:: ABOUT THE ARTIST ::
I choose to work with animal fibre because it is a natural, renewable resource that has been used since ancient times with endless possibilities for spinning, dying, knitting and felt making. I enjoy exploring different techniques that continue to evolve into new design elements.
Basically, there are five stages to my workflow: washing an animal fleece; spinning the carded wool; dying the skeins or batts; knitting or crocheting; and felting or fulling. Sometimes, depending on the character of the fleece that I acquire, I may prepare it for wet felting or needle felting. So, washing the fleece gives me direction; spinning the wool determines its purpose; the dying process gives the fibre life; knitting and crocheting provides the required structure for the finished piece; and the felting process molds the fibre into a functional piece of Art.
The heart of my work is inspired by God’s awesome Creation and relationships with family and friends. It is about providing comfort and joy –the comfort of a pair of slippers or a hat; the delight of hugging a teddy bear.
“I must make my creation good and honest and true, so that it may be a credit to me and revealing to others something of the pleasure which I found in its making.
Then will my creation be Art, for I shall have laboured honestly and lovingly in the
realization of an ideal.” This has become my motto.
When my “HeartFelt Designs” provide people with the same sense of pleasure and satisfaction that I experience while creating them, then, my goal has been met.
