Artistic | Laura Lee Burch

Needle felting and Mixed Media

The beginning of the long process of embroidery.

At one point in my needle felting I began to wonder how I could make the surface more interesting, so I began to experiment. I needle felted a mask using a large felted ball as a mold to help me obtain the curved shape of the mask. I felted the mask face as I’d felt any doll face but as I started to apply the colors of the face I became bored with the felted outcome. I decided to start the long, arduous process of embroidering the mask.

It took me several years to finish this project because many other projects became more important and I put the mask away, time and time again. Because of the tediousness of the embroidery I wasn’t excited to finish it.

As I progressed with the mask embroidery, the shape of the mask changed and I had to keep reshaping it. Getting the needle through the center part of the face was very difficult. By this point (above) I was anticipating adding color so the process became more exciting!

Multi-media mask for Purim, Halloween or the theater.

The mask came to life with the addition of each different color that I added. The more colors applied to the surface, the faster I worked!

I compare the many colorful thread stitches of my mask to brush strokes; the outcome reminds me of an impressionistic painting.

My Theater Mask has a felted, embroidered handle.

I sewed/glued a chop stick to the side of the mask for a handle; I felted a handle, embroidered it black and inserted the thread-wrapped chop stick into the handle. I sewed black beads around the mask to compliment the handle.

The feel that the messy, inside of the mask is as interesting as the outside! I’m looking forward to my next needle felted-embroidered mask and I’m sure I will finish it in record time!

Pig Jokes and Needle Felted Pigs!

Q: Who is the smartest pig in the world?
A: Ein-swine

Q: Why did the pig cross the road?
A: He got boar-ed.

Q: What do you call a pig with laryngitis?A: Disgruntled.

Q: What do you call a pig who won the lottery?
A: Filthy rich.

Q: What do you call the story of the three little pigs?
A: A pig tale.

A policeman in the big city stops a man in a car with a pig in the front seat.
“What are you doing with that pig”” He exclaimed, “You should take it to the zoo.”

The following week, the same policeman sees the same man with the pig again in the front seat, with both of them wearing sunglasses. The policeman pulls him over.

“I thought you were going to take that pig to the zoo!” The man replied, “I did. We had such a good time we’re going to the beach this weekend!

Q: Why should you never tell a pig a secret?
A: Because they love to squeal.

A man in a movie theater notices what looks like a pig sitting next to him.
“Are you a pig?” asked the man surprised.
“Yes” the pig replied.
“What are you doing at the movies?”
The pig replied, “Well, I liked the book.”

Q: What do you call a pig that’s not fun to be around?
A: A boar.

Educational and Medical Aides Made by Needle Felting

I do a lot of different commission work in needle felting, it’s usually a doll or a mask or a beloved pet. I’ve made puppets for educational aides in the past but recently I was asked to do a bust of a multi-ethnic young girl; the customer wanted the doll’s mouth to be able to open and close and her tongue to be movable. The customer is a speech therapist who thinks that demonstrating how to move and place your tongue will help her young patients to better follow her instructions. I tried to stay away from the ventriloquist-look as much as possible because I think ventriloquist dolls are scary looking. The very unique thing about this therapy doll is that you can place the tongue in different areas in the mouth to show children more easily how to make specific sounds:)

“Put the tip of your tongue on the bottom of your front teeth.”

From the commentary I’ve received concerning this bust, the speech therapist is onto something!

Bęc Smith I’m a speech pathologist and think this is so cool!

Sabrina Chan That is very cool coming from someone who would have benefited from seeing that as a child.

Laura Burch I’m so happy to hear this!

Cyn Plahuta I agree with Sabrina Chan — I think the speech pathologist would’ve been a lot more effective with me when I was a kid if she’d had something like this. Great idea!

The following photos show the step by step felting process of the Speech Therapy Bust:

Continue reading “Educational and Medical Aides Made by Needle Felting”

Hat Head

Imagine looking chic outside in the cold, even in a hat!

The girl who’s always on her A-game wears a 1960’s needle felted/embroidered hat!

