Banner Sponsors
For artists and collectors sponsored by Intercal...your mohair supplier and Johnna's Mohair Store
I don't know about you, but why do some artist say not needle felted but..... Is needle felting so bad when it is part or all of a creation? I think that it is wonderful. The detailing you can get with it is awesome. This is my take on it. Would love to hear what others think.
PijangibearsI think needlefelted is an artform - just like clay. You form the critter with the wool, no pattern at all.
You are right, the detailing is fantastic.
PennsylvaniaThe only people who say needle felting is not an art form are the people who are jealous because they can't do it.
Right Bobbie? 
Well I have just started adding needlefelted detailing to my work...faces, paw pads ...etc. I have to fess up and say that I was very much inspired by seeing other artists adding it to their work, particularly Joanne's Desert Mountain Bears blog , she is so inspirational.... and I just never thought it could work for my bears given their ' hairiness' but I was fascinated enough I try about 9 months ago and quite honestly it's opened up the world for me. It only does it allow me to control the the shape of the emerging face slowly and methodically, it enables me to shade using the fibres and paints, add extra pile, create features which scissoring or needle sculpted won't allow...so I think it's like having another tool in my box of tricks.
Standing alone I am not yet confident enough with it but as an addition I just love it and it's like anything...if you utilise it artistically it's art...some people can make art out of stacking the dishes!
I don't like decreeing that this is art and that isn't because creativity comes from within and who can say what defines art.
GermanyNeedle felts-I love it!
Modelling without pattern, only from the image.
I work on my small friends very intensely. It often pass more than 10 hours. I think, there is already to be a kind of art his thoughts shape.
desertmountainbearThank you Jenny.
I have noticed, and I know that I commented about this on a blog post, that I have seen it written "Needle sculpted not needle felted" I do not want to step on toes here, so I will walk carefully, this to me has made me feel like it was a put down to needle felting, and made me feel bad. It may not have been their intentions, just the way I perceived it.
When I create a bear's face I use both techniques. I sculpt with the needle before and after the felting. I just can not do with a pattern what others can do I guess, so the felting allows me to make cheeks and eye sockets.
I have seen some outstanding creations made solely with wool and a felting needle. It is an art.
Creative Design Studio (RKR4CDS)Gosh, whenever I've come across a sentence like 'Needle sculpted, not needle felted.' it never occurred to me that it was a put-down of needle felting.
Rather, I thought that it was a warning of what not to expect; that this item was not created from fiber but merely fabric which had been drawn into place with needle and thread.
In a way it was a back-handed compliment to needle felting; that this work was not of the same medium but 'merely' needle sculpted.
I totally agree that NFing is much more freeing than working in fabric. Coming from a miniaturist's aspect, where one doesn't have the luxury of space like those who create standard-sized designs, but have almost no wiggle-room to create curves and intricate movements and changes in direction when cutting out the cloth (the seaming alone would create nightmares in turning/being in the way inside/not really achieving the desired effect) one can build and take away continuously until exactly the right design is achieved. This is impossible to do in fabric.
Whether working completely in fiber or a combination of fabric and fiber, I think that those who have tried needle felting and added this to their arsenal of toolswill probably never go back! Thx, R!
The Littlest ThistleI was kind of with Bobbie on this, I thought it was a 'you're not going to get some fabulous needlefelting here if that was what you were expecting' Maybe the sellers had had problems with complaints before?
Anywho, it's a wonderful medium, if only I weren't allergic to it 
Creative Design Studio (RKR4CDS)If anything, I think that the problem might lie in
'you're not going to get some xxxxxxxx (poor excuse for) needlefelting here if that was what you were expecting' (you were expecting something better from the description!)
When it comes down to it, (and I'm going out on a limb here all by myself in my own personal opinion here...feel free to choose your own branch or stay out of this forest completely if you don't want to go there!!) there are some pretty fabulous images of needle felting being shown and some pretty classy descriptions to accompany them.
But in person the work just doesn't measure up - and this is in a whole different category from sewn, fabric design. I mean literally so soft that they're falling apart.....
It's only in my dozen years of working with just about every breed of fiber available and knowing their individual characteristics, as well as having had countless students settled around me working that I can make the following statements. I've either made and figured out in advance how to correct almost every problem one can encounter or watched as a student ignores my advice, stumbles and we've worked backwards to figure out what went wrong and how to 'fix' it (You have that leeway in NFing!!)
The images of items for sale don't always match the product. The person who was differentiating may have had a bad experience and, realizing that the item in the picture(s) - may - have been perceived as having been NFed, wanted to make that perfectly clear - - up front - - so there would be no misunderstandings.
There is some lovely work being done that is absolutely unhandle-able. Does that mean that it's unworthy of being sold? Absolutely not. It's just not to be described as something near - firmly felted, or the more term accurate term - firmly needled. Everyone has a difference of opinion on what's 'firm'.
If it's still fuzzy, that could be either lack of time spent needling and bonding the fibers together - - or the type of breed it is and either intended by the artist to have been left fuzzy or not on the surface due to not knowing how to tame the fuzzies.
But almost every breed can be controlled through the proper application of fibers and the length of time spent needling. The person who wrote the clip might have had or heard of a piece like I have in my collection: it had begun to fall apart even in the shipping to me. Some of the pieces had been thrust though with the needle less that a dozen times (Actually just 3 or 4 because you could see them due to fiber color changes) and were barely clinging to the main body of work. If I had received a piece like that, or my good customer had and I was sending her one of my pieces, I, too, would want to let them know that this new work DEFINITELY was NOT of that level of quality, whether it had been NFed or needle sculpted!
