Fee:  $300

Includes all supplies and material 

Non-refundable fee after July 12, 2026

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Class Size:  Minimum 5 – Maximum 15

If the class is full you can email:  lindamarymasten@gmail.com to be put on the waiting list.

 

Workshop Description:

 Learn the delightful art of sculptural needle felting by making a life-size, realistic Back-capped Chickadee or Tufted Titmouse.  Needle felting is a marvelous blend of sculpture, applique, embroidery and painting in which you poke wool fleece with specialized felting needle to shape the wool or attach it to another surface.  Using a variety of simple techniques and tools, one can create sculptures, “paintings” or embellishments and decorations on garments, textiles, even upholstery.

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In this class, you will be provided with instruction and all tools and material needed to create and most likely finish a small, life-like Chickadee or Titmouse sculpture.

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You will learn:

• How to select and use reference photos

• A bit about bird anatomy

• How to create a simple wire armature

• How to shape wool fleece around the armature into a simple three-dimensional body

• How to use a felting needle to refine a simple shape into more accurate proportions

• How to make wings and a tail and attach them to the body

• How to add color and fine detail using applique techniques

• How to make eyes, beaks and feet for a most realistic effect

• Beyond the needle – Extracurricular tips on using pigment markers, sewing, acrylic glue and beeswax for added detail realism.

 

Biography:

Susan studied fine art, illustration, graphic design and printmaking at The Art Institute of Boston and Hampshire College and worked in many mediums, both two and three-dimensional.  She discovered needle felting in 2012 after trying to figure out how to use an enormous amount of hand-dyed wool fleece she was given.  She fell in love with the simplicity and endless possibility of this unique medium, which combines aspects of fiber arts, sculpture, and painting.  It’s clean, quiet, low tech, and requires nothing but a felting needle and some wool to get started.

 

She enjoys felting many animals but specializes in making lifelike, life-size birds.  In 2019 Viking Cruise Lines commissioned her to make 100 birds for their Ocean Expedition ships to teach guests how to identify species they’d see traveling from Antartica to the Arctic – altogether 49 species of birds ranging from the tiny Snow Bunting to the Wandering Albatross with an 11’ wingspan.  She is currently working on a commission to make one each of the 18 penguin species in the world.  For more about her work visit www.flightofheart.com.