Vanda Róbert

Felt maker

©Orsi Baki

©Evelin Bécsi

©Orsi Baki

©Evelin Bécsi

©Adám Pintér

Felting her way forward

Vanda masters several felting methods, and is mostly known for her relief quilted works
She sometimes uses camel hair from the local zoo and Hungarian racka sheep wool
In recent years she has also turned to rugmaking

Vanda Róbert studied aesthetics at the University of Pécs which provided her with an important theoretical foundation, yet she wanted to work with practical art. She tried a lot of art forms, and ultimately fell in love with relief quilting, which is a combination of wet felting and hand quilting. Today, Vanda works with a variety of materials and techniques, many of them traditional. “Evoking a tradition means that we update and revive a piece of life, which enriches our present time and triggers us to create new things,” she says. Fine art is also a major inspiration for her – more precisely modern art and its techniques. She often uses the technique of collage and she certainly intends to create fine art textile objects with the urge of leaving a mark, keen to express her artistic point of view.

Interview

©Ibolya Anna Váray

©Evelin Bécsi

What do you think makes an object stand out?: If it can appeal to its user on a physical level and create attachment through one, or more of its qualities. It should be simple and satisfy at least one need, but most importantly, a good object is like a good friend – it is close to us physically or emotionally.
In addition to the many traditional techniques you have mastered, do you have any of your own?: Woven felt might be called my own development. It presents various braided structures as patterns on objects of diverse form and function. The woven surface is formed from felted cords and straps, then it is embedded into a homogeneous felt surrounding, as if the braids had grown organically from it.
Has there been a memorable moment in your work life?: Sometimes a pattern comes to life and becomes a reality. Once I was working on a picture with a pattern reworking a children's drawing, shaping a kernel of life, a cocoon. I later found out that I became pregnant with my son on those very days.
What inspires you?: I am inspired by life in general, the tastes, smells, colours I experience, the signs and messages of the flora and fauna or even the changes in the earth's surface. Architecture and fine art are also important influences in my daily work.

Vanda Róbert is a master artisan: she began her career in 2003 and she started teaching in 2006