Dark Felt

I began making art felt sculpture in 2016 when I embarked on the creation of a headpiece for 'PythiaDelphine21' a new Bodycoder performance commission. Costume creation has always been part of my performance practice - for me it is a necessary and instinctual way of fully inhabiting a sensory character - choosing materials for their personal and cultural resonances. For PythiaDelphine21 I was looking for a material that connected nature to the female entity that was the Delphic oracle. I found this connection in wool and the fact that at Delphi oracles were recruited from among the local population of female goat and sheep herders. In order to 'inhabit' this idea I used wool and other found elements that were personal to my own locality: wool from North of England breeds, feathers and other resonant materials such a torn cotton bandages. 

I use a variety of techniques combining wet and dry felting and taking an unconventional approach to making on resist objects. I like wool with character and generally avoid merino. 

Dancer (2018) 
Corridale wool, silk fibres, silk organza, glass eyes. (40x 25 x 25 cm) (life size foot)
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Dancer was made following major surgery on my left foot. It was an attempt to express the psychological impact: how sedentary and earth bound I felt. How pain and preoccupation with my post-operative foot seemed to change its proportion. How my inability to walk for several weeks both shifted and grounded my notion of self.

Mermaid (possibly fake) (2019/20)
Various wools, silk fibres, sea peddles, sea shell, steel skewer.
(30x 20 x 26cm life size hand)
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​This piece is inspired by an 18th century folk art work in the Hull Maritime Museum of the same title, and references the early Victorian fashion for creating new (fake) trans-species fantasy creatures. 

This trans-human/molluscs sea creature is locked in a predatory struggle with itself. The piece is a metaphor for our self-harming relationship with nature and non-human beings.  

Hermit (2020)
Welsh wool, dyed merino, sea shell, wooden hairbrush
​(23 x 8 x 6cm)
part of a series of sculptures incorporating deconstructed domestic objects

Acorn (2016)
blended dyed mixed wool types, acorn
(20 x 18 x12cm)

I often use various types of fabric in my felt art works. Sometimes using natural dye processes (particularly on cotton and linen) using plants from the garden, old iron nails and other found objects.