20-24th September 2016 was the first Wicked Wales International Youth Film Festival – to make it something that ‘felt’ really special, the organisers decided to award felted trophies. We have asked Karin Celestine some questions about the occasion.
Karin, can you tell us more about Wicked Wales decision to have felted trophies?
To mark the first International Youth Film Festival in Wales a competition was held for trophy designs made out of wool. The organisers, working with Cambrian Wool and the National Wool Museum, sought talented designers in Wales able create film awards ‘made out of wool from the mountains of Wales’.
The brief was that they should stand 30cm high and each designer had to make four designs. Having been part of the Cambrian Wool Design Challenge last year, this seemed like a fun way to work again with them as well as combining my love of wool, Wales, creativity and film as I do stop motion animation videos of my creatures.
I understand that it was you and Ruth Packham who finally made them. How did you discuss the design? Where there any special things you took in consideration?
We made the awards for different categories so there was no collaboration.
I was thinking about what would represent Wales and also make an award a young person would be proud to win. I was informed that my Welsh dragon design had been chosen for one of the categories, but we didn’t know who else was chosen until the brochure came out. Ruth Packham was the other winner of the challenge. She made some really interesting televisions.
Joy Dawes made a large sheep head mascot with a map of Wales on it.
When I designed my version of a Welsh dragon, I needle felted around a wire frame with the possibility that he could hold a sign with a name on it if needed. I was aware that they needed to stand firm and be quite tough and long lasting so I used quite a heavy wire and felted them extra hard. It was quite a tight timeline and a lot of work!
I heard that everyone loved our work and that my awards went to Ireland, Denmark and Germany.