Using a single, barbed needle borrowed from commercial felting machines, wool fibers are tangled and compacted by repeatedly jabbing the needle into the fibers, forming three-dimensional felt sculptures bound only by one’s imagination.

 

Sculptural Needle Felting is just  the coolest thing!  First of all the medium is wool...  Let's thank the sheep for growing such amazing fiber. I really have a hard time describing the feeling of creating with wool.  It must be the organic nature of it; its luster,  its smell, its feel... it really is wondrous stuff.  The quiet crunching sound that the barbed needle makes as it pokes in and out of the wool is quite soothing.  But the greatest thing of all is the moment that lustrous pile of fluff transforms into a character full of charisma and charm. 

The needles used for needle felting were not designed with sculpting in mind.  At the turn of the 20th century, industry began mass producing felt using machines with beds of these barbed needles tangling fibers into felt fabric.  It wasn't until the 1980's that an innovative fiber artist, Eleanor Stanwood, considered the use of single industrial felting needles as a means to sculpt wool into 3 dimensional shapes.  The story I heard was that these needles landed in the hands of California fiber artist, Ayala Talpai.  The needles soon made their way across the big pond to Birgitte Krag Hansen in Denmark.  Birgitte had been sculpting figures out of wool using wet methods but the felting needle changed her approach to sculptural felting.  Ayala and Birgitte became early pioneers in the art of needle felting and have both written several books on the subject.

Sculptural needle felting is quickly growing in popularity and I hope to carry the torch and pass along the magic that I was lucky enough to be able to learn from Birgitte.  Thanks Eleanor, Ayala and especially Birgitte!