The Basics of 3D Wet Felting (Free Download)

Hello, felting friends! We get a lot of questions at the gallery about my work such as: what exactly is wet felting?; what is the difference between wet and dry (aka needle) felting?; how are felted sculptures made?; etc. In response to these inquiries, I put together a flyer that outlines the basics of creating 3D forms using wool fiber, along with some care instructions. I thought readers might appreciate it too, so am posting a high-res file (.jpg) here for you to download, print, and share. Note: This is not a step-by-step tutorial, but rather an at-a-glance overview to 3D wet felting. I do have a step-by-step printable tutorial that I provide to workshop attendees, and plan to make available as a free download here soon. Enjoy and happy making! 

3 Little Birds…

are at my doorstep. Actually, it's turning into a veritable flock around here! For awhile now I've been thinking about how to make a simple resist for chickadees -- and with just the right amount of internal pressure to put pesky procrastination on notice (e.g. the holiday shipping deadlines bearing down), I put my noodle on it last week and got the job done. While pleased with the resulting felted "feathered" friends, I am most satisfied with the elegant plastic resist design which solidified after a few definitely-not-so-elegant iterations (three, to be precise). Like many makers, I find the design phase (including making the prototypes) to be the most rewarding part of the creative process... and would much prefer having a team of little elves do the production of the actual inventory. But how can I complain when I get to fill any downtime with making suff -- it's like being a kid again. Note: The gift chickadees flew the coop, and these six stayed behind. If you would like to adopt one, go to the gallery in Fountain Hills to pick out your fave! Happy holidays to all!

Black Felted Wool Rabbit

Look who showed up in the field of rabbitbrush this morning! Specs: Exterior: Wet-felted wool; Interior: Local Pima cotton, silk, and river stones. 28" (h) x 7.5" (w).

Talisman :: Felted Sculpture

The house is filling up with my felted wool Sentinels and Talismans, and we may soon run out of space to store them :) I suppose this work is in response to the pandemic, and the desire to create strong (and sometimes quirky) protective "dieties" for the world. I will continue to explore these themes in the studio and see where things go. Wishing you all strength, protection, and hearts full of hope and joy.

Talisman I (felted wool sculpture), exterior: wet-felted wool; interior: pima cotton, glass beads, netting, 23" (h) x 6" (w).