Who needs acupuncture when you have needle felting in your life :)
I think in all walks of life you can hit a brick wall from time to time and this time certainly with work and family I had definitely hit a big one. This is when crafting plays an important part in my life. I have used the process of crafting from a young age rather like self medicating. The process of making acts as a meditation to me, rather like a therapy. A peaceful place I can enter where it is just me, materials, my hands and my brain (whats left of it) trying to make sense of things and problem solving. The creation is the happy by product which holds its moment of delight for me, but by far that most important part is the process.
Needing to work through things I started searching for a bit of inspiration and found myself drawn to needle felted sculptures on P interest. I was lucky enough to have loads of merino wool's left in the most beautiful of colours left over from wet felting workshops I have been doing recently.
I ordered some needles of eBay and like a child waiting for Christmas I looked forward to them arriving. In the long wait I researched techniques and watched videos so as soon as they came through the letter box I was ready to go. I decided to have a go at making a dragon and wanted it to have pose able legs wings and tail so I used florist wire as an armature. After wrapping poking wrapping and a lot more poking this was the end result.
Wanting to learn more YouTube is a learning nirvana for me. I came across the most awesome of needle felters, Sara Renzulli of Serafina Fibre Art. This lady is awesome, and her videos are very entertaining to watch, that delightful mixture of expertise, wit and lightheartedness. There is even a puppet in some of them which appeals to my child like mind stemming back from the years of the Jim Henson's Muppet's, Labyrinth and the Dark Crystal. Her work is inspired and the loose way she works the fibers is fantastic to watch. . If you are new to needle felting I would highly recommend all of Sara's tutorials the link to her YouTube channel is here :)
I have by no way mastered these skills but am very much enjoying working with the sculptural qualities of the wool fibers. These little guys were my attempt :)
The best thing about needle felting is that the process is instantaneous too, no waiting for glues and paints to dry. The tidying up afterwards is easy, no sewing machines to clear away, glues to clear up, paint brushes to clean. Plus I do wonder if that stabbing action helps get out some pent up energy :D All in all needle felting is surprisingly awesome and satisfying, despite my finger looking like a pin cushion. I like to call it the crafters version of acupuncture and am happy to say that the treatment worked :) Happy crafting! Ouch! X
