Avicular #05, Wool and hair, 2.75 x 3.5 x 7.25 inches, 2009

This one-of-a-kind sculpture is from the ‘Avicular’ body of work. The Avicular (birdlike) sculptures loosely mimic avian forms moved along a continuum towards abstraction. In these works the sculpted elegance of plump clean-lined forms plays against carefully coiffed yet intrinsically disordered hair details.

I created this sculpture by compressing, tangling, and shaping loose fibers into felt using hand-held felting needles. The main body is created using Corriedale sheep’s wool, while the hair-like details come from a Churro breed. This piece would be best displayed under a glass dome or in a case to prevent touching and rearranging its ‘hair’ details.