‘Safe to Shore’ 16″x12″ Fine Art Print

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

The original was inspired by my love of the coastal areas of Ireland, the sea and its ever-changing nature, from calm waters to perilous storms with crashing waves and everything in between.

The lighthouse at Hook Head is the second oldest operating lighthouse in the world. Perhaps as far back as the 5^th century, the monks of Rinn Dubháin in County Wexford lit a beacon to warn ships away from dangerous rocks.

Our emotions as human beings fluctuate like the ocean on any given day. They also have the potential to toss and turn you. Metaphorically we need lighthouses to bring us safely to shore during the most challenging times in our lives. Who is your lighthouse?

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 (16″x12″) in size.

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

Please note: The print you receive will unlikely be the same number in the edition as shown in the picture.