Helen Farnham is an artist living in the Boothbay Region. She has recently been focused on needle felting, delighting in the art form’s vibrancy.
“The colors of wool are so bright and beautiful that I immediately fell in love with this medium,” she says.
A somewhat uncommon art form, needle felting involves using barbed needles to mesh wool fibers together. As we see with Spring (shown here), the results can be spectacular.
Spring is the third piece Helen has made in what eventually will be a series representing the four seasons. She began working on Spring just before the coronavirus pandemic made its way to Maine; carrying on with the piece during COVID-19 days became something of a salve for the artist.
“When I started Spring, I had no idea of the turbulent times ahead. This piece allowed me to find peace, working on it a kind of meditation as I intuitively added everything that appears—the love between a woman and her dog; the flowers and their world of color. My mind became filled with springtime thoughts—a wonderful escape.”
Helen finds these days that needle felting allows her to more freely express herself than other media she frequently uses, including oil paints and watercolors.
And what could be better than finding joy and creating beauty using a method that you love?
Helen Farnham‘s work is scheduled to be on display at The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in July. You can see more of her work at Helen Farnham Designs.
