Special events hosted by visiting artists.
From time to time, we invite talented guest instructors to lead workshops at The Olive Sparrow Studio. These sessions offer a chance to learn directly from experienced felters and fiber artists who bring unique techniques, styles, and creative insights to share with our community.
Please note: the workshops listed below are past events and are not currently being offered.
They’re shown here to give you a sense of what’s been hosted in the past. New guest-led workshops are planned periodically—join our mailing list to be the first to know when new dates are announced.
Make A Felt Art Mask with Rich O Hanna
2-day workshop
What you will learn!
- Rich’s three step process of sculpting, fabricating components, assembly.
- Wet, felting techniques that you can apply to your Core sculpt.
- Felted eyes that look like they were made of glass.
- Assembling your components with the skill of a couturier.
- Sculpting features, noses, eyes ears.
- Finishing and signing your work.
- Photographing your work for social media.
Join Rich in this fun-filled two day workshop.
Rich O Hanna is one of the leading fibre, artist specializing in the human form, and in portraiture in particular.
By combining needle-felt and wet-felting techniques Rich has been able to open up a whole new world of possibilities.
Needle felting can be an incredible time sink. Finishing a surface can take days if not weeks to finish. Applying these techniques, will save you an hours if not days of work. A huge bonus, if you were working on a commission.
A wet-felted surface not only is a tighter fibre connection, it is also much more impervious to dust and environmental stressors not to mention a more aesthetic appearance and a more durable surface.
Please bring: it’s always a good idea to bring a notepad and pen.
Date: April 25-27. 2025, Friday 6pm-9pm, Sat & Sun 10am-5pm
Course schedule
Friday night: meet and greet. Design your mask, shop for your stash.
Saturday: needle felt base, sculpt components, wet felt skins.
Sunday: render eyes, assemble components, skin, finish.
Cost: $425 + tax + materials ($50)
Coffee, tea and snacks included
Location:
The Olive Sparrow Studio
19 Waterman Ave., Toronto
Wet Felting Hat Workshop with Tierre Taylor
September 2025 (date TBA), 10am-5pm
$245 + tax + materials ($20)
Tierre has been making hats for 15 years and teaching classes for over 9.
She regularly sells hats and teaches classes in New York.
Location:
The Olive Sparrow Studio
19 Waterman Ave., Toronto