Needle Felted Tarantula

This is how he started off.....just plain black wool over a pipe cleaner frame.

Then I added the coloured details and 8 plastic bead eyes. He's a gift for a friend.....not for sale.

Guitarist Jacket

Here's a jacket I made for a friend who's an excellent guitarist. This was the first time I have ever made a men's fitted jacket. The first one was a write off, so I purchased a BURDA pattern and made this one.

Here is the friend wearing the jacket

Is It Art?

I went to the auto wreckers with my boyfriend to get some parts, and I couldn't help notice all this interesting stuff on the ground. I knew I had to take this stuff home and do something with it. Here is the final piece that I have decided to call, "Driving In Toronto"

Froggies and Other Backyard Sights

One of the Green Frogs living in my Mom's backyard

Damselflies laying eggs in the fish pond

A lovely yellow Iris

Another Damselfly

Japanese Iris

My Mom's cat, Nubie

The Green Frog was sunning himself on the rocks for quite a while

Damselfly

Nubie

Another Green Frog

There are three living near the fish pond.

Sign in my Mom's garden

Needle Felted Dog I Made

This is the first time I've ever done a specific "pet portrait" type needle felting. The friend I made this one for has done me so many favours that I offered to make a miniature version of her dog who had passed away earlier this year. I only had a few photos for reference, but she was very happy with the result!

Finished Pig Skull

As you can see, the bones became lighter in colour after they dried.

I used an elastic band to hold the two halves of the mandible together. A LOT of connective tissue was lost through boiling, Many of the bones that seemed fused before boiling, came apart after.

Now it's glued back together as best as I could. The parts became VERY brittle and cracked easily as I was reassembling them. I think it's because the pig had been roasted THEN boiled. Next time, I'll use a pig's head that HASN'T been roasted first!

Back view

The finished skull.

Boiling a Pig's Head and Some of My Skull Collection

I was given a pig's head from a pig roast that I had attended with my boyfriend.

I removed the skin and as much soft tissue items I could with a knife and by hand.

Then I put the skull in a pot and boiled it for around 3 hours.

I didn't photograph the icky job of removing the sinuses, brain and other lovely things......but the bones fell apart while I was doing this. So, I'm going to wait until they're dry, then glue the parts back together.

Here are some other skulls I have acquired in the past. on top is a brown bear, which I purchased, but had to soak in liquid dish soap because it was greasy. Beneath that is the cow moose I was given many years ago, then below is a female deer and a Jackal! The jackal I bought from a shop that deals in such things. The tiny skull is my Striped Skunk "Bone Clones" replica skull. I ordered it from the Skulls Unlimited website.

Here's my male deer, complete with antlers.

Some people think I'm strange because I collect animal skulls, but I think they look beautiful, and I am an artist, so I learn more about form by studying their structure.