Needle Felted Bowhead Whale

This is an original needle felted bowhead whale. The whale is sculpted entirely of wool, and has been attached to wood base. Signed and dated on bottom of base by Erin Gardner. Curious about how this was made? Needle felting involves making repeated pokes into unspun wool fiber using a special barbed needle. When the needle goes into the wool, the microscopic scales on the fibers catch on the barbs and the fiber becomes tangled and matted together, forming felt. The more pokes you make in one area, the more felted that section becomes. Additional pieces of wool and layers of color are added to build form and depth. Small pieces like the fins on this whale are felted separately first and then attached to the body using the same process. Measures 8.25" long, 6.6" high, 3.5" deep.