WHEN YOU THINK OF
wool felting, you probably
envision fuzzy woodland creatures
or little teddy bears made
from craft store kits. While these projects are
cute, Dani Ives has elevated felting from a craft
store project to a true work of art. Her colorful,
intricate, and life-like pieces capture the beauty
of nature as she paints with wool on a canvas of
felt, linen, velvet, or burlap.
Like many artist entrepreneurs, her business
22 | YOUR HOME MAGAZINE
started as a hobby. “I was working at as a children’s
educator at a zoo and a coworker mentioned
felted animal figurines. It caught my
attention and sounded like something I would really
enjoy so I ordered some supplies and taught
myself to felt. I then discovered a more artistic
way to use the medium and began experimenting
with ways to refine the art and create ‘paintings’
with the wool instead of figurines. This new way
of working with fiber has allowed me as an artist
to break felting away from the craft world,” says
MAKER PROFILE
DANI IVES | FIBER ARTIST
Ives. While Ives had no formal artistic training,
she has always gravitated toward art. From sewing
to pottery, she was attracted to things that
were more tactile and hands-on. “I did dabble
in sketching a little and I’ve always loved art,
but I think my science background has helped
me most. Through science, and my work with
animals, I was really able to hone my observation
skills which is so important to have as an artist.”
In 2015, after spending her time at craft fairs
testing out her theory that this could be a vi