Wooly Wildlife

WELCOME TO WOOLY WILDLIFE

Welcome! My name is Sarah Mitchell and I am the creator of Wooly Wildlife. All the sculptures shown on this site are one of a kind and created by me through a process called needle felting.

I strive to bring the beauty and diversity of the natural world to my art through a process called needle felting. Needle felting is done by taking a small, barbed needle and poking it repeatedly into wool to slowly form and build up a sculpture. Working with fiber allows me to create a very realistic finish, which brings these animals to life.

Each sculpture is started by creating a wire frame, which gives my sculptures support and allows them to be posed in diverse ways. Fiber is unique in that it allows the wire underneath to move even when the sculpture is complete. I continue to blend, layer, and form the fibers layer upon layer until they build up to the finished sculpture.

My work is strongly influenced by the natural world. I often watch how animals sit and move so I can incorporate that feeling and movement into my sculptures. This attention to details allows my finished pieces to convey that sense of life and look like they could take off from their wood mounts at any time. My goal is to not only capture their images, but their mannerisms as well. It is this feeling of movement that makes my sculptures feel so lifelike.

 While I am especially drawn to woodland animals and birds, I have also created custom sculptures of pets, flowers, and whimsical creatures. Each new subject brings its own joy and challenge.  Please peruse the site to see more of my recent works.  

My work is currently available at Art on the Square in Summerville, SC, the Charleston Fine Craft Gallery in Charleston, SC, on my website WoolyWildlife.com, and at https://www.etsy.com/shop/AWoolyWildlife. 

You can follow my work on Instagram @Wooly_Wildlife, on Facebook @Wooly Wildlife, and on YouTube @Wooly Wildlife.