How Feltbury Village Came to Life
The Feltbury Village backdrop was a four week project. The pictures below chart the journey of how the village came to life
Creating St Cuthbert's Church for the Carol Singers
St Cuthbert's Church came to life for the Christmas carol singers. The pictures show the church tower as the starting point, with the side transepts then being added. The window and door frames were then created out of felt. The stained glass windows were drawn onto tracing paper and coloured using felt pens. The door and the windows were placed onto the church. Having confirmed everything fitted well, the stained glass needed to be back lit as the carols were going to be sung in the evening outside the church. Various light sources were tested, with candle light chosen as it offered a warm soft light. The church and back ground of the Feltbury Green hills was photographed to create the night time backdrop. The lit stained glass windows were added to provide the finishing touch. Each of the carol singers and the Reverend Jonathan were individually photographed in candlelight and then carefully positioned to create the final Christmas carol scene
Tailoring Winnie's Red Coat
Firstly the style is chosen along with the thread and red felt colour. Then a pattern template is created. Next a toile is made from spare blue/purple felt to check the design and fit. A yellow scarf is knitted to go with the outfit. Finally the red coat is made and buttons selected to complement the style and colour. Once the final stiching touches are completed, Winnie models the finished coat. Now you can look out for Winnie and her red coat in the Feltbury Green scenes
Ruby the Tractor Comes to Life
Ruby started with a chassis, wheel rims and an engine block made from balsa wood. The rest of her is made entirely from felt. The pictures below show the various stages she went through, before finally being driven out of the craft room by Adam taking her for a test drive. Expect to see Ruby appear regularly down at Feltbury Farm
Developing the Feltbury Green Map
The Feltbury Green map shows where each of the characters lives within the village (slide 7). To create the map, a number of iterations were completed, along with some tracing (slides 5 & 6), plus practice drawings and paintings. The photos show the initial sketch through to the completed map which appears on the website under A Brief History of Feltbury Green
Creating and Making the Characters
Hard at work creating two Jonathon Arbroath characters for both summer and winter scenes
The creative journey of Stephen Arbroath, from the making of the head through to the finished character. Each stage of creation takes time and an eye for the detail. The heads are made first, then the hat is fashioned. The bodies come next, followed by the clothes including shirt, tie, trousers and then the coat or cardigan. Finally all the elements come together and that is when the magic happens, the character comes to life!
The process to create the two Stephen's took about two weeks
Now Stephen is ready to join his friends in Feltbury Green whether that be in winter or summer scenes
Making Rolo the Choc Labrador
Rolo from idea through to completion
Starting with the nose first, the head is next fashioned to include the ears and eyes. The body is made using pipe cleaners and felt stuffing. This is then overlayed with the dark brown felt and hand stitched after the tail has been added. Once the body is finished, the head is put in place and secured
We now have a completed Rolo ready to play his part in the scenes of Feltbury Green! Good boy Rolo!
