Written By Elaine Bean
As formerly published in The Courier.
Have you ever wanted to learn an ancient art form? Alicia Rappold can teach you the most ancient textile art form – felting – at the Ocean City Center for the Arts over the winter when a creative indoor activity is just what we need.
Felting is the activity of making wool or other cloth into felt by rolling and pressing it, and has been used for centuries, predating spinning and weaving. It is still used in some cultures for everyday living, being made into warm, heavy fabrics for the creation of housing and clothing. Think Mongolian yurts and Nepalese clothing.
Today, felting has transformed into modern art, and Rappold has adapted felting into an exquisite contemporary art form, one that she teaches for the Art League of Ocean City. She’s holding beginner felting classes through the winter. Jan. 9th’s theme is Valentine’s gardens and bouquets, and Jan. 23rd’s is a smiling snowman.
She has a goal of developing more advanced classes. “I would like to develop classes to include more advanced projects and establish a community felting presence including guest felters, working with local wool suppliers, and developing a local felters guild,” she said. “I can picture a felting event that challenges local felters to present ‘Shore Life in Felt’.”
Rappold started felting five years ago when her daughter asked her to make felted soaps as a fund raiser for her grandchildren’s school.
“I have continued felting ever since then,” Rappold said. “Felting has become very popular and is receiving a lot of attention. It is an extremely versatile craft that uses wool to both paint a picture and sculpt a shape. Felters make a large variety of work including pictures, figures, animals, dolls, bowls, vases, sculptures, wall hangings, and clothing. I don’t think I will ever be bored.”
Rappold is a retired nurse who was born in New York City but raised in Maryland. She first came to the Shore in high school, living in a trailer in Montego Bay and working at Laws Market.
“My boyfriend, soon-to-be husband, lived on Robin Drive and worked on a crew building the Capri,” she recalled. “One day at work, concrete splashed into his eye, and he had to wear an eye patch for a few days. We bought a parrot stuffy and put it on his shoulder and had fun walking the boardwalk as pirates. We honeymooned here but then jobs in other places took us away. We raised three children and helped with six grandchildren until they entered school. Finally, we were able to permanently move here two years ago.”
The Rappolds became permanent Ocean Pines residents because of their genuine love of the area. “Ocean Pines is a top-ten safest place to live, and Berlin is the coolest small town in America,” she said. “We love Ocean City entertainment, Assateague Island, people watching, local farms, farmers’ market, restaurants, indoor miniature golf, the Boardwalk, and best of all the people! Everything about living here inspires me. The beauty of the ocean, the smells of Thrasher’s fries, the seagulls diving for those fries, yikes!”
The felter works in a home studio with two four-foot tables, a wall of shelves for large bundles of wool, and over-the-door shoe holders filled with smaller wool amounts. “Did I mention that I have a lot of wool?” she jokes.
Rappold is also a member of the Ocean Pines Pine’eer Club and Shop. She also loves “active neighbors-tailgating, corn hole and helping each other. I always have my eyes open for what’s next.”
“To me, a large part of promoting art and felting in particular is the hours that I spend getting better at my craft” Rappold said. “The best way to encourage people to love art and felting in particular is to refine my skill and display surprisingly beautiful pieces that draw an emotion or memory out of the viewer.”
Art matters in Rappold’s life. “I don’t walk around thinking ‘art matters’ because I have the business of daily life on my shoulders. I don’t realize how heavy that can be until something beautiful comes into view and lifts me up. When beauty touches me, I feel lighter, happier. Sometimes I find beauty by surprise. But there are times I go for quite awhile without. Art, that is something produced intentionally, has the ability to lift me up or draw me in a predictable way. Every time I go to a museum, I am touch or inspired. I mean it, every single time.”
Anyone interested in learning felting can register for Rappold’s classes at OCart.org.