CALUMET - Visitors to the Copper Country Associated Artists First Friday workshop this Friday will get a taste of summer as there will be a class on flower making.
Karena Schmidt, a frequent guest at the First Friday workshops, will be teaching the art of wet felting, where attendees can make their own wet felted flowers.
"(Wet felting) is a technique where you take wool that is not yet made into yarn you wet it down then you kind of roll it, stretch it, shape it and mold it," Miriam Pickens said. "It's kind of like working with clay."
According to a CCAA press release, wet felting is a traditional method of felting that works well with natural fibers because they have "kinks" or "scales" on them which bond together to form a cloth.
"It's really neat because it's something where if you make a little design, it'll go right on a hat or coat," Pickens said.
In the workshop, Schmidt will teach attendees how to wet the wool, rove the silk and shape the felt into flowers. The actual design is up to the individual artist - with accessories like beads working well with the final product - and the finished product will be dried at the attendee's home.
"We're providing all the materials," Pickens said. "However, if (attendees) have old towels to work on, they can bring that."
An experienced felter and knitter, Schmidt recently designed a project titled "Moosing Around," a sweater pattern commemorating the moose and wolf study at Isle Royale National Park. It is offered at Yarns and Threads in Lake Linden, among other local shops. Proceeds from "Moosing Around" go to raise funds for the Isle Royale Wolf Organization.
The wet felting workshop is offered at two times, 6:30 and 7:30 p.m., and is open to the public. The class is free, but donations are welcome. This will be the last First Friday workshop to take place at 112 Fifth St. in Calumet, as the CCAA is moving to another location across the street.