FELT LAB
AN OPEN SCULPTURAL REFINEMENT SPACE FOR EXPERIENCED FELT MAKERS

What This Lab Is 

The Lab offers dedicated studio time, access to equipment, professional insight, and a supportive peer environment. It is ideal if you are already working on your own felt sculpture, mask, or other 3D felted form and need space to focus, alongside experienced guidance when questions arise.

Bring your unfinished or unresolved sculptural projects—especially those that have left you stuck, frustrated, or unsure how to proceed—and we will work through them together. Rather than following a set brief, you’ll be supported in developing your ideas, forms, and sculptural language. 

This format allows for far more time spent on sculpting and refinement than a standard taught workshop, making it especially valuable for those wanting to push their work further. 

This is a space to: 

• Resolve structural or technical issues 

• Refine sculptural form and proportion 

• Test ideas through hands-on experimentation 

• Receive targeted feedback at critical moments 

Unfinished or uncertain work is welcome. By the end of the Lab, you can expect greater clarity around your project’s direction and the technical confidence to continue independently.

What This Lab Is Not 

This is not a step-by-step, tutor-led workshop. There is no prescribed project, no guidance on where to start, no fixed outcome, no prescribed aesthetic, and no beginner instruction. 

Instead, this is a shared studio environment that prioritises experimentation, professional development, creative growth, independent thinking, and the development of a personal sculptural language, with expert support available throughout.

Who This Open Lab Is For 

This Open Lab is suitable for: 

• Intermediate, advanced, or professional felt makers 

• Artists who want focused time on sculptural development 

• Those who prefer working on their own ideas rather than following a set brief 

• Makers with experience of felting around a resist (basic 3D felt-making skills are assumed)

• Existing students (online or in person) who want time to complete or refine ongoing projects, or a project started in a previous workshop 

• Mask makers and sculptors seeking dedicated support for complex forms 

• Makers wanting to strengthen form, structure, and decision-making 

• Mask makers and sculptors preparing work for exhibition, performance, or further development

 If you value autonomy, depth, and thoughtful guidance, this space is designed for you.

Who This Lab Is Not For 

This Lab is not suitable for: 

• Beginner felt makers 

• Anyone new to working around a resist 

• Those looking for a fully structured, step-by-step or introductory class 

A solid foundation in wet felting and 3D hollow felting around a resist is essential to make the most of this experience.

Why Join Felt Lab? 

• To gain clarity on unresolved sculptural problems 

• To spend meaningful time refining form, structure, and surface planes 

•  To work within a focused, supportive community of experienced makers 

• To receive expert input exactly when you need it—without interrupting your creative flow 

• To reconnect with play, curiosity, and confidence in your sculptural practice 

• Make tangible progress on an existing felt sculpture or mask 

• Strengthen your ability to assess and refine your own work 

• Expand your problem-solving toolkit through experimentation 

• Build confidence in your sculptural decision-making 

•  Develop a clearer sense of direction for future projects 

• To turn uncertainty into informed action 

• To work with focused support rather than generic instruction 

• To invest time in depth, refinement, and artistic growth 

• To give your sculptural work the attention it deserves 

This is an invitation to treat your felt work seriously, while remaining open, experimental, and responsive. This Lab is for artists who are ready to pause, reflect, and push their work further—without losing the joy, playfulness, and curiosity that make making meaningful. 

You will leave with work that has moved forward, practical insight you can apply independently, and renewed momentum in your practice.

Detailed program

Day 1 – Orientation & Sculptural Foundations 

• Welcome, studio induction, and overview of the Felt Lab format 

• Sculpting overview: What is a sculpture, form development, general approaches to sculpting in felt, and sculptor’s attitude 

• Discussion of common sculptural challenges (shrinkage, balance, tension, proportion, volumes and planes)

• Individual project set-up and assessment 

• Short one-to-one consultations to clarify intentions, identify sticking points, and set personal focus areas

Day 2 – Developing Form & Structure

• Overview: sculpting strategies and tips, refining transitions 

• Open studio time for independent making and experimentation 

• One-to-one consultations focused on technical problem-solving and structural refinement 

• Informal group exchange to share discoveries and questions

Day 3 – Refinement, Testing & Troubleshooting

• Optional group demonstration: surface treatment, reinforcing form, and resolving soft or unstable areas 