Straight out of Mad Men, the 1960’s Doo keeps you warm because its lined in fluffy fleece and keeps you looking gorgeous inside and outside this winter!

The 1960’s Doo is needle felted from wool, the details are embroidered and beaded onto the wool hat.

Wear a piece of art!

Its cold outside, but my Doo will keep me toasty warm!

This needle felted hat took so long to make I lost track of the hours! The hair shape was felted and then hours and hours of embroidery started. I used varying colors of yellow and ochre to give the “hair” depth. The fancy headband was also embroidered and beaded. The interior is lined with fleece so that the hat is actually usable in cold weather!

Arts Business Institute Artist Profile: Laura Burch

Arts Business Institute | Artist Profile: Laura Burch

June 3, 2016

Fiber artist Laura Burch presents her delightful portfolio. We spoke with her about building a business, and her advice for others.

ABI: How did your move to Israel change your life and your art business?

LB: Moving to Israel changed my life completely; I had to adapt to things like the metric system, using Celsius instead of Fahrenheit, using a different currency, a different language and make peace with living as a foreigner.

When we lived in Chicago we bought a lot of Disney costumes because the girls loved to play dress-up and wear pink, sparkly things and those types of beautiful, quality items didn’t exist in Israel. I started making the girls’ costumes as well as classic style dresses for birthday parties and special occasions.

Other parents noticed the costumes and beautiful clothes and asked me if I would make these things for them too; this is how my store, Burch and Daughters, came to be and my entrepreneurial life started. We created a magical store filled with handmade treasures for children. I also wrote two craft books (with patterns) showing how to make some of my most popular toys: Sew Magical for Baby and Sew Magical for Kids.

ABI: You have a new studio and a new direction. Tell us about that.

LB: We bought and historically restored a home in Jaffa, Israel. The building is at least 150 years old, its architecture is Ottoman and it used to be a barn. I have my studio in our home, it has stone vaulted ceilings, stone walls and arches divide the large spaces and serve as the shape for the windows. I am in the process of “fixing” my studio; it is an overwhelmingly ancient looking space balanced out with very modern elements such as the cement floors, modern furniture and modern decorative pieces.

As the girls have grown up my interests have changed; I still make some of the things I used to but now they are more geared for adults. I base my artwork on the dry-felting, textile technique of needle felting. I’d like for my work to make a difference; I’ve recently become somewhat of an animal rights advocate so I’d like to make a body of work to promote awareness about animal rights and I’d like to show it in galleries.

There are many needle felted dogs and animals on my studio shelves, I’ve been needle felting these miniature sculptures, selling them and taking custom orders on my Etsy and Artizan Made sites. I donate proceeds from specifically designated sales of the dogs to my favorite animal rescue organizations.

ABI: Given your extensive background as an entrepreneur selling her art and other products, what advice would you have for new artists who want to follow their dreams?

LB: When I was in university, business of art classes weren’t offered. I would highly recommend learning the ins and outs of business pertaining to art. I’ve found that Etsy has many helpful postings on all business related issues for artists. Business skills are not only knowing what to sell, how to sell, negotiation, how to price your work, where to find the best sources, how to deal with business loans, what the difference between a C corp or an LLC is. It’s also knowing what your rights are as an artist and how to protect yourself.

Copyright your work, negotiate royalties and make contracts at the beginning of business ventures. Also layout your goals and course of action in writing. The more experiences you have, the smarter you’ll be (art contests, art shows, classes, seminars and lectures on your chosen subject, attending and/or participating in craft trade shows and jobs).

Learn everything you can about your chosen medium! Most importantly: participate in everything you can because you will become recognized and doors will open because “one thing leads to another!”

Q: Who is the smartest pig in the world? A: Ein-swine

Q: Why did the pig cross the road? A: He got boar-ed.

Q: What do you call a pig with laryngitis?A: Disgruntled.

Q: What do you call a pig who won the lottery? A: Filthy rich.

Q: What do you call the story of the three little pigs? A: A pig tale.

A policeman in the big city stops a man in a car with a pig in the front seat. “What are you doing with that pig”” He exclaimed, “You should take it to the zoo.”