~ Sunday Featured Artist ~

I'm so pleased to introduce you to Andrea Knott Brewer. She is an amazing Fiber Artist I so happily stumbled upon during my quest to find bear items to feature in my blog!

I fell in love with her incredible fiber art and thought it would be fun to find out more about her and what inspired her to create these wonderful pieces.

Here is her Artist Statement in her own words, and some beautiful examples of her work. I hope you enjoy!

"Mermaid Meditation"
Needlefelted Panel - 12" x 16" Image

"I make needle felted naturescapes. I use a small, barbed needle and a felt canvas to “paint” scenes with wool fiber. "

"My journey into fiber began with watercolor painting. From junior high through my years of graduate study, I was a student in the visual arts, benefiting from formal instruction in color, technique and form. In my thirties, my paints gave way to exploration in three dimensional soft sculpture. I soon learned the felting needle allowed for greater artistic freedom than my sewing needle. The felted fibers became my clay, and as such, a very amenable vehicle for transIating my inner vision to the tangible."

" Wandering"
Needlefelted Panel 10"x 23" Image

"Recently, my work evolved from two dimensions to three, as my love of watercolor painting found new expression through needle felting. Using the felting needle as my “brush” and felted wool as my “canvas,” again I paint, only this time with fiber.""Sunset at the Shore"
Needlefelted Panel 8" x 10" Image

"Currently, I seek to translate some of my past watercolor work into scenes of fiber. I am now felting with a variety of fibers in addition to wool as a means of exploring new colors and textures. The repetitive nature of needle felting frees my imagination and allows for many fortunate accidents that serve to make painting with fiber a deeply rewarding experience. "

"Purple Mountain Bear"
Needlefelted Purse 4" x 5"

"Additionally, my interest in black bears comes from my home in the beautiful Smoky Mountains of North Carolina---black bears are some of our most treasured forest friends."

Thank you Andrea for taking the time to tell us a little more about you!

*You can find more of Andrea's work at her Etsy Shop, Andrea's Fibers http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5941297

*Her website http://www.HazelTreeFibers.com/

Andrea's work has appeared in numerous publications and is held in private collections around the world. Most of her naturescapes are created in beautiful panels or purses! I share her love of bears, so my favorite piece is the Purple Mountain Bear Purse! Do you have a favorite?