So, there are many different degrees of NFing, from the very soft to very firm. I've always likened them to figuring out what the project will be used for (first the project, then which fiber best suits that project, then the particular needles which work that fiber) If your piece is one which will be out on display seasonally for a few weeks and put into storage until next year, you may not want or need to spend 2 months on it. Then a more softly needled piece will suffice. A piece to be worn as clothing (pendant/corsage) or in your hair will receive a lot of abrasion and should be needled to almost rock hard firmness, especially on the back.
Somewhere in between will be a teddy bear; as it too will be handled, I'd err on the side of more firmness. That also helps repel dust and stuff picked up from fingers, just like all teddies.
Somewhere in another thread I'd posted about the squeeze test for firmness. Sorry to've hijacked this one - I'm a little passionate about this!!!
Joanne your work is out standing. I speak for myself and I am sure there are others that will agree.I can say that as I have bears you have created. But I know what you are saying as I was thinking the same thing so maybe I was taking it the wrong way as well.
Jenny I too have used NFing on my bears as well.
Bobbie I love to hear what you say as you have been NFing for years. Thanks for all your input. There is so awesome work out there.
desertmountainbearJoanne your work is out standing. I speak for myself and I am sure there are others that will agree.I can say that as I have bears you have created. But I know what you are saying as I was thinking the same thing so maybe I was taking it the wrong way as well.
Jenny I too have used NFing on my bears as well.
Bobbie I love to hear what you say as you have been NFing for years. Thanks for all your input. There is so awesome work out there.
We were not the only two then Linda, and I am pretty sure we are not wrong. After my I am proud to be a needle felter post on my blog, a very respected bear maker/felter emailed me and told me that she was also had felt a bit bad after reading things like that. I am not pointing my finger at any one person. I have seen this written by a few artists. Just goes to show that when on the web, one must be careful about the way things are worded.
Please don"t take this the wrong way as I love NFing. I just did not understand why in some listing they would say it. I just NFed a mouse and now my sister inlaw is learning. She just made a bunny for her grand daughter. I am helping my mom do a dog that she use to have.
I am sorry if I hurt any ones feelings as that was not my intention.
Creative Design Studio (RKR4CDS)Lynn, no misunderstandings here!! I LOVE opening the mail these days and seeing several posts from TT, alerting me that there are new posts from members waiting to be read. Most of these topics have been thrown out there by Becky (TY!), though our almost reclusive (no, just one of the the busiest fellas here—Kelly) posted one of his own yesterday.
We all seem to be staying inside here in the Northern Hemisphere, whether it's due to heat or rain and many of us are back on board this train!
TC Folk OriginalsI think NFing is a beautiful art, and like any other art form, there are those that are very good and those that are not, but the medium should not be judged by any one artist. I have needle felted whole bears and I have used it to create specific looks on a bear's face and paws. If I see the term "Needle sculpted not needle felted", I understand that to be simply a clarification. And from Joanne, I have learned to use the fur strands plucked from the fabric to add back into the face for a nice blended look to the piece. I've also used this when I've been a little heavy handed in plucking or scissor sculpting to fix a problem! It may or may not be for everyone, but I think it is here to stay! 
Carlyle Bear Co.
I really hesitate to chime in because it seems such a sensitive subject? Not really sure why since beauty is always in the eye of the beholder... not sure I quoted that correctly either but surely you get the point that some art forms aren't everyone's cup of tea? I wonder if whoever uses the term "not needlefelted/sculpted" in their description (and I have never seen this myself) states this due to durability issues. Maybe to some, it would seem that needlefelting would not hold up over the years? I'm not saying this is MY opinion so please don't hate on me. I think needlefelting is lovely and I have use it on bears pawpads in the past. Maybe the artist has tried needlefelting and had complaints and would like the buyers to realize there isn't any on a particular bear?
I think it's probably a clarification issue rather than one of saying that one technique is better than the other. It's easy for the initiated to confuse needle sculpting with scissor sculpting and with needle felting.
I read a piece in an article where they inferred that needle sculpting was only necessary when you were 'nt too good at designing a pattern. I think it's impossible to make a pattern do certain things. I like to create an indentation for the mouth to create a sweet look.. So there is no way I could make that indentation without running a thread backwards and forward from the eye socket before I insert the eye. I am sure it could be done with clever pattern cutting but why when a couple of stitches creates the same effect. Why make work?
I say each thing I learn makes me more at ease and confident making bears because I know I can do what I need to do to achieve the result I am after.
I think making a teddy bear is a bit like engineering...it is a problem solving exercise and I think the more techniques we can utilise the better the outcome.
I think it's probably a clarification issue rather than one of saying that one technique is better than the other. It's easy for the initiated to confuse needle sculpting with scissor sculpting and with needle felting.
I read a piece in an article where they inferred that needle sculpting was only necessary when you were 'nt too good at designing a pattern. I think it's impossible to make a pattern do certain things. I like to create an indentation for the mouth to create a sweet look.. So there is no way I could make that indentation without running a thread backwards and forward from the eye socket before I insert the eye. I am sure it could be done with clever pattern cutting but why when a couple of stitches creates the same effect. Why make work?
I say each thing I learn makes me more at ease and confident making bears because I know I can do what I need to do to achieve the result I am after.
I think making a teddy bear is a bit like engineering...it is a problem solving exercise and I think the more techniques we can utilise the better the outcome.
I don't think it is a case of not being a good designer. It is all part of the process of the creation you are making.
I agree Jenny with "I say each thing I learn makes me more at ease and confident making bears because I know I can do what I need to do to achieve the result I am after.
I think making a teddy bear is a bit like engineering...it is a problem solving exercise and I think the more techniques we can utilise the better the outcome".
