I have long been fascinated by costume’s ability to alter the reality around us: wearing something unusual can transform our world, inviting others to share in our vision of what could be. Wearable art is a way to animate and enhance our everyday.

I come from a background of painting and sculpture, a love for color and form. When I discovered felt-making, I found a fusion of both. Each piece begins as a painting. On a flat surface, I lay out handfuls of dyed fiber, building up the surface like brushstrokes on a canvas. Once the fiber is all laid out, I apply hot, soapy water, pressing it into the piece to wet it completely. I then begin to gently work the wool with my hands as if it were clay. I encourage the fibers to move, twist, and bind around each other. As the piece felts, it becomes more solid and I can be more forceful, pushing and pulling with my hands, scrubbing and rolling, directing the fibers to take distinctive forms. The process is transformative: what once was a pile of fluffy fibers that could blow apart in a breeze is now thickly meshed together and has taken on surprising new shapes.

I like to make wearables that retain the organic nature of the felt-making process and the vibrancy of the dyed wool’s colors, as one can see in the distinctive flower-like edging and color-play of the Rose Scarves. The powerful symbolism of the rose, its romance and feminism, lends these wearable art pieces a spirit of strength, verve, and romance. To me, they are statements about the undeniable and enduring power of women.

Jenne Giles

Jenne Giles