In her words, “I make damn good portraits. And I make them out of wool.”
Repeat customers like Dani Ives grab my attention and down the internet rabbit hole I go to peak at their creative space. This needle felting artist’s work knocked my socks off. Her art defines the term, “painting with wool”.
Dani is a self-described “science nerd” with a Masters in Nonprofit Management with an emphasis in conservation education. Her love of animals and respect for their environment is often reflected in her artwork and near and dear to my heart. I couldn’t help but get in touch.
Because I scaled my dye studio to accommodate volume dyeing for huge art exhibits for The Guggenheim and Tate Museum last summer, I really wanted to utilize it to start Weir Crafts own roving line. This seemed to me a great opportunity to work with Dani. And so, our phone chat ended with me agreeing to send a sample of this new wool roving to her. She loved it! Then came the challenge to create a new color palette of Dani’s choosing. These colors have been incorporated into our new Great Lakes Wool Roving line. I love the uniqueness and earthiness of this line. These are colors you just cannot find anywhere else. I expect there will be more colors to come.
Please check her Dani Ives site out for commissioned art, needle felting courses, her book, and shop full of her amazing work.
Find this new Great Lakes Wool Roving here. Happy Felting!