Animal Fibers!

Welcome to the mesmerizing world of fibers and the roles they play in this art form. Their job is to bind together and in doing so imbue a piece of artwork with sensational beauty, and strength. Softer fibers are luxurious and the courser ones provide extra durability.

Wool fibers are measured in microns and staple length. The lower the micron the finer the fiber. That micron measurement will impact the performance of the fabric that is created. The staple length also impacts how the fiber will perform. This in turn determines what artists make from the fiber or how we combine them. There are also many different types of wool based on the breed of sheep. Not only are there sheep to consider, but an artist may use other animal fibers as well (i.e. Alpaca, camel, yak, horse hair, etc.)

Some fibers especially shorter, crimpy, coarser ones tend to lend themselves better to making dense, firm, strong structures. Longer fibers lend themselves to making a potentially dense (depending on how much is used), more drapey, yet very strong fabric.

The fibers interlock from agitation because they have microscopic scales. The artist can apply pressure, heat, impact, or any form of agitation to cause them to bind. The trick is knowing how much agitation, what type, and when in the process to apply it in the method of making the art, fabric, etc. The 3 main forms of agitation are via needling, wetting, or dry felting the fibers together. When fabrics are incorporated into a wet felted piece, the process is called “Nuno felting”. Sometimes pieces are all three to create the desired design.

Many other fibers can be incorporated all lending their own attributes.  Fiber artists use exotics and others for these attributes - sheen, drape, texture, etc. Felting is an ancient art and is making a resurgence around the world. It is said to have predated weaving.