Join us for the felting workshop, led by artist Bilge Aktas, which will be an introduction to repairing and altering knitted garments and clothing using needle felting and wet felting techniques. Participants are welcome to bring their own pieces, such as clothing, to mend or alter. All needed materials including wool, needles and foam back supports will be provided.
Artist Bilge Aktas’ Bio:
Bilge is a designer, researcher, and educator working with textiles, material interaction, and sustainable development. Her interdisciplinary expertise covers a variety of design matters, approaches, and tools from industrial design, material engagement and processes from arts and crafts, and philosophies and methods from social sciences.
Bilge’s artistic practice focuses on immersive experiences emerging from material interaction and embodied experiences. She works with fibers, photography, and video making, positioning her work at the boundary between art, design, and crafts.
Her research delves into the intricate dynamics of human-material interaction, and investigates the complex relationships among humans, materials, and the environment. Both in her research and creative work, she employs methods such as working with sensorial reflections, learning from the material, and exploring the roots of design materials.
Bilge’s creative works with fibers have been exhibited at museums and galleries across Finland, the US, and Turkey. Over the last decade, she has been teaching to university students in the US, Finland, Estonia and Turkey. Through workshops, presentations at international conferences, and research articles in journals, she continues to explore how materials shape humans.
In this workshop, she will facilitate exploring the practice of felting by bringing attention to textile structures and material properties. These conversations will help build a more intimate relationship between the participants and their textiles.
Image credit: ASUAM Fixer Studio
