When Art Meets Chickens 19: The Craft Edition 2

I’m neither artistic or particularly crafty, but I can appreciate those who make things with their hands from ideas in their heads. This installment features a wide range of crafters representing Canada, Wales, England, Indonesia and the USA.

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Susan Hudson

I have lived and taught in B.C, Taiwan, and Quebec. My teaching specialties are Early Childhood Education and Music. I have created with fibre since I was a young child. I moved to Gabriola Island in 2018 and have been happily expanding my fibre knowledge in spinning, dyeing, knitting and felting. 

When I was growing up on the small farm my mother ran, it was my job to collect the eggs and shut the chickens in every night.

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Caroline Storer

I live on the gorgeous island of Anglesey, which lies off the North Wales coast. It’s mainly rural, and farming is the dominant activity. In summer the island is a tourist attraction as we have many beaches.

I collect sea glass and pottery, that originated from the ships and boats sailing to the port of Liverpool from across the Atlantic and gets washed up on the shoreline. In olden days broken pottery and glass would have been thrown overboard. Over time – sometimes hundreds of years – the sea glass and pottery becomes smooth and frosted which makes it ideal to make artwork from.

I make a variety pieces, including my very popular chickens made from brown sea glass.  A lot of my clients are farmers and their families. We also have a lot of smallholdings on the island where chickens are mainly kept as pets. I’ve been asked to make a few chicken portraits.

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Bruce Dobson

I’ve been a UK-based professional artist for many years, specializing in seascapes and animal portraits painted in acrylics. Five years ago, I turned to needle felting. I had always wanted to try sculpting and wool is an ideal medium to create animal and bird sculptures. 

I’ve made many breeds of dogs, cats and birds as well as alpacas, goats and other farm animals. Working entirely on commissions now, I make 6” replicas from my client’s photos to capture all distinguishing features and markings. The figures are built on wire armatures so their bodies and legs are flexible allowing them to be posed as desired.

Chicken are a challenge because they are very colourful, but have been enjoyable to make and popular with my customers.

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Aldi Saputra

I’m a self taught artist from West Java, Indonesia. I’m an animal lover and inspired to replicate animals in my work: carved wood, bone and shell, as well as wire coil and semiprecious stones like agate and labradorite.

My first chicken pendants were custom made orders and after I shared them many other people liked them.

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Seleta Nothnagel

I work nights in the Clinical Pathology Department at the Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH) as a Medical Laboratory Scientist (MLS). 

It took me 11 months to make my first ever quilt. It’s not perfect, but it’s mine. This 27″ x 30″ panel called ‘Blue’ was made as a way to help me process her death. I didn’t write a eulogy for Blue because I never felt like any number of words would encompass all that she was to me. Somehow though, I feel that the completion of this project speaks of how loved and special she was, not just to me, but the world! You can read her story here.

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Thanks for everyone who shared their work and photos, used with permission. Featured photo: Quilt by Ayn Dahlke Taylor

If you have some form of chicken art or craft you’d like to share, drop me a line using the ‘contact’ button on my homepage.