EMILY FREEMAN (b. UK 1975 - )Fiber Artist In 1999, while studying for a degree in Design Craft in the UK, Emily had the opportunity to work with a felt maker on a volunteer project in Wales creating a traditional Iranian Yurt called an Alachig. Learning the process of wet felting on a massive scale gave her an understanding of a media with which she could express her creative ideas. This led to international opportunities, including visiting a folk school in Norway (collecting wool from a remote island via Viking ship to make sails), and a work study scholarship at the acclaimed Penland School of Craft in North Carolina. Over the past 20 years, my ongoing travels have given me the chance to develop my creative skills and inspire the work I create. I eventually settled in Maine, finding inspiration for my work in the beauty of the rocky coast. I try to capture the sense of peace and solitude I gain from exploring the wilder corners of the world. I am interested in how people interact with the wilderness and the meanings found in the objects brought back from these places in the form of talismans and tools. Working primarily in undyed wool sourced from New England farms, I use wet felting techniques to challenge our common beliefs of how textiles should be; replacing lightness and fluidity with stillness and weight. The wet felting technique is the process of manipulating wool fibers using hot water, soap and agitation (created by hand rolling then fulling) to stick together & form a fabric. By observing & understanding the characteristics of the fiber you are working with; how the fibers adhere to each other, rate of shrinkage & the influence of temperature & humidity you can control the process to create the desired outcome. This results in each piece being completely unique in color, shape and texture. The additional components in the wall sculptures are sourced from construction waste that would otherwise end up in landfill. I draw inspiration from the ocean and coast to create work which explores our relationship to the natural world and the elements which shape it. Some of my pieces incorporate the Hagstone; (adder stone, holey stone, witch stone) a rock with a hole worn through it by water. Many cultures associate the Hagstone with magic. Legend says one can look through the hole in a Hagstone and see the Otherworld. Through form, color and texture my hope is that the work communicates a sense of stillness, silence and mystery which can found when alone in the wilder corners of the world. Working primarily in undyed wool sourced from New England farms I use wet felting technique to challenge our common beliefs of how textiles should be; replacing lightness and fluidity with stillness and weight. Emily Freeman was raised in the countryside. When she was not outside exploring nature she spent her time drawing, painting and sewing. Her work has been shown at the Farnsworth Museum, Carver Hill Gallery in Camden (Rockland, as well, in summer months), Artemis Gallery in North East Harbor and through the Maine sculptors association.