Three Pines Studio

5959 West Levering

P.O. Box 221

CrossVillage, MI 49723

www.threepinesstudio.com

PRESS RELEASE

Immediate Release

Three Pines Studio Announces Upcoming Exhibit, "Alice in Wonderland & Friends."

Cross Village, MI. - Three Pines Studio will unveil its upcoming exhibit, "Alice in Wonderland & Friends: Felt Sculptures of Marsha Fletcher," with an opening reception and tea party on Saturday, July 12, from 2-7 p.m. This event is open to the public.

The sculptures in this exhibit were created through a process known as "needle felting." As Fletcher explains it: Needle felting is the bonding together of wool fibers with the use of a special barbed needle. Pierced hundreds of times, the wool piece takes a firm shape as it is poked and squeezed into the artist's desired form.

During the summer months Fletcher keeps busy as a master gardener. She found herself with free time during the long winter season, and came to needle felting by way of her shepherdess sister, who has an abundance of wool. It didn't take long before, "Needle felting became my passion. It is a lot like painting or molding with clay. The best part for me is that it can be stopped and started during the many daily interruptions without any affect on the end results." Fletcher now has her own flock of registered Shetland sheep to supply wool.

To create the characters for this show, Fletcher turned to the original: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, written by Lewis Carroll in 1865. She has tried to include all of the characters: White Rabbit, Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat, the King & Queen, the Deck of Cards, Hedge Hog, Mock Turtle, Griffin, and of course, Alice. The original book has few illustrations, and they are in black and white. This left a lot to the imagination. What Fletcher enjoyed most about the process was, "taking a story and making it come alive with brightly colored characters."

Fletcher plans on having at least two very large pieces completed for the show. One of her Alice sculptures is 5'6" tall. She has also completed a "huge white rabbit wearing a red jacket and carrying a pocket watch." For the larger pieces she felted over heavy gauge copper wire armature. Time permitting, she hopes to complete a large Mad Hatter.

Fletcher is looking forward to the reactions to her colorful sculptures and hopes to ignite the imaginations of others with this show. She shares, "In this too serious world we all live in, I don't know anyone who couldn't benefit from a little dose of childlike fantasy!"

In addition to the Alice in Wonderland & Friends opening, Three Pines Studio will also hold a related workshop on Monday, July 14th from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Fletcher is thrilled to share this fascinating art with others and will lead participants through a beginning needle felting demonstration.

The Alice in Wonderland & Friends exhibit will remain on display at Three Pines Studio from July 12th through July 29th. The studio is open year-round with the following hours: May through October, open daily from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. (closed Wednesdays). November through April, from 11 a.m - 5 p.m., Friday through Monday.

Three Pines Studio was founded in 2000 by Joann Condino and Gene Reck, and features the work of more than 50 Northern Michigan artists. Three Pines Studio is a working studio in the arts and crafts tradition. For more information, please visit their website: www.threepinesstudio.com.

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For more information, please contact:

Joann Condino

Three Pines Studio

231.526.9447

greck@gtlakes.com