Chad Alice Hagen
Feltmaker & Bookmaker
When thinking about Chad Alice’s artistic life and her experiences I can’t help but be in awe at her accomplishments and adventures!
Wow! as a brief overview here are categories from Chad Alice’s CV: traveling internationally to teach (Europe, New Zealand, Australia); many exhibition opportunities across the United States and abroad (Finland, Japan, India, Poland, Canada, Mexico, as well as more than a dozen states in the USA); published writing and reviews in magazines; keynote speaking engagements; her art acquired in museum and private collections; the recipient of grants and awards; author of books on felt making - all of these categories have multiple listings!
Chad Alice has been in Asheville since 1997 but hails from Wisconsin, and you can hear her mid-west accent in some words and phrases as she shares her stories of traveling and teaching. She received her BA and MS degrees from University of Wisconsin and MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art, Michigan.
She has worked and experimented for more than 45 years with clamp resist dyeing / mark making on hand felted and woven wool. Her current work is both hand bookmaking with resist dyed wool, and her 25-year ongoing series Collections which reflect the different landscapes of travel and home with found objects stitched on the substrate of hand felted wool of the region if possible.
In her west Asheville studio she has distinct working spaces for her wool dye kitchen and her bookmaking area. In the large room adjoining the dye kitchen Chad Alice has a vast collection of items used to make the interesting designs in the resist dying process. You’ll recognize many of these items such as hair clips, fancy paper clips, hinges for doors, large washers, cake decorating tools and fishing lures just to name a few! Anything interesting that can withstand the high temperatures of the dye vats is up for consideration.
Asheville is fortunate to have Chad Alice as a part of the local arts community. Every time Art Connections can visit, I am overjoyed that tour participants are able to see and hear from her. Chad Alice sometimes teaches small groups in her home, so come! you can join me in a visit to experience Chad Alice’s impressive life in the arts!
