Tracey Kuffner

Readings

I take the children through my writing and illustrating process. We discuss what inspires me to write a story and the different ways to come up with ideas for writing a story. Next I show the students how I create an illustration for my children’s books through the art of felt making. I let them feel the different fibres I use to create my art work ( wool, llama, mohair and silk). The children get see the raw, fluffy fibre transformed into a small sturdy picture right before their eyes.

I also bring the colour on colour transparencies for my illustrations so that the students can see how the colours overlap each other to create all colours needed to produce a picture as they pass from one ink drum to another.

Lastly I show how the illustrations for my books come off of the press in long strips that are then cut and bound into the pages of the books they see in front of them. I bring many show and tell items, as felting making is a thousand year old art form that was used to make houses called yurts, and to felt beaver pelts into hats during the fur trade right up to present day.

I show the children how our working sheep farm uses our animals and their fibre to create the illustrations for my children’s books as well as the many others products we produce from their fibre.

Book Sales:

Tracey brings copies of herbooks to the readings for students to purchase and have autographed.

Workshops

In this course children will learn the art of felt making. Children will get to feel various types of fibre from sheep, llamas, mohair goats and rabbits. I show the fibre to them in its raw state and then in its cleaned, combed and dyed state. Each child wil learn how to turn the combed and dyed fibre into an 8"X10" piece of fabric with a simple design patterned into it. The finished picture can then be matted and framed if they desire.

Children find these workshops very exciting as it is not often they get to see such a transformation. They are so amazed to see their fluffy handful of wool turn into a sturdy, dense piece of fabric. These workshops tie in very well when learning about the early pioneers, Peru, recycling, the fur trade, and is a wonderful medium to use as an art form.

High school art workshops are available as well. Please check my website: www.woolmine.com

Book Sales:

Tracey brings copies of herbooks to the readings for students to purchase and have autographed.

Other Presentations

I teach a class called “Painting with wool” at both professional development days for teachers as well as at Teachers Conferences. In this class I show teachers how the to bring the art of felt making into the class to room to reinforce learning ei the fur trade and the trapping of beavers to use the pelts to be felted into top hats in England, the grade three section in social studies on Peru and in the rural and urban section in Grade two. This workshop shows how rural sheep farmers may use their sheep to earn an income and how the felted fabric could be used in an urban store. In Peru felt making is very common industry as they use the fleeces from llamas. The children get to felt a piece of wool into a small picture using the coloured wool as their “paint” and their finger tips become their paintbrush. The children not only get to be creative while they felt their wool into a small works of art, but they also get a better understanding of what animal fibre can be used for and why people want it and how they can make a living with it. I let the teachers be my students showing them exactly how I felt small pictures with a group of 30 to 40 students having fun and learning while we do it. They get to keep their small project feeling very proud of their achievement and can now go back to their classroom feeling confident that they can do this with their students.

Biography

My name is Tracey Kuffner. I live on a small sheep farm in southern Alberta with my husband, two children, 150 sheep and 11 llamas. I have been a felt maker and fibre artist for 15 years. I have written and illustrated two children’s books and am currently working on my third book. I have toured many schools throughout Alberta and parts of B.C. and Saskatchewan giving author presentations as well as felt making workshops to students introducing this wonderful illustrating art form to children. The illustrations to my book “Isabelle’s Sheep were a featured summer exhibit at the Alberta Craft Councils Gallery in Edmonton and both my children’s books were featured in the Vogue Knitting Magazine, Island Parent and Calgary Parent Magazines as recommended books to read.