Join fiber artist and educator Andrea Dupree for a hands-on exploration of nuno felting, a wet-felting technique that combines fine wool fibers with lightweight silk to create richly textured, flexible fabrics.
Inspired by Olive Rush’s experimentation with color, organic forms, and intuitive composition, this workshop invites participants to explore the interplay of wool and silk, transforming natural fibers into expressive wearable art through texture, movement, and playful experimentation.
Using fine merino wool, silk fabric, warm water, and soap, participants will create a seamless, multipurpose garment that can be worn as a cowl or head warmer. Working around a foam resist, we’ll explore how wool and silk bond and transform through friction, movement, and shrinkage, creating beautiful textures and sculptural forms without sewing or stitching.
We’ll begin with a brief mindfulness-based grounding practice and take time to observe Olive Rush’s use of color, organic forms, and composition in the artwork and surroundings of her historic home and studio. Drawing inspiration from these observations, we’ll then begin experimenting with wool, silk, and embellishment fibers to design and create a one-of-a-kind piece of wearable art. Throughout the workshop, Andrea will offer step-by-step demonstrations and individualized guidance, encouraging curiosity, material awareness, and creative expression.
Participants will leave with a unique wearable artwork, foundational nuno felting skills to continue exploring independently, and a tangible reminder of time spent creating, experimenting, and connecting with others in Olive Rush’s historic home and studio.
No previous felting experience is necessary. Beginners and experienced makers are warmly welcome!
TEACHER: Andrea Dupree (www.bluebird-art.com ) is an artist and educator based in Northern New Mexico with over 20 years of experience as a teaching artist. She holds a BFA in Studio Arts and an MA in Innovative Early Childhood Education with a focus on the Reggio Emilia approach, and is a Registered Yoga Teacher. Through her studio, Curious Bluebird LLC, she leads workshops that integrate fiber art, mindfulness, and embodied learning for diverse audiences.
Her work explores interconnected relationships between humans, nature, memory, and the unseen through felted sculpture, embroidery, installation, and land-based practices. Working with wool, plant fibers, and found materials, she creates textured forms that function as contemporary altars. Her work invites reflection, ritual, and reconnection. Rooted in animism, ecofeminism, and ecological attunement, she approaches materials as collaborators, allowing intuitive processes to guide the emergence of form. Influences include Catholic iconography from her South Louisiana upbringing and place-based practices centered on care and attention.
Her work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and arts organizations including the Louisiana Division of the Arts and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation. In 2026, she is exhibiting at El Zaguán, Little Bites Gallery and Collect in Santa Fe, and presenting a large-scale fiber art installation for the New Mexico Museum of Art’s Vladem Contemporary. Curious Bluebird LLC is a 2026 recipient of a New Mexico Creative Industries Business Expansion Grant.
COST & MATERIALS: The cost of the class is $90, + a $25 separate fee for the Materials kit, paid directly to Andrea. The materials kit includes fine merino wool, lightweight silk, embellishment fibers and basic wet-felting tools & materials.
Three color palettes are available: warm, cool, or neutral. Upon registration, please email Andrea at andrea@bluebird-art.com before the workshop to select your preferred palette.