Turkey Run Farm - K9 Athletes in Fiber Art
I have been a huge animal lover and last 10 years I have been actively training and competing with my Aussies at high and even National level in various dog sports like Herding, Agility, Obedience, Tracking, etc. My love of dogs and animals opened a new, creative door for me and soon I realized that I have a tremendous and unique talent to sculpt animals, especially K9s from wool, just by using a special felting needle(s).
I studied a dog’s anatomy and bone structure because my goal is to create a sculpture that does not look like a toy, but it looks so real that it “confuses” people and of course, brings smiles and tears in their eyes at the same time. Every new project is very special to me and I sculpt it with the same passion and love as I would sculpt any of my Aussies.
My perfectly hand-crafted sculptures are usually made from sheep wool (mostly Merino) and some Premium Fiber Fill to create a core.
It takes around 10 - 30+ hours to needle felt an animal sculpture, it depends if the sculpture is small, medium or large. Every project is created from scratch; without any pattern or wire armature. Needless to say, every sculpture is very unique in every way and one of a kind.
I always do my best to catch every possible detail I could see in the photos provided, 2D photos have to be mentally transformed into 3D thinking that can be tricky and challenging, especially when not enough photographs are submitted or their quality is pretty poor.
My medium and large sculptures have noses sculpted from craft clay then painted and glued to their heads. Small sculptures have noses needle felted. I give my animal projects glass eyes for that real look.
When I create a dog or cat sculpture, I like them to have a toy. I needle felt a small toy for every sculpture free of charge as I believe that every pet needs a toy. Sometimes I give my dog sculptures real or felted dog collars with tags to give them even more realistic look. Dog collars are free of charge.
All of my sculpted animals go to their new homes with a small needle felted rug that can be placed under the sculpture. I try to use my own, unprocessed wool for that. On the back side of the rug I felt letters “TRF” which stands for Turkey Run Farm and letters “’14” which is the year when the sculpture was created. The rug is needle felted and free of charge.
Every hand-crafted wool sculpture is a fine piece of art and please, keep in mind that it should be handled with care. The sculptures are not suitable for children to play with or use them as dog/cat toys.
If you want a sculpture to last indefinitely, I suggest, you place it in a glass or plastic display case (found in Hobby Lobby and other stores) or display cabinet away from direct sun.
There is one favor I always ask. Once you receive your new animal sculpture, take a few photos of it with your real pet and send it to be. I will greatly appreciate that.
Custom made pet sculpture price list (add $10 - $15 for shipping and handling):
1. Small sculpture (7” - 8” long): $185 (free small toy, collar & tag, rug)
2. Medium sculpture (8” – 10” long): $285 (free medium toy, collar & tag, rug)
3. Large sculpture (10” – 12” long): $385 (free large toy, collar & tag, rug)
Sincerely,
Adriana