Celebrating Western Australian felt artist Soosie Jobson, the gal who loves a big sky
Through her husband who was a metallurgist , Soosie became acquainted with the Western Australian bush. She traded a corporate career in banking for love and bush surroundings. She found administrative work for a mining company was much like banking, though she didn’t need the suits or heels. Soosie became captivated by the extraordinary surroundings on trips taken both to the desert and the coast, which have intrinsically informed her work.
Soosie has been making felt since their return to Fremantle. [https://soosie.com.au/about/]
Being out there [in the bush ] made me rethink what I wanted from life, and it wasn’t the corporate world. I had made the right decision. I love a big sky.
During the 12 years we spent out bush, we explored national parks the size of small countries, often going for days without seeing any other people and being completely self-reliant. The expansive plains were the weathered remains of ancient mountain ranges ground into orange dust only capable of supporting the fairy like rings of the salty sage coloured Spinifex. We would drive for hundreds of kilometres to see a gorge then climb and clamber down for our reward; a swim in a crystal-clear pool of very cold water. [https://soosie.com.au]
I have been a feltmaker for nearly 30 years and have always been a textile person. My felt practice has covered all types of felt making from scarves (where I think we all start) to all kinds of wearables, vessel, sculptures, and wall art.
The Gentle Roller saved my felting practice. I had been struggling physically with rolling wool for a long time and had tried multiple other tools to substitute for rolling. But most were still physically demanding. So in the end I stopped making them - and concentrated on small sculptures and vessels.
Then I discovered the Gentle Roller! I have had mine for 6 years now and I love it. The GR has reignited my love of large scale wearables and wall art and has recently allowed me to stage a solo exhibition of felt.
As my main thought was about reducing the physicality of rolling, I was extremely happy to discover the consistency and evenness of the prefelts obtained from the GR. They full so easily.
I have mine setup in a separate room near my kitchen as I use my large island bench to roll and unroll the work. Besides being near the bench I find having it in another room – apart from my studio – better for my concentration.
I love my GR – thank you Philip and Joni!