Woolnimals

(Image by Taeeun Yoo, via Yoote on Etsy ) I'm caught amid the perfect storm of beautiful sunny days, caffeine, and restfulness (at last!). My inspiration has been humming. The cicadas are finally screaming in the trees and I spend my evenings fully immersed in Lake Champlain dreaming about art projects and freckling in the late afternoon sun. Despite how veritably summer it is, I can already hear the leaves scuttling down the sidewalk as autumn descends in my imagination. My fingers are itching for afternoons of crafting. But I'm giving myself this time to float, to be suspended in a cool hug; to be weightless for a time. I'm considering the possibility that there are a great number of people who would like to learn how to needle felt. I won't say it's easy, but it's something anyone can learn to do. I have a strong background in sculpture, clay, and 3D art, so I took to forming sculptures out of a pile of wool pretty quickly. Kits are a great way to begin, also...

I used to paint. I was never officially "trained" on how to use color - I would just add some water to my watercolors and gouache and go to town. I taught myself basic form and function along the way and pretty much took to copying pictures out of wildlife books. I sort of burnt out on painting when I tried to branch off on my own and paint original ideas. I found that I needed to develop some rudimentary drawing and color theory skills first. Eventually I took up felting and dropped painting altogether. One of my main goals now is to make a watercolor chart to really learn how to use them skillfully. There's an old post of mine here that shows my collection of watercolors that are now gathering dust in a portfolio in my closet. I should take them out and revisit them...