Interview with Needle Felting Artist Felted Flying Fox
Interview Conducted by Aesthel
As many conventions are currently being cancelled or postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, artists and small businesses are some of those who are being most effected right now. Us here at Cosplay Realm want to do our part in supporting these artists, so today we are interviewing needle felting artist, Felted Flying Fox!
CRM: Hello Erin! Thanks for taking the time to chat with us! Can you please introduce yourself to the Cosplay Realm readers?
FeltedFlyingFox: Hi! I am a needle felting artist that runs Felted Flying Fox. Basically, I use a barbed needle to turn wool into sculptures!
CRM: Your needle felted crafts are so cool, and so detailed too! How did you first start learning how to make these crafts?
FeltedFlyingFox: Thank you! I started in the spring of my junior year of high school… almost 6 years ago now! My art teacher brought in a felter to teach us. I was there for the days we did wet felting and 2D felting, but was absent for the class on 3D felting. I really wanted to learn so my friend was kind enough to show me. Ever since then I couldn’t stop felting!
CRM: You studied biology at the University of Washington. Can you tell us about how your background in science and biology influences your art?
FeltedFlyingFox: My background in biology inspires me to make animals and take extra care in representing each species’ anatomy. I also love skulls and use my background in biology to imagine what Pokemon skulls might look like. For example, I made an Eevee skull and pulled inspiration from cat, fox, and dog skulls! Boston terrier skulls were particularly useful in figuring out how to represent the skull of an animal with a flat face.
CRM: You’ve made so many cute animal sculptures from pets to leopards to bees and more. What have been some of the most interesting animal sculptures for you to work on?
FeltedFlyingFox: My peacock is by far the most interesting animal I’ve worked on! They have so many different colors and patterns in their feathers. It’s a big challenge! I even collected real peacock tail feathers from a wildlife park to add to it. I started it four years ago and just haven't gotten around to finishing it. It’s going to be such a large and delicate piece that I’m not sure what I’ll do with it.
CRM: In addition to real animals, you also make fictional creatures like Pokemon! How do these creatures differ from real ones in your art form?
FeltedFlyingFox: Fictional creatures are refreshing to work on because they have much more simple shapes than real animals. I can really get in all of the details on fictional creatures whereas real animals always are simplified in some way. I also really enjoy the feeling of bringing something fictional into the real world through sculpture.
CRM: Besides your animal sculptures, you also do a lot of LGBT pride items! What does it mean for you to create this kind of representation through your art?
FeltedFlyingFox: I’ve been a fan of LGBT flags for a long time because they’re all so colorful and hold so much meaning to their respective group. I started making bottle charms with pride flags in them because I thought it would be fun! I started out with 20 thinking I would be lucky if they got any attention, but then there was a huge response from the community! I realized that I was offering them representation and visibility which gave purpose in making LGBT items. I realize that with this, I have responsibility. For example, there was a lot of turmoil over what lesbian flag should be used because the original creator of the lipstick lesbian flag was not very inclusive… to put it lightly. I had to make a decision on if I should keep using that flag or switch over to one of the many new ones. I had multiple requests from the lesbian community to do something about this. I ended up discussing this with my friends in the lesbian community and ended up keeping the old flag but also offering two of the popular flags at the time. I made this decision because I felt that it really wasn’t my place to make a statement in a community I wasn’t a part of, while still allowing people to have options.
I might be biased because I'm a demigirl and fall on the aroace spectrum, but I take a lot of joy in giving people from smaller LGBT communities representation by making their flags.
CRM: Your art is not exclusive to felted sculptures, you also do enamel pins, drawings, stickers, and jewelry. How do these mediums differ from your main medium?
FeltedFlyingFox: I view needle felting as my main medium. I love doing it and it takes up most of my time! I see my other media as occasional fun projects to do in moderation— though the bottle charms really blew up! Hahaha.
CRM: Speaking of your enamel pins, you hosted a Kickstarter to bring your Forest Animal Enamel Pins to life! What can you tell us about the process behind running a Kickstarter?
FeltedFlyingFox: Absolutely! Starting with the pin designs, I took pieces of art that I made in the past and tweaked them to fit together aesthetically. My friend, Jay, was a huge help in making the design for the banner and card backs for the pins! You can find their work on various social media under @magpiemunchie. The banner was really helpful in making my Kickstarter look professional. I had to do a lot of research looking at other pin artists' Kickstarters to get a feel for how to set mine up. I also tried to create some hype around the Kickstarter by advertising the number of days left and asking my followers to vote for stretch goal designs. My friends and family were big contributors and I wouldn't have been able to make the four pin designs I have without them!
CRM: You are one of the many artists that has felt the effects of convention cancellations due to the COVID-19 outbreak. What are some ways that Cosplay Realm readers can support you and fellow artists and creators like you?
FeltedFlyingFox: There are lots of ways to give support! Buying from artists online is a big one, but also just sharing our art is a big help! I recently got a big commission because someone shared my art with their friend. Patreon and Ko-Fi are also great ways to support us financially!
CRM: Thanks again for answering our questions! Is there anything else that you would like to say?
FeltedFlyingFox: Thank you so much for this opportunity! I hope that these interviews will help many artists.
See more from Felted Flying Fox by following their social media!
Website: https://esnakamura151.wixsite.com/feltedflyingfox
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/feltedflyingfox/
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/feltedflyingfox
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/feltedflyingfox/
If you would like to apply to have your work included as a future artist feature, please email us at CRM.artists@gmail.com
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