Jara Gillett
After retiring from the Air Force, volunteering for several years, and then becoming an empty nester, I was searching for a new passion. I always wanted to work with my hands and have a great love for color and texture but had never found a way to express or explore that. I started searching in earnest and stumbled across an intriguing tutorial about felting. One small project later and I was hooked.
Felting is an ancient art which transforms wool and other natural materials into dense fabric by bonding and shrinking the fibers together. This can be done using needles or soap and water. I primarily work with the wet felting technique. Watching the change occur and figuring out how various materials will work together brings me so much joy! Coastal and water scenes are among my favorites; they provide a perfect opportunity to experiment with the variety of textures and gorgeous colors in which wool is available.