DeCamp, Gin
Gin DeCamp
Artist Statement
I first became aware of the possibilities of felt one cold day at a winter primitive skills camp. There was a fellow who had made beautiful hand felted boots and had toasty feet. Mine were freezing. I decided right then I needed to learn how to make my own warm boots!
Since then I have become obsessed with learning everything I can about the history and processes of making felt. I love the wide range of colors and textures and the sensuous feel of felting, as well as its versatility. It can be sculptural, gossamer, practical, elegant or whimsical in nature. It can be layered for watercolor effects, beaded, needle felted, or combined with silk fiber and yarns for interesting effects. No two projects are ever exactly the same. I have fabricated a wide range of items, including hats, boots, vests, felted soaps, jewelry and rattles. I often combine the ancient art of felt making with modern colors and design in a style I like to call “urban primitive”, often incorporating petroglyph designs, real or imagined as a favorite motif. I have been fortunate to receive many awards for my efforts over the years.
I have taught felt making at various venues, such as Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival, Sequoia Gallery in Hillsboro, the Newport Paper Arts Festival and Echoes in Time Primitive Skills School. I love to see students light up when they first experience the magic of the felting process.
Making felt satisfies several aspects of who I am. I have a great love of ancient art and technology. I enjoy designing things and working with my hands. I love color and texture. It pleases me that natural fiber is a totally renewable resource. It is exciting to design one of a kind wearable art that is at once elegant, urban, primitive, and allows me almost unlimited possibilities for expressing my creative energy.
About Gin DeCamp
A compulsive creator all her life, Gin DeCamp has been creating hand made felt for more than 10 years. She has been represented by several galleries and won many fiber arts awards for her colorful designs. She enjoys teaching feltmaking in several venues, including Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival, Echoes in Time Primitive Skills School, Newport Paper Arts Festival and Sequoia Gallery.
Her fascination with the modern applications of an ancient skill
to produce elegant, colorful and practical items, combined with a deep interest in prehistoric art and technology make her work unique.
Artist Code: HF
