Hello & Welcome!
I am a freelance fiber artist and needle-felting instructor
living & working in Ashland, Oregon. I grew up in the quiet, woodland town of West Newbury, Massachusetts, and I have always had a love of animals, the arts, and the outdoors.

In 2009 I graduated from the New Hampshire Institute of Art with a
BFA in Illustration- a degree that allowed me to explore felt making as a
potential for illustration as well as fine art.

I have been teaching felt making since 2010, and create new artwork daily. My travels have led me all over the New England area, to Arizona, Hawaii, and most recently to Northern California and Oregon!

You can visit my website to see more of my work: www.wooliza.com

And here's a link to my personal blog "The Life of Wool-LIza' http://www.wooliza.com/blog.html

Onto My Story:
I was introduced to the world of hand-felting wool by Beth & Larry
Beede in 2007 while attending the New Hampshire Institute of Art.
Since that amazing workshop, all of my creative energy has been
put exclusively towards exploring the functional & sculptural
potential of hand felting.
Beth told us that anything you can imagine you can create of wool.
I took her words to heart and I am continually blown away by how
versatile wool is- a material that I considerd kind of strange, and
almost worthless unles turned into yarn..

I couldn't have imagined that when I shrunk my favorite hat into a
doll-sized one, that I was seeing wools unique ability to tangle itself
into a dense, durable, non-knitted, fabric-like material known as 'felt'.
The term 'hand-felting' implies artists are tangling the fibers by hand,
rather than using a washing machine to do the hard work.

Both wet & needle felters use wool roving- that is wool that has been
cleaned & carded, or brushed into long continuous strips of fiber.
It is then dyed in a huge variety of colors, or left natural, and sold
primarily to spinners- who turn it into wool yarn.

Needle Felting is a sculpture technique that involves poking a sharp,
barbed needle into wool fibers to tangle them into 'felt'. I use this
technique to create all my animal sculpture, and add details to
murals and functional items.

Wet-felting allows the creation of wearable & functional items.
These include hats, vests, mittens, slippers, murals, and more!

I love exploring both techniques; creating large scale creations that are
durable, detailed, functional, sculptural, unique, whimsical & wonderful!
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All of my fiber-art sculptures and murals are totally one of a kind, and made of hand-felted wool. There is no knitting, sewing, stuffing, or patterns involved in felting- a good amount of patience is usually required, but the process of felting is meditative and a joy to me!

Inspired by the natural world and my fiber material, animal sculptures and portraits come to life in all shapes and sizes. I pay special attention to the little details like paw pads, tongue, eyes, expressive faces, and capturing particular markings & gestures.

Pet portraits & miniatures, lifelike animal sculpture, carousel ornaments,
and Waldorf inspired gnomes and fantasy creatures are created using a
special barbed 'felting needle'. All wearable items and murals are created
using wet-felting- a technique that uses soap & water to tangle the
fibers into felt.

Custom requests are always welcomed! Send images of a
beloved pet or furry friend and I can create a detailed 3D miniature or
2D frame-able fiber art portrait.

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These days you can find a collection of my sculptures big and small at the Ashland Art Center, and Shepherd's Dream, both in downtown Ashland, Oregon.

Ashland Art Center
www.ashlandartcenter.org