MATERIALS AND PROCESS

"Solitary walks have long been a beginning point for my creative process. Through observation, I note parallels and contrasts in texture and structure. I reflect on the connections and gaps between human and other natural forms. I compare the systems of change. While traveling my many paths, I also collect discarded man-made artifacts to recycle into a new context and form in my work."
Toni Matlock

Matlock utilizes various materials and techniques to create objects and installations. Handmade felt and paper are the primary methods of recent years.

What is FELT?
This is a frequently asked question. Technically, felt happens when wool fibers are combined with moisture, heat and pressure. Any ratio of the three conditions can be involved. The unique properties of the wool fiber are important to the process. Wool's curling reaction to water, heat and pressure, combined with the microscopic scales of the fiber, create the locking or matted affect. Moreover, creating a felt skin or fabric does not require cumbersome or complicated tools, such as a loom is used for weaving. The perimeters for scale are broad as well -- as small or large as your groundspace or body has energy. Further, it is compliant to be made flat or sculpturally. Handmade felt is as simple or complex as the creator cares to make it. And the results, like many things, may be as crude or refined as the conditions, materials, and skill of the maker allow.

Matlock initially found felt interesting, physically, as a process, then later studied its historic origins. The felt creations of Inner Mongolian nomads have been the strongest influence on her feltmaking. The nomadic tradition of connection with the land, resourceful use of materials, integration of art into life, and of course the exhaustive use of felt in every capacity is remarkable. This inspired her to push the medium, manipulating its strengths and weaknesses to make sculptural objects. She regards the nomadic lifestyle with earnest admiration. Consider the clearly defined relationship with the land, attention to seasons and weather, and regard for their herds. Presume the momentum and resourcefulness of this way of being. These points encompass Matlock's conceptual drive.

Felt and paper are primary mediums for Matlock. She uses a rust-printing technique, that she developed for marking cloth. Water is the intersecting vehicle for the bulk of her work. The coloration seen in felt works is the result of the found metal undergoing the felt process. The metallic 'bleeding' is integrated into the cloth, and not the result of dyes applied to the surface.
This artist avoids any harsh or toxic chemicals.