I am a 3D fibre artist known for my ultra-realistic fibre animal sculptures, and more recently adding a colourful final layer interpreting their soulful essence. I use the needle felting technique with an ever-increasing variety of fibres. Traditionally needle felting uses wool—hence ‘felting’. However, the recent availability of plant based and recycled fibres, has increased my artistic palette.
I don’t sculpt realism, I give you a moment in the life of …
I express my connection to animals through my spirited colourful sculptures , which either gives you a moment back with a treasured companion or an emotional moment with a creature you have probably dreamt of meeting.
I reflect their soul and environment whilst interpreting that connection with colour and fibres unique to each sculpture.
Autumn Brochure (Flipbook)
My larger sculptures are created around an aluminium wire armature, and some pieces require hand-painted glass eyes to make the faces as life-like as possible. My journey to creating a new animal sculpture always begins with researching its detailed anatomical structure—skeleton, muscle groups etc—all of which are adhered to in my ensuing art process and, whilst many elements will be hidden inside the sculpture, they still have a profound effect on the finished work to give the ultra-realism for which I strive.
I have been exhibiting my creations since the beginning of 2018—mainly at shows, galleries and exhibitions, where I also demonstrate my techniques. I produce instructional videos to further promote the relatively new art form of needle felting sculpture and encourage newcomers to this art.
I was initially inspired by other fibre artists’ work, which showed me a technique with which I could express my love of animals and nature. Going forward I find myself drawn down different paths by nature itself, leading to increasingly challenging creations. Although I do take on commissions, I limit the number of these so that I am able to focus on my own creative journey, and be able to give each sculpture the time it needs to evolve, almost organically, and to the best of my ability.