Critter Caretaker, Fiber Fluffer, Spinning Sorceress.

 

I live and work in rural Wyoming. We, my family, the critters and I, spend our time playing among the prairie grasslands and the sagebrush ridges! We enjoy the many sunny days and the painted sunsets.

 

My inspiration is created from the animals. The animals naturally grow their own beautiful coats. My magic is preserving the natural aspects of that coat while moving the fibers from the animal to the finished art I create.

 

As a producer, I develop value-added fiber products utilizing all types and grades of fiber harvested from the alpacas.

 

As an artist, my preferred media is the alpaca. The whole alpaca from the day they arrive on my ranch until they have to leave me. I am always excited to experiment and dabble in Old World traditions as I create yarns and felts. With my brand “Fiber with Flair” I participate in each and every step involved in growing, harvesting, processing and creating valued-added products from alpaca fleeces.

 

I enjoy felting "out of the box."  I like to use types of fiber that allow my felt to have that "pelt" look and feel to them. My heart is also light knowing that none of my animals were killed to produce fiber for my art! The techniques I use extend far beyond knitting, spinning or felting and my felting pallet includes the actual landscape my animals graze upon, in addition to the colors and textures I harvest from my animals.

 

I have currently been working on nuno felt manipulations and exploring how different fabrics interact with the alpaca fiber. I also enjoy dabbling in the world of creative hand spinning, using different forms of fiber – raw, cloud, cut, short, long, shaved. I like to honor age old traditions for spinning while experimenting with basic fiber forms of alpaca. I enjoy playing with unconventional technique and seeing how each yarn is different and unique because none of the animals are the same.

 

My fiber mill machinery is an extension of my hands – it allows me to further manipulate the fibers as my imagination sees fit. I am always looking at the world around me for inspiration as to how fiber could look after the enchanting processes of spinning or felting.