Exhibition 2013: Suave 5 - Spain and Portugal

2013 was a quiet year from a felting and posting point of view, but I was very pleased with my participation in two international exhibitions, the first was "Suave 5".

"Suave 5" is an international triennial exhibition about fashion textile accessories and it is organised by ACTM (textile creative association of Madrid). 

Previous "Suave" editions displayed pieces from feltmakers of the size of Dagmar Binder (Suave 2 and 4) and Annette Quentin-Stoll (Suave 3 and 4). So as you can imagine, I was totally thrilled, when I knew that my scarf "Barcelona" was selected.

More exciting was to see my piece in the Official poster.

"Suave 5" was shown, first time in Spain from the 30th May to the 30th June 2013 in the "Museo Nacional de las Artes Decoartivas", in the historical center of Madrid. The exhibition received a total of 3,552 visitants, and it was the temporal exhibition with more visitants that the Museum had, it was a real success. 

You can check a review of the Madrid Television, here.

Afterwards, the exhibition traveled to Portugal, it was in display as part of the contemporary art exhibition "Peninsulares" in the "Instituto do Design" in Guimaräes, from the 20th July to the 30th August. 

The exhibition was supposed to travel to Medellín, Colombia to participate to the VII  Biennial of Textile Art and Design on March 2014,  but unfortunately, this was cancelled.

You can have a virtual tour to the exhibition here, and check about this edition artists, here.

Irish times talking about my Lichens!

I recently discovered this article in the Irish time; published on the 9th July 2012; the journal reviews the 2012 summer art offer in Dublin for Babies and parents. My installation "Lichens" is mentioned:
"...But babies of all ages are welcome to attend Ark events, and the centre’s current exhibition, Awakening Curiosity, has much to stimulate the young mind. Inga Hamilton’s Evolutionary Tweak and Natzaret Sindreu’s Lichen are tactile crocheted reefs and giant lichens; a multitude of textures and shapes to stimulate tiny hands and feet..."

Read the full article here:  Young at art

Interview at The Ark's Awakening Curiosity exhibition

 Natzaret Sindreu talks about her work on show at The Ark's Awakening Curiosity exhibition for families, summer 2012.

Felting classes in Barcelona

After 5 happy years living in Ireland, we are moving to Switzerland; but between the two countries, I'll spend more than one month in Barcelona, my hometown! I'm happy to be here spending time with my family and friends, enjoying a real Mediterranean summer and teaching felting.

I'll be teaching in All you knit is love, the coolest yarn shop in Barcelona. they are in the trendy neighborhood of el Born. The shop is owned by a lovely couple, Miquel and Jennifer, he is Catalan and she is from US.(have a look to their video)

I'll be teaching needle felting and wet felting (shibori and others textures for felting). Have a look to my workshop page and.... Why not to combine a Barcelona trip with felting classes?!

To encourage peolpe to sign for the courses, my dress has been placed on the main window.

Needle felting recession session

Last Saturday 16^th of June, we met at the Feltmakers Ireland studio for a needle felting recession session. We were highly motivated and after a quick introduction about wool, needles and technical basics, we started jabbing our pieces.

After struggling with colour choice, tough decisions needed to be taken, Fabienne started a cute orange and purple teddy bear. Susan worked at the speed of the light to be able to finish her doll and collect her son at 4pm. Mary made a clever looking giraffe, she is still deciding if she keeps it for herself or give it to her granddaughter (I understand after so much hard work...). Yvonne made a doll with a bad hair day. And we were all impressed by Luke, 11 years old, who followed his own design, a sitting bunny with a carrot.

There were no major accidents, we only needed three plasters, that's very good!

Every body worked very hard. All the pieces were finished and looked fantastic, definitely it was not a beginner job.

I had a great time, thank you Yvonne, Luke, Mary, Fabienne and Susan for this fantastic day. I think that we all enjoyed it and I hope this is the beginning of many others needle felted creatures!

Full day needle felting workshop with Feltmakers Ireland: 3 places left!

The Needle felting class will take place the 16th of June from 10am to 4.30 pm at Feltmakers Ireland Studio, in Phoenix Park. We'll make a figure of about 15 cm. This class is suitable for beginners, I'll cover all the basics in Needle felting. The cost is 40 EUR, you pay the same day, and includes written instructions, 2 needles and wool for the day. If you have needles and wool, bring them with you and I can help you to understand how to use different needles and wool. You´ll need to bring a lunch box, too. I´ll provide tea and biscuits.

If you are interested, email me at tortuebcn@gmail.com

See you there!

Lichens: the idea behind

Last autumn I started a visual note book, I was looking for patterns and textures in Nature. During my research I came a cross with Lichens. I was fascinated from the beginning, they are not just beautiful to look, moreover they are a vital part in our environment. They can be used as environmental indicators, they don't damage the trees, and they are used in toothpaste and deodorants.


I love hill walking. Usually in our walks, we carry a camera to take picture of the landscapes. Since last autumn I started taking pictures of Lichens. "Lichens" installation has been inspired for those pictures from around Ireland.

Lichen found on a stone bridge in Wicklow mountains.

Lichen found on a stone wall in Aran Islands

Lichen found on a branch in Ardgillan Castle.

Lichen found on a tree bark in Wicklow mountains.

Lichen found on a stone wall in Wicklow Mountains

Lichen found on a tree bark in Dublin.

To achieve these effects I used shibori, nuno and others surface embellishment techniques. If you are interested in shibori techniques, I will sugest you Filz experiment from Anette Quentin-Stoll.