Painting with wool

It sounds like a painting. From a distance, it even looks like one. But as viewers come closer, the wool fibers that make up the piece become clear. The vibrant flowers aren’t painted at all. The watercolor-like shading on the angular vase wasn’t deposited there by a brush. 

This is felting -- making art almost entirely out of clouds of vibrant wool. This particular piece, by Lisa Shanor, of Casper, also features embellishments. Beads and tiny pieces of silk, sewn in with a needle, add sparkle and definition.

Shanor isn’t finished with this project, although she has already invested hours into it. First came planning the design itself -- a square vase holding a burst of colorful flowers against a white background -- and laying each tuft of fluffy wool just so.

After that comes the wet felting, where she runs the piece under hot, soapy water to manipulate it further. This is the step that transforms those disparate pieces of wool into a single piece of felt. Shanor rolls it and stretches it until she achieves the look she’s after.

Then comes the process of needle felting, where artists use small, sharp tools to graft one piece of felt onto another, layering them over white or another background color to create a particular effect. This is the detail work.

Sometimes that’s the bold shapes of pink flower petals; other times, it’s just a translucent wash of shading, a hint of color. Each thin fiber has to bond with its background, which means a lot of repetitive poking and manipulation. 

It sounds painstaking, and it is time-consuming. But Shanor, who has been creating art using this method for about five years, finds it “very, very relaxing.”

She enjoys felting far more than quilting or other fiber arts that require following a pattern or specific instructions. Felting is more random, she says. There’s no science to exactly where you have to prick the pieces of wool to combine them. There’s no rule that says a flower has to look a certain way, or be a precise color. If Shanor wants to use slim, barely-there strands of yellow to add definition to a hot-pink petal, that’s up to her. “It’s just a really fun art form,” she says.

There isn’t even a rule that finished pieces have to be displayed on walls. Shanor has also formed three-dimensional pieces, such as purses, birdhouses, vases and small animal figures. On this day, she’s also wearing a scarf of her own making. It’s charcoal gray and features softer fibers and some sparkle to keep the wearer cozy and stylish on cool days.

Many of Shanor's creations were on display at Art 321, the home of the Casper Artists Guild in downtown Casper. Shanor’s work was featured in October during a fiber arts show at the gallery, which features local artists. After the show, some of her pieces will be available in the gift shop.

Shanor calls herself a hobby artist and mostly works on her art solo, but she’s grateful for the community of the guild and the opportunity to build connections and show the results of her efforts. Usually, she sees herself as the behind-the-scenes type.

“I would never have done this alone,” she says, glancing over at the wooden backdrop that displays her work. Felted teapots with perfectly fitted felt stoppers squat on shelves. Framed wall hangings, like this flower piece will eventually be, feature undersea and autumnal scenes. Scarves curve gently around hangers.

“Art 321 is one of the most encouraging places,” she said. “It’s not a museum, it’s an art guild. You don’t have to be spectacular to enjoy what you do and sell it if you like.”

The community has also benefited Shanor in other ways. The inspiration for many of her felt pieces is work by other artists. “I see a beautiful piece of pottery or landscape,” she explained. “I ask myself, ‘How can I do that in felt?’ My ideas come from everybody and everything.”