My father introduced me to photography at a very young age, but I didn’t pursue it professionally until my 40s. Making felt came later, and to me, both of those things couldn’t be more different from each other. Photographic art is detailed and controlled, while wet felting is tactile and imperfect.

Having worked in photography for so long, I was accustomed to being in complete control. I could manipulate my images any way I wanted, and I admit that I liked working in a medium that fed my perfectionism.

Thank goodness I found feltmaking because there’s little room for perfectionism when your working with wool, and I definitely needed an intervention.

Coaxing the fibers to tangle in order to turn them into felt is more like collaborating with them than controlling them. Wool has a mind of its own and can sometimes respond in ways that are different than I expect. These surprises helped me appreciate the medium, and embrace the beauty in unexpected outcomes and simple imperfection.