Carla Taylor is a fibre artist situated in the heart of the Dorset countryside who creates contemporary sustainable wool sculptures inspired by the animals and landscape of the British countryside and coastline using the technique of needle felting, where special barbed needles are used to repeatedly stab loose wool fibres together transforming loose fleece in to 3D sculptural works of art!
Her felting journey started in the beautiful fields of the Dorset countryside back in 2013 rounding up rare breed Hebridean and Portland sheep with her partner in preparation for shearing.
Rolling the fleeces during shearing was her first experience of handling a fleece and it is one she will never forget, the smell and feel of the lanolin on her hands and the beautiful colours and textures of the wool, provided Carla with a direct connection to the land and bags of inspiration!
She was surprised to learn that it cost some farmers more to shear each sheep than the return they received for each fleece and that some were occasionally burning their fleeces as they were almost classed as a by-product to the meat.
As someone that likes to recycle items Carla found this a great waste of an undervalued resource and wanted to raise awareness of the topic and showcase British wools versatility, beauty and worth as well as supporting her local farming community. Carla researched the internet for different uses of wool, came across needle felting, taught herself and the rest is as they say is history!
Carla is an official supporter of the Campaign for Wool and likes to use as much local Dorset and British wool in her sculptures as she can as well as sharing the rich diversity of our British wool industry history with others within her needle felting workshops that she runs across the South West, hopefully inspiring others to make a connection in their own way with British wool and nature.
Working with animals throughout her life and living in a farming community in the Dorset countryside, provides Carla with plenty of inspiration for her sculptures that are on occasion linked to conservation awareness and incorporate vintage recycled items of a past era. Her work has included hares, puffins, kingfishers, foxes and horse chestnuts, which illustrate her passion for the natural world.
An ammonite collected from the Jurassic Coast, the jewel like colours of moss or lichen on a morning walk or the sight of a magical hare in the distance are all captured on her phone that she always carry with her acting as a mobile reference as the seasons of the year change. One of Carla’s ambitions for 2017 is to visit RSPB Arne and walk amongst the diverse wealth of wildlife, the avocet being one of her favourite birds that she would like to observe, research and then create from wool.
Carla exhibits her work at various shows and exhibitions across the South West including Countryfile Live and the Salisbury Contemporary Craft & Heritage Festival as well as taking commissions.
To find out more about Carla’s work or her future needle felting workshop dates please visit: www.themouseholewoolery.co.uk or email themouseholewoolery@gmail.com.