Inspired by birds, animals and nature
Hello, I am Carolyn McIntosh, artist and owner of Wandering Fig Studio based in the Perth hills, Western Australia. I love the magical process of creating, I couldn't imagine my life without it!
Animals and nature inspires me! I have been fortunate to have experienced close encounters with Western Australian wildlife as a volunteer wildlife carer over several years at a wildlife rehabilitation centre in Perth. Having the opportunity to interact, hand feed and care for native birds, reptiles and marsupials was an incredibly fulfilling and life changing experience that has greatly influenced my art and craft.
I work in many mediums and currently immersed in the art of needle felting. Stabbing into raw wool fibre (or hemp fibre) with a sharp barbed needle hundreds of times to sculpt anything that you can imagine is thrilling to me and a great stress reliever. I enjoy both hand sewing and needle felting and often use a combination of wool and fabric in my art and craft. My fibre/textile soft sculptures, homewares and accessories are handmade using a combination of recycled and natural fibres and fabric. Wool for my needle felted creations is sourced from New Zealand Corriedale sheep who are well cared for and are not mulesed.
My art education and background has been broad and diverse spanning twenty plus years commencing with technical college, university fine art studies, to recent local workshops with local artists and online workshops with artists from across the globe.
My studio name derives from the wandering fig vine which grew on the outside walls of my garage studio in my former home in the Perth riverside suburb of Bassendean. The dried vine is a great fibre for weaving nests and free form baskets. In late 2016 I moved to the Perth hills suburb of Greenmount with my family to a lovely home with a great light filled loft studio space - lucky me! The vast array of native birds and reptiles who frequent my garden are a pleasure to see everyday and a source of inspiration for my creative work.
Thanks for taking the time to find out more about me and my work!
