I continued my studio tour the other day by visiting my friend Leah Adams, a neighbor, fellow parent, and felter. Leah has her studio at Ballard Works, a building near the Ballard Locks that houses 19 artist studios and also Sev Shoon Arts Center. Leah originally rented a small studio with a tiny glass block window. She recently moved into a much bigger, light-filled studio with a whole wall of windows. Leah shares the space to make it more affordable and was very lucky to find a studio-mate who works in felt and is a good match. It’s so important when sharing space to find someone who has similar studio habits. I’m sure we all had those roommates in college who left their dishes in the sink.

Leah makes wall hangings, small sculptures, and beautiful nuno felted clothing. She’s also been experimenting with making faux “sheep skins,” felting raw wool to make fuzzy skins that leave the sheep very much alive. But much of her time is taken with the bread and butter of her work: felting kits and felted rocks which she sells in shops and at craft fairs. It’s challenging to transition from her production work to the experimental projects that she finds more creatively fulfilling. We talked about being open to process, not getting frustrated by the time it takes to develop new work, and the bias in the “art” world against people who have to make their living with their “craft.”

Even though felting lends itself to sculpture, wool seems like such a foreign medium to me. I just have no desire to work with it. But I appreciate it’s unique charms. While Leah and I talked she was busy turning shanks of raw wool into fluffy puff balls. These are only the first layer of a piece which will be less than a quarter of its original size.

I bought one of Leah’s scarves at our school auction last year. I love wearing it and always get compliments on it. It’s actually the only scarf I wear that I didn’t make.

nuno felted vest

small sculpture

big windows, high ceilings and space