Elli Sarri-Neate: The Greek-born artist creating Yorkshire scenes from her home in Wensleydale

Now she creates life-like sculptures of the animals she sees on walks with her dogs and landscapes of her adopted Yorkshire countryside – all using felting techniques.

“I did a degree in graphic design in Athens where I grew up and then gained scholarship to do a PhD in Environmental auditing and packaging in the UK where I met my husband. Around 18 years ago we settled in Yorkshire,” explains Elli.

“My passion for nature and environmental protection led me to undertake research about the environmental issues affecting the design process in particular about the life cycle of packaging and product design.

"Most importantly I changed the way I view the world and how choices we make affect our habitat. As a result, when I had three toddlers and the opportunity arose I moved to the countryside aiming to bring up my children to appreciate nature and respect our natural habitat.”

Since 2006 her home and studio have been in Aysgarth, a picturesque villages in the Yorkshire Dales National Park surrounded by wildlife.

“I particularly love the unique light and reflections that change constantly. I was inspired to paint and draw and I had a great pleasure doing it,” explains Elli

"I worked in different mediums from egg temperas, acrylics, soft pastel, colour pencils to oils but found using wool makes my work more special.”

Through her interests in textiles and sustainability she came across needle felted animals and in 2015 bought a kit and a few books and taught herself the ancient crafting technique with a special interest in creating three dimensional animals.

Inspired by the tactile nature of wool she experimented incorporating it in her artwork. She started making wet felted pictures but the results were not representative of her painting style. “In my effort to bring more depth, dimensions, clear definitions, and add more details to my work I practised producing needle (dry) felted pictures,” explains Elli.

“I experimented with different types of wool, felting needles, gauges, tools and textiles for pictures backing. I produced many samples and drafts, some better than others. Through experimentation I developed my own unique style of painting with wool.

"The techniques I created enabled me to produce my signature artwork of animals and nature. My pictures are full of colour, life and details that never fail to bring the subject to life and also give the feel of water colour. I start with a drawing and then transfer my design with a very soft 3B pencil.

"That was the start of making beautiful animals full of character. I posted pictures of my work on social media and I had enquiries to sell my work and also get asked to do commissions.

"I really enjoyed making and selling locally my needle felted creations. They have been very popular. Years later I still love making animals but now I am working to incorporate many more details.”

The biggest animal she has made is a hare which stands at more than half a metre. For the larger animals she makes a wire frame which she creates from the sketches and photographs she makes on her walks. She then painstakingly adds the felted wool and more detail to make her animals as life-like as possible.

"It is a very long process. An animal that is 55cms tall will probably take me in excess of 40 hours,” says Elli.

"I do wonder sometimes if people actually notice all the detail but it is important to me even though it take so much time.” Elli has many animals which she stores in her home studio.

She likes to use wool from local famers where possible and if she has to buy from a retailer she likes to ensure that the wool and the dyes used are sustainable and where possible natural.

“I find that commercially dyed wools just don’t get the natural colours I need for my animals and pictures, such as the different shade of brown,” she says.

She sells her creations at shows and event as well as in galleries and from her website https://bluemouseart.co.uk and as well as her three dimensional characters and landscapes she sells cards, prints, coaster and a 2024 calendar. Her website also includes felting kits so you can make your own models.

And she is also keen to pass on what she has learnt about this ancient form of art which has it origins as far back as Neolithic times when felting was used to make fabrics.

She holds regular workshops in a bid to keep the technique alove.

The next workshop is being held on Saturday December 9 when Elli will teach people how to use felting to create festive baubles. The half day event takes place at the Townsend Suite – The Station, Station Yard, Richmond and costs £35.

The on Saturday January 13 she is holding a Winter Landscape – Needle Felting Workshop where Ell will teach people the technique of needle felting to create a beautiful wool painting. She will show how to work with wool fibres, blending and achieving light and dark areas as well as finer tones and tints of colour.

She also sells vouchers which can be redeemed against the cost of a course.

History of felting

Felting has been around since the Neolithic period, and samples of felting date back to the Bronze and Iron Ages. Felted creations were used to keep people warm and dry during a time when knitting wasn’t yet invented.

Nomadic people in Central and East Asia still practice felt making, using the craft to create rugs, tents, and clothing both for themselves and for tourists, and Roman soldiers made breastplates, tunics, boots, and socks out of felt because it is a relatively speedy process that requires fewer tools than some other handwork techniques.

These days felting has come back into fashion in Great Britain, Scandinavia, and the United States, and more modern designs and techniques are always being invented to adapt to current felting trends.

Dried felting is the process of decorating fabrics with dry strands or sheets of roving or felt, often made of wool. A felting needle is used to press the roving fibers into the fibers of the base fabric and adhere the design to the fabric.

Elli Sarri-Neate will be showing and selling her at the Winter Wonderland Christmas Fair – The Garden Rooms Tennants, Harmby Road, Leyburn, DL8 5SG www.tennantsgardenrooms.com Friday November 24 & Saturday 25. She will also be at the Christmas Gift & Craft Fair, Simostone Hall Hotel, 12pm to 4pm Simostone Hall, DL8 3LY, Hawes Sunday December 3.

https://bluemouseart.co.uk