Tangled becomings in materialities of felt practice(s)

Abstract

In this exploratory paper, we discuss how different scales of production can affect relationships between humans and nonhumans. This discussion is carried out through the exploration of three scales of felting: hand-felting with manual tools, felting with semi-industrial tools at small-scale studios, and felting with industrial automated machines. Despite the large spectrum from hand production to industrial production and the dramatic change in the actual practices involved, the fundamentals of felting remain similar, creating a compound surface by pressing and unifying fibres. By examining these changes, this paper explores the fluidity and changing meanings of practices and their impact on building new relationships among humans and nonhumans. The examination reveals that as the scale grows the distance between the maker and the material also grows, affecting the maker-material relationship significantly. By studying different relationships through the lens of scale, we further understand the becoming of human-nonhuman relationships in craft practices.

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