orning! Kettle’s on. What do you fancy?
strong Yorkshire Tea to help wake me up and
ake sure my two sons are out of the house on
me for school. Next it’s time to take my dog
ank for his walk. Then it’s more Yorkshire Tea,
th cereal, for breakfast.
ll us a little bit about your work.
eedle-felt sculptures, mostly dog portraits and
x sculptures. Needle felting is the process of
ting or entangling wool roving using barbed
edles. The fibres of the wool are agitated until
ey lock together in a tight bond. For dog
rtraits, I work with photos and discuss poses
th the owners. Each takes two to three days.
nd we notice you have some furry company?
ank is my constant companion and muse. He
akes sure I take tea breaks from felting
roughout the day. I have a continuous supply of
uit tea throughout the morning – my favouriteis Hebden Tea’s Elderberry & Peach fruit
infusion – pausing work to make tea helps me
from stiffening with the monotonous action of
stabbing the wool continuously.
What do you like to do on a break?
Taking a break with a cuppa usually involves
collecting photos of foxes and other animals on
Pinterest that I’d love to felt in the future. I also
check Instagram and Facebook to catch up with
what the artists and makers I follow are up to.
I’ve made maker friends online from all around
the world – the needle felting community is
especially supportive.
When do you down tools for the day?
Felting begins again after dinner and the second
dog walk of the day and continues until the early
hours. I like to work late during the week to free
my weekends for family and friends. The day is
rounded off with an evening camomile tea.WE ASKED NEEDLE FELT SCULPTOR MIKAELA
ARTLETT TO TELL US ABOUT HER DAY IN CUPPAS
y
ups
Mo
A s
ma
tim
Fra
wi
Te l
I n
fox
felt
nee
the
po
wi
An
Fra
ma
thr
fruB
MIKAELA BARTLETT
is a needle felt sculptor who
lives in West Yorkshire. Her
foxes and dog portrait
sculptures can be found on
Facebook (search ‘Mikaela
Bartlett Felt’) and Instagram,
@mikaelabartlettfelt.
Her simple thing is waking up
to a wet dog nose.
2pm10am