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Sophie Harrison MSDC

Feltmaking

About Sophie
Sophie Harrison is a Felt maker creating wearable art . Hand made Nuno felt clothing and accessories. Using the wet felting technique she creates unique pieces inspired by the textures and colours of nature and her surrounding landscape.
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Biography Back to top

Felt maker Sophie Harrison is a London born artist. Her love of nature and and ancient craft took her on many adventures and travels around the world. Now based in Somerset she works from her studio just outside of Glastonbury where she creates her unique Nuno felted wearable art.

Sophie studied Art Foundation at Westminster University and went on to study Fine Arts BA HONS at Breton Hall in Yorkshire. Leaving the course Sophie went to live in India from the age of 19 where she spent most of her 20's making her home for 6 years in a rural village in the Himalayas. This inspired her love for ancient craft and a return to natural ways of living. Living within a community where the women spun and wove their own wool and created many things from scratch was an inspiration.

In these years Sophie met French felt artist Sophie Prieur and apprenticed with her in Ticino, Switzerland, helping make pieces for couture designers such as Fendi, Jean Paul Gaultier, Versaci etc. This took her on her own journey with felt. Having loved to create abstract textural painting she could now translate this into the medium of felt which was like painting with fibres.

Sophie went on to journey to and from India and exhibit her work, doing exhibitions in Switzerland and London.

Discovering the technique of Wet felting as an intuitive process to create textiles and using a variety of natural fibres to create form has been a revelation. Connecting to the ancient roots of this craft and being able to use in modern and versatile ways is what has kept Sophie working for so many years with this medium.

Sophie moved from Wall hangings to creating "Wearable Art" inspired by her nomadic life for so many years without having a permanent wall to place Art on why not wear your art!

Sophie now has her own label "ELFN" since 2007 where she creates bespoke unique felted clothing. Still sourcing some fabrics in India Sophie creates from her studio where she lives in Somerset, UK.

Always inspired by the landscape and nature around her, textures found in the detail of tree bark and rock faces or changing tones on a wild Moore translates to her work.

She has recently created Custom made costumes for Theatre and TV and makes commissioned pieces for weddings and special events.

Sophie now teaches felt making passing on her passion and love for this craft.

Resumé Back to top

Exhibitions:

  • Switzerland - 1997 - Painting and Printmaking
  • London UK - 1997 - Painting and Printmaking
  • London UK- 1999 - Felt Wallhangings
  • Switzerland - 2000 - Felt exhibition - collaboration
  • Somerset UK - 2008 - Somerset Arts Week - Open Studios
  • Somerset UK - 2008-Rural life museum - wool exhibition - collaboration
  • Somerset UK - 2010 - Somerset Arts Week - Ilminster - Collaboration
  • Somerset UK - 2013 - Somerset Arts Week - Open Studios
  • London UK - 2014 - Bermondsey - felted landscapes
  • London UK - 2019 - Landmark Arts Center - Contemporary textiles fair
  • Wales UK - 2019 - Wonderwool - wool / textiles show
  • 2020 - Wedding commission - bride and groom
  • Somerset UK - 2020 - Open Studio exhibition
  • 2021 - Commission for Theatre company - Sophie Brassington
  • 2021 - Commission - for costume designer Tim Aslem - TV show - Moonhaven
  • Somerset UK - 2021 - Open Studio - Somerset Arts Week

Memberships:

  • TAFA - Textiles Fibres Art List
  • IFA - International Felt makers Association
  • Craft Council UK
  • Society of designer Craftsmen

Magazine Featrures:

  • Juno magazine - 2017
  • DEV - Devon Art magazine - 2017
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