- YakSalad

YakSalad

is the creation of Stephanie Yaksa-Ladyzhynsky.

Throughout the world, felt is made in many forms and from many fibres. Its uses vary from the purely aesthetic through to the functional everyday basic necessities like building a home. Pre-dating knitting and weaving, it is the oldest known man-made fabric.

Wool and hair fibres are covered in overlapping scaly cell structures. When rubbed or agitated, these scales cause wool fibres to curl in on themselves and entangle. By lying these fibres closely together, adding water, warmth, an acid or alkali (soap) to help soften and swell the fibres, then agitating, these fibres "felt" together. This process is called "wet" felting and the result is a non- woven fabric.

Stephanie uses Australian Merino wool fibre in an array of colours. She may incorporate into this silk, other fibres and yarns. Patterns are not painted but are created by involving different coloured wools. Add her energy, vision, skill and eye for detail to the felting process and the result is a work of art.

A woollen design may also be felted onto fine fabrics like silk producing a light, flowing material. This is called “nuno felting”. During the felting process, the fibres actually migrate through the fabric and shrink, resulting in a permanently incorporated pattern. Again, Stephanie uses the wet felting technique for this type of work.

Stephanie's work is known for its bold, clean, elegant design and use of solid colour and pattern. She is inspired by all art media and surrounds herself with strong colour, hand-made objects and art forms from a diverse range of cultures.