Custom Sculptures Feature Your Animal's Own Fur

Custom Sculptures Feature Your Animal's Own Fur 30-3-8 The next best thing to having a live animal around may be a "touchable" sculpture or portrait made from that animal's own fiber, say people who've bought "fiber art" from an unusual artist in Silver Lake, Wis. Sandra Nowicki lives on a farm with her own menagerie of animals and used fleece off her own sheep to make her first sculptures. She has worked with a variety of fiber or hair, including horse, sheep, goat, dog, Angora rabbit, llama and even camel. Clients can send photos of their pets, along with actual wool or hair clippings from that animal. Nowicki turns some of the hair or fur into felt and uses the rest "as is". For the sculptures, she uses smooth fence wire to form the animal's frame and then inserts fiberfill stuffing. For most sculptures, she then molds their faces and legs from clay. The animal's own fiber is used to "clothe" it, retaining the same texture and color as the animal it represents. Nowicki sews all the pieces together, but says the stitches disappear within the fiber. Another of Nowicki's hand-made visual arts items is the felt basket. She uses sheeps' wool (either natural colors or dyed) to make the felt, and then forms it into a basket shape by using heat, pressure and a vinyl ball. Nowicki fills custom orders for wool sculptures, wall hangings and felt baskets within six weeks. They're available in various sizes from 6 to 24 in. tall, and prices for most sculptures range from $45 to $175 plus S&H. All pieces are signed by the artist. She also teaches classes in drawing, collage, sculpture and the ancient art of felt making. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Pegasus Studios, Sandra Nowicki, Box 1326, Silver Lake, Wis. 53170 (ph 262 889-4802; sannowicki@aol.com; www.pegasuspet portraits.com).

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