This week our Talkin’ Etsy Tuesday Interview is with Denise Felton, owner of the shop…DeniseFelton. Denise has unique dimensional collages in her Etsy Shop. The collages are a fascinating intersection of paper craft and needlework. Her wit is exquisite and it shows in each of her pieces. This one is Mother’s Power:
The quote at the bottom of the picture says “Her Controlling Power–The mother can take man’s whole nature under her control.” The descriptions she puts on each listing in her shop will send most into fits of giggles and a you may utter an “Oh my!” here and there. The description on Mother’s Power says “In his search for the perfect wife, Edgar couldn’t help comparing every girl to his ideal: Mother. The woman of his dreams would be strong, decisive, tall. And over 50.” Don’t we all know a man or two like that?
I had the pleasure of interviewing Denise Felton. She started selling handcrafted greeting cards and collages through two brick and mortar shops in 2002. Her Etsy shop opened up in August 2007. I adore the reason she started selling her items:
“My friend Jonathan. When you say “muse,” most people think of a fairy with flowing hair and a voice like windchimes. So lightweight. My muse is a broad-shouldered pseudo-son who bullies me into being an artist.”
Along with her marvelous collages, she also has some fanciful art quilts that make the fiber/texture heart in me go pitter-patter. This piece, “Yo Art Quilt“, is Denise’s favorite listing in her shop at the moment:
This is an “Art Quilt of cotton fabric and cotton batting, appliqued with hundreds of one-inch and half-inch cotton yoyos, and heavily embroidered with gold metallic thread and glass seed beads.” To get the whole idea of what one looks like, I have to post another picture of this. It is absolutely divine! 
Yo Art Quilt is 16″ x 20″ x 1″. Denise says she loves this one the most (right now), because it’s lumpy and bumpy. Also because it’s turquoise and orange, which is one of her favorite color combinations. Sounds like another good yarn color scheme. She likes all variations of the turquoise and orange colors, like aqua and bronze, teal and peach.
She finds her inspiration in her work itself. The photos know what they want to be and she just tries to go along with them. As for the art quilts, she just lets the fabric, thread, and beads express themselves and she stays out of their way. She does admit she does not actually hear them talking to her, so no need to lock her up. Denise Felton does each of her pieces justice by listening to the heart of each item and expressing its inner desires.
With her keen eye and wit, Denise is making the world a better place by bringing the past back to life through her Collage Pieces. Her Art Quilts are just that, amazing pieces of art that should be in every home. I have had the pleasure of seeing Denise’s work in person and the detail in each piece is beyond comparison. A photo can not capture all the delicate intricacies of each piece. You will be pleasantly surprised when you get your purchase in the mail and see so much more than you expected.
Lastly Denise wanted to give a big shout out to AREtsy, the Arkansas Etsy Street Team. She said “We rock and roll so hard. Everybody needs to shop AREtsy for Christmas! ” It’s easy to do just CLICK HERE to check out the AREtsy Team Artist’s listings.
Denise Felton can be found on:
Please help support local artists and remember, everyone loves handmade! Why not get that hard to buy loved one on your Christmas list one of Denise Felton‘s items. It’s a one of a kind and sure to be a collectible treasure.