Holiday Gifts: Fun, Funky Fiber Art — Woolly Scarves, and Down and Dirty Angels

By Barbara Falconer Newhall

More funky gifts from the artists and craftspeople of Berkeley, California. This time we celebrate fiber art in the form of in-your-face dolls and woolly felt scarves.

In-Your-Face Fiber Art Dolls

Either you’ll love them — or they’ll give you the willies. They’re intricate, multi-layered works of fiber art up from the unconscious of East Bay cancer survivor Cordelia De Vere.

Cordelia’s dolls will set you back a bit — 300 bucks or so — even though they’re made from much-used, much-battered materials, including (some of them) petite gloves that once belonged to the artist’s grandmother and great-grandmother. Originally a glass artist, Cordelia is not against tacking a glitzy sprinkling of Swarovsky crystals to her otherwise earthy dolls.

The more you look at these dolls, the more they get a hold on you — and creep into your unconscious.

Funky Gifts: Miriam Abramowitsch’s Hand-Made Felt

They’re one-size-fits-all, cozy, warm — and cool, cool, cool. They’ll dress up a plain outfit, and keep the winter chill off your neck.

Miriam Abramowitsch was wearing one of her whimsical scarves during a visit to Open Studios at Berkeley’s Sawtooth Building earlier this month. She makes the the felt herself — by combining wool, soap, water and pressure. (Wool’s the only fabric that transforms into felt, she tells me.)

Her scarves are one of a kind, funky but sophisticated. Hmm. Maybe one will be coming my way this Christmas.

To learn more about the artisans’ studio hours and outlets, check out their websites. If you can’t visit them in person, I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to order by email or phone.

The annual Berkeley Artisans Holiday Open Studios with its self-guided tour and sale featuring more than 100 local artisans continues December 19-20.

More handmade gift ideas at “Bernie Sanders Earrings, and Clocks Made of Vintage Books.” Also, “Sue Johnson’s Lamps and Shades — Works of Art in Berkeley.”   Booklovers . . . it’s not too late to download an ebook copy of my book, “Wrestling with God” — in plenty of time for Christmas and Kwanzaa.