Hope (Framed Fine Art Print)

Limited Edition fine art (Giclée) print from an original felt painting by Noelle Ferris.

This original felt painting is inspired by a glorious sunrise at Inchydoney beach, Clonakilty Co. Cork. I love this beach and I have spent a good bit of time there with family and friends. For a while I knew I wanted to create a piece related to Inchydoney.

One winters morning I set off early in the hope for a beautiful sunrise and I was not disappointed. Very few people were on the beach that morning and it felt very special.

Hope is a very personal thing. It can be fragile and even radical at times. The daily rhythm of sunrise, daylight, sunset and night can be a reminder that during the dark periods of our lives that there is hope and that the metaphorical sun can rise again within us.

Felt paintings are made primarily from wool, but other fibres such as bamboo and silk, along with Angelina, can be added.

To start, I create the canvas by laying out multiple layers of undyed wool tops, overlapping them like tiles. Then, all the different colours required for the design need to be mixed using hand carders. The top coloured layer forms the design.

It is then wet felted by hand, using hot soapy water, and fulled (shrunk) by rolling the piece hundreds of times. After that, it is left to dry. During the wet felting process, the design will shrink unpredictably.

Following wet felting, many hours of needle felting are required to add detail and fix any distortions that may have occurred during the wet felting process. Needle felting entails taking strands of wool fibre and stabbing them into the felted design using specially designed felting needles.

Additionally, free motion embroidery by sewing machine and hand embroidery can be added.

This giclée print is produced from a high-resolution scan of the original felt painting, using quality ultra-chrome pigment inks. It is printed on pH-neutral heavyweight art paper of archival quality ensuring the longevity of the print.

The print image size is 12″x 8″ and is mounted with an off white acid-free mountboard and framed in a limed white wood frame handmade in Ireland, measuring 44cm x 34cm x 3.5cm. 

This design has a limited print run of 250. All prints are numbered, titled and signed by Noelle.