Featured Artist: Zita Simutis

One of the pieces earning a juror's recognition for our current show, "The Child Within", is "Pooh's Honey Pot" by Zita Simutis.  Have you read "Winnie the Pooh" stories to a child, or remember having one read to you?

Here's what Zita has to say about her inspiration for making this "sweet" felted vessel:

"While on vacation this summer I found some really beautiful hand-spun, hand-dyed locks at my favorite knitting store in Lewes, Delaware (Ginger Moon).  I couldn’t resist buying some for my stash.  I am a wet felter and love to make three-dimensional objects out of sheeps’ wool, hot water, and soap.  Making felt is like making magic.  While thinking about this month’s theme in my brand new studio I saw my natural brown sheeps’ wool in a cubby and nearby, the hand spun locks and was inspired to make a huge vessel with the locks wound around the vessel.  It was a lot more work than I anticipated – those locks just did not want to felt into the wool! Persistence and extra soap paid off, and Pooh’s Honey Pot was born.  I loved reading Pooh stories to my son when he was little, and making the Honey Pot brought back many happy memories.  I was honored to have it selected by my co-juror as a work to be highlighted in this show. "

You can see another view of the Honey Pot on our Sept 20 post.