Graham the Needle Felted Bear

This is Graham. He is a circus bear. Oh no- he doesn't WORK at the circus, he just likes to go to the circus. And he especially loves when he can get a BIG cotton candy! He is a happy bear, see his heart is full of love.

He is made by a process called "needle felting"  - this is where you take raw wool that has been carded so the fibres align, but not yet spun into yarn strands. You shape the raw wool, or roving, and then with a barbed needle you continuously poke the object until the wool fibres are locked, or felted, together. This makes a compact piece that we can use to 'sculpt' shapes. By using a wire armature inside the piece they can stand on their own and often be posed to add more live to the piece.