Felted and Papier-mâché animals
During my teaching career I worked with Special Needs children. I used every type of junk in our Projects. I would have the ideas, and they would do something completely different!
At home I was making mosaics of every shape and size for home and garden. People left their broken crockery on my doorstep.
During lockdown I started felting using wool from rare breed sheep. I made wild, domestic and farm animals, trying to make them as realistic as possible. Every creature begins with a wire armature, then different size needles to give the wool its shape. The best part is giving it life with eyes, ears and nose.
Now I am making papier-mâché hounds, starting with the same armature technique and using kitchen roll for the shape. I experimented a lot before deciding on this. The top layer is old paper from an encyclopaedia I used when I was a student in College.
I chose to make hounds because my whippet Lucca and my old Lurcher Tally are endlessly funny and interesting. The shapes they make are definitely Yoga for dogs.
This is a new venture for me and I haven’t taken part in any other exhibitions this year.