Wendo Van Essen
stop no. 4
As Wendo travelled her career in animation, she gleaned an acute awareness of the tactile nature of textiles. She took many classes in embroidery, pottery, batik, bead stringing and making and finally in Berlin found the art of felt making. In 2002 Wendo made the decision to focus less on her animation career and more on her fibre art path.
“I had an amazing job in animation: I worked on Traditional Feature Animated Films where I was one of the illustrators.”
Once the computer took over this task, Wendo felt the need to keep working with her hands and Needle Felting became her passion. She loves creating whimsical sculptures in wool, the wackier the better. Wendo says that her animation background has been a huge influence on her felted work.
“I want everyone to be as obsessed with Needle Felting as I am! “
Crown and Pumpkin 