After retiring early from my career in the insurance industry, I started knitting as a hobby and then discovered felting.
Initially, I was knitting purses and using a washing machine to felt the wool. After making more than a 200 purses, I was ready to move on. I heard you could paint with wool. Intrigued, I did some research and found some Mongolian artists on Utube that were creating beautiful landscapes so in 2011 I set out to teach myself to use felting techinques to create scenes from the natural world around me with fiber. I previously dabbled in art as a hobby when my busy work and family life allowed but I have never received any formal training as an artist. Classes in pastels and oil painting from a school recreation program gave me some very basic color theory and painting techniques. I will be honest in saying that nothing I produced was particularly noteworthy. The little training that I had helped when painting with fibers as well. Felting opened up an entirely new world. Creating seemed easier and more expressive. It was fun and I like the results. The medium simpy spoke to me. Today, I have given up knitting and making purses and I focus my entire attention on creating images of the natural world around me in fiber.
What fascinates me about felting is its spontaneity and unpredictability. There is a constant tension between what I can control and what I cannot control. I can control my design, the fiber choices and color blends but I can’t predict which of the tiny fibers will felt together. Each completed piece of art is completely unique and one of a kind.
Memberships
Wisconsin Alliance of Artists and Craftspeople
Madison Art Guild
Wisconsin Regional Artist Program
Wisconsin Visual Artists
Madison Felter’s Guild
Galleries
Represented by the Farwell Gallery, McFarland, WI
Awards
2023 State Award- Wisconsin Regional Artist’s Program
2023 Invitational Award- Art Fair on the Square Madison, WI
2023 Award for Excellence Spring Green Art Fair
Award for Excellence Agora Art Fair 2019
Wisconsin Regional Art Program Honorable Mention, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018
Wisconsin Regional Art Program, State Award Winner 2015
Madison Art Guild University Hospital Salon: 2012 Second Place Collage, 2013 First Place Studio fine Arts, 2015 Judge’s Commendation for three dimensional art.
Additional exhibit participation:
Featured Artist Evergreen Retirement Center Gallery, Oshkosh
Textile Tableau, Miller Art Gallery, Sturgeon Bay, WI
Secura Fine Arts Show, Trout Museum, Appleton, WI
Madison Felter’s Guild, Blue Bar Quilts Show
Threaded Streams: Guest artist at the Condon Gallery, Portage, WI