The Hall hosts a course taught by artisan Lesley Patricia Boncke that “contributes to keeping our heritage and our cultural heritage alive,” according to the Minister of Economic Development, Minerva Alonso.
Dozens of students are learning in this first fortnight of August the ancestral Canarian techniques for working felt thanks to the course offered by the FEDAC in La Sala, and taught by the artisan Lesley Patricia Boncke, with an artisan's license in the craft of millinery and felt since 2016 and who has been researching the creative possibilities of sheep's wool since 2009 when she came across this material in her Art Therapy studios in The Hague, Holland, to arrive a year later on the Island and focus on the use of this material that today is considered waste. “With these courses we want to not only maintain but extend the knowledge and use of the artisan techniques of our ancestors, which are cultural heritage and help us know where we come from,” said the Minister of Economic Development, Minerva Alonso, during the presentation. .
Boncke has been dedicated since 2016 to making handmade felt objects, including hats, scarves, felted soaps and lamps, and in her teachings she focuses on encouraging her students to connect with their own source of creativity. In its latest project, LanaLAB focuses on creating community around the use of the island's wool, connecting people who are linked to the material in one way or another, creating spaces for sharing and opening the field to artistic expression in natural spaces.
In this course, 'Creating with felt', which is taught in La Sala to two morning and afternoon groups, it begins by presenting the virgin wool of Gran Canaria to later incorporate other types of wool and to learn different felting techniques and their shape. of use. In this sense, students will learn from how to clean and transform the sheep's virgin wool into clean and untangled wool, prepared for later use, following the ancestral techniques of the Canary Islands, to the different types of felting - dry with a needle. and wet with soap and water and hand friction; how to use the molds to create seamless 3D felt objects; how to measure the shrinkage factor of wool or how to mix different types of wool depending on the project you want to make.
In addition to this course, La Sala de la FEDAC will host another on fabric decoration in the second half of August, and in November - from December 20 to 1 - another on Macramé Revival. At the House of Culture of Arucas, on the other hand, another Taracea event is scheduled from October 12 to November 15.
In addition, to the courses taught in the Hall, FEDAC, in collaboration with city councils and cultural associations, teaches courses in artisan trades. In 2023 it has been done in municipalities such as Telde, Agüimes, Moya or Santa Lucía, and with the Tasate Cultural Association, the La Aldea Community Project, the Ingenio Choirs and Dances Association or the Ciudad de Gáldar Foundation.
