FOUNDER + ARTIST

Janice Arnold’s handmade textiles, rooted in nomadic tradition, honor indigenous makers - the origin of community-based Felt. She has been breaking the boundaries with Felt as an artform since 1999. In 2022, she was invited by the Smithsonian, US Embassy, and the Kazakh Union of Artisans for a series of masterclasses with Kazakh artisans and their communities. The scope, character, and passion of her work resulted in a Smithsonian Magazine feature ('23) referring to her as an artist who is “creating bold new versions of cherished art forms”. In 2024, Arnold founded The FELT Road as a non-profit dedicated to education in wool arts, science, cultural and historical origins. These are accomplished through immersive community-based experiences, exhibitions, and workshops, for all ages, skill levels and humans from all walks of life.

ANTHROPOLOGIST

LLyn De Danaan, Ph.D., is a cultural anthropologist, writer, and artist. Research pursuits have taken her to Southeast Asia, Romania, and eastern Washington. She taught in China and received a Fulbright for research and to teach in Romania. She worked with basket makers in Sarawak, Malaysia and at the Skokomish Reservation. The Skokomish work culminated in a film that features elder weavers, Louisa Pulsifer and Emily Miller. She joined the first faculty at The Evergreen State College in 1971 and was full-time there until 2001. Thereafter, she wrote the book, Katie Gale: A Coast Salish Woman’s Life on Oyster Bay and managed research projects that focused on the first Indigenous woman pilot, and the story of Japanese American oyster laborers in the Southern Salish Sea. She was an expert witness for the Puyallup Tribe of Indians in several proceedings. She also worked for the Confederated Tribes of the Colville. She was a speaker for Humanities Washington for four years. She was given the Washington State Historical Society’s Peace and Friendship Award for significant contributions to the understanding of Washington’s cultural diversity.

PROJECT + RESEARCH COORDINATOR

Lisa Mothersbaugh is a multimedia artist, writer, and musician. In 2016, she began researching Felt in collaboration with Janice Arnold for her Felt DeCoded exhibition at the San Francisco’s Museum of Craft & Design. Over the last 9 years, she has assisted in many JA Felt roles including install support, workshops, community events and international travel. Former relevant experience includes working in museum collections and curation at MOHAI and the Seattle Asian Art Museum, administrative support for the National Nordic Museum, Burke Museum, NBBJ architecture firm, and, most recently, as project manager of Botanical Colors’ natural dyehouse. She is inspired by the natural world and passionate about the connection between humans, textiles and nature.