwear show at Clarke & Clarke Arts + Artifacts, Mercer Island, WA

Barbara Matthews

I spent over 40 years in a research career, which involved data gathering, information processing, statistics and modeling -- the opposite continuum from art.  I learned the value of working in teams that made the effort fun and synergistic. Now expressing myself artistically by producing shoes for the Fantasy Footwear show provided a way to honor my earlier occupation. Work boots seemed natural, but certainly not stuffy old practical boots, these needed to impart some levity. 

 

I work with wool roving to create felted fabric. I found the most luscious roving in a mixture of burgundy, gold and green.  First the roving is pulled in short tuffs and laid first one direction and then another in a square, sometimes in three layers.  The idea is to encourage the fibers to tangle together to such an extent as to form a piece of solid fabric. 

The process involves rolling the pile of roving into a roll within bubble wrap, rolling it back and forth, back and forth, hundreds and hundreds of times.  The process is meditative. Finally, after rolling, opening, repositioning the fabric, and re rolling the roving the piece begins to shrink, a half an inch with each turn of the fabric.  That is the felting process working.  This piece became the focus fabric for the boot. 

I repeated the process with complementary colors. Now with the fabric pieces in place, how do I make a boot?

Yes, it is possible to find a shoe pattern on online! This one on Etsy from TallerDeCalzado2 in Spain. My initial prototype helped me judge the final size of the piece.

          

Pieces cut from my felt and sewn together, the boots were taking shape.  Among my stash of my own work was a piece of hand dyed silk that would suit as lining  and a Kumihimo braided cord that could serve as the laces. Hand stitching on the sides brought the sense of levity into the pieces.  Grommets for the laces; sole and heels to finish.