• Focused studio time for deep sculpting, testing, and reworking 

• Extended one-to-one support addressing individual challenges and next steps 

• Peer discussion around decision-making, risk-taking, and letting work evolve

Day 4 – Resolution, Reflection & Forward Planning

• Final sculpting session with targeted guidance 

• One-to-one consultations centred on consolidation, finishing strategies, and future development 

• Group reflection: what has shifted, what has been learned, and how to carry insights forward 

• Closing discussion on maintaining momentum beyond the Open Lab

Monitoring of execution and evaluation methods

Although you will follow your own line of inquiry, learning is supported throughout the workshop via: 

• One-to-one consultations 

• Practical group demonstrations 

• Illustrated explanations of a wide range of felt-making techniques 

• Exposure to the work and experimentation of your fellow participants 

The shared studio environment becomes an important learning tool, offering insight into multiple approaches and creative problem-solving strategies.

Materials available for students

• Each participant will benefit from a suitable individual workstation, with individual felting table adjustable in height, small felting equipment.

• Possibility of purchasing raw materials (wool, textiles, threads) on site if necessary and depending on available stocks. 

• Large light and bright workshop, abundant library specializing in textile art and colors.

Level of prior knowledge and prerequisites

Please use the definitions below to work out if this workshop is suitable for you: 

Total beginner: I have never wet felted before & wouldn't know where to start (but I may have dry/needle felted).

Beginner: I have made pieces of 2D wet felt but have not attempted any 3D work. I know the difference between felt and pre-felt. 

Intermediate: I am proficient in 2D wet felt making, and have made 3D work wet felt. I have basic knowledge of wool breeds, shrinkage/calculations, and have practical experience of working with pre-felt and felting around a resist.

Advanced: I am an experienced wet felter, and have very good working knowledge of both 2D and 3D wet felting techniques, including surface textures such as 'cracked earth' technique, and working with more complex resists. I have good theoretical knowledge of wet felting and have a practical understanding of the characteristics of different wool breeds and when to use them. 

Professional: Felt making provides my main source of income. I have excellent practical and theoretical knowledge of a wide range of wet felting techniques, including and exceeding those of the advanced felt maker (above). I have developed a parcular technique/style in my work. I currently am/would consider teaching my own workshops.

Advance preparations

Before attending, please take some time to consider whether Felt Lab is the right fit for you. 

Participants should be comfortable working independently and able to identify unfinished projects or ideas they would like to develop during the lab. You are welcome to bring work that is still on the resist at the pre-felt stage, or pieces that have moved into early sculpting but remain soft and open to further shaping. As long as the felt has not been fully finished and there is still scope for additional shrinkage, it can be brought to the lab.

There is no set materials list for this Lab. As you will be working on your own projects, you are best placed to decide what materials you may need. Bring your usual feltmaking equipment, soap and shaping tools, and anything that forms part of your sculpture(s). In addition, please come prepared for different creative directions, including the possibility of reworking or starting again through small sculptural trials. Bringing additional wool and a small stash of resist material and gaffer tape as backup is therefore strongly recommended. It can also be really helpful to bring some stiff paper pencils, scissors and masking tape, and/or playdough/modelling clay, to help you think through any new ideas that emerge during the Lab. 

While the primary focus of the Lab is on sculpting and form refinement—an area often difficult to explore fully within standard workshop formats—there may be occasions where revisiting resist design or creating new 3D test pieces from scratch is beneficial when inspiration strikes. A limited range of wool fibres will be available for purchase on site; however, if you are working with specific breeds or colours, please ensure you bring these with you. For sculptural work, fibres of 23 micron or above in carded bat format are generally recommended, though roving is also welcome, particularly if it aligns with your established working methods.

What to Prepare Before You Arrive 

• An unfinished felt project(s) you want to develop or resolve (on the resist or in early sculpting stages) 

• Clarity around your intention: what feels stuck, unresolved, or ready to be pushed further 

• Wool fibres appropriate to your project, including backup wool for testing or reworking ideas 

• Familiar fibre types and breeds, especially if you rely on specific colours or qualities 

• An openness to experimentation, problem-solving, and potential changes of direction 

• Comfort working independently, with guidance offered when needed 

Arriving prepared in this way will help you make the most of the focused studio time and support available during the Lab.

Personal Financing Rate

8-day training course and 2 days off. The course fee is €120 per day, totaling €960.

Instruction will be in English with simultaneous translation into French.

Maximum number of students: 

Accommodation

Our residence is the ideal place to sleep on site throughout your training. If you would like to know more, write to us at atelierdubocage31@gmail.com