Animal fibre artist loving coffee, her dogs and her home in Ireland.
I am a textile artist living in the south west of Ireland. I have adored animals, art and wildlife for as long as I can remember. I also have four very mischievous doggies that distract, inspire, cuddle and love me. Its from this a little idea developed into a life long passion and hopefully a successful full time business.
I began using textiles while teaching art in schools, and my love affair with fibres and felt started. I combine more traditional techniques with contemporary methods to create what I hope are adorable little creatures.
Its important that you want to touch and pet my little guys. That means lots of things. It means, the characters of the animals themselves should be roguish and handsome, but it also means the final pieces are tactile and textured.
This is true for the Giclee Prints too. I make all my own prints from start to finish, so I can ensure they are true to the originals. The prints are often mistaken for the originals, especially when framed up. Giclee printing means that I use archival paper and pigment, so it'll be around for along time.
How do I make the pieces I hear you ask? Well lots of coffee, research and patience. The fabric I choose is usually vintage ranging from Liberty or William Morris & Co. As an art history student, I am in awe of design that has remained as beautiful and inspiring as when it was originally created over a hundred years ago. I use natural wool fibres which I dye and occasionally sheer the neighbours sheep ( with their permission) to harvest my own wool from scratch.. These are applied bit by bit to form a three dimensional representation. I enjoy using moss and lichen I find in the forest too and look forward to experimenting more with different natural materials.
I am a new business, so the work is still evolving and I love feedback and suggestions from my customers. I aspire to have a range of wildlife that you want to re-home and a bricks and mortar shop that you want to live in!
Molly
