Work samples

  • Zero Hour(cast sheep)
    Zero Hour(cast sheep)

    Zero Hour (cast sheep) 2022. The form of a life size sheep is made with emergency blankets and needle felted with raw unprocessed sheep fleece. A cast sheep is in crisis when it is on its back because it is unable to right itself. Gases build up in its stomach and make it difficult to breathe. A herder must keep alert and have knowledge to correct this. Those unfamiliar with this dilemma may not recognize the crisis before it is too late. Haven't we all regretted not recognizing and responding to a crisis one time or another? It is part of being human. Approx. Size: 5'x 4' x 3' (life size)

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About Pamela

Baltimore City  

 

As an eco-artist, I am deeply invested in exploring human being and non-human beings' relationships to each other and to land. My work juxtaposes natural elements with human-made objects, creating sculptural objects and installations that portray the complex relationships within an environment that express both conflict and harmony.

A recent theme in my art focuses on freedom of movement, access to land, foraging, and… more

View Pamela's Resume
Jump to a project:

Wool as cultural and environmental symbol

The work in this project is a result from my artist residency in Armenia. 

  • Close up Shepards Hand.jpg
    Close up Shepards Hand.jpg

    Three dimensional needle felting, a fairly new technique compared to wet felting, began around the 1960's. The physicality of wool includes microscopic "cups" that can stick to one another. A needle is used to poke through layers of fibers and link them together. The additive process is much like clay modeling. Unlike wet felting, weaving or knitting the results can can emphasize the softness of unprocessed fleece.

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    • Reflections from Armenia, drawings

    The use of wool in my three dimensional work lead me to research transhumance and the geopolitics the Caucasus region. These drawings reflect my experiences and observations while in an artist residency in Armenia. Transhumance is the practice of nomadic herding which requires humans and animals to cross international borders. This subsistence livelihood that is practiced globally, is being disrupted due climatic, political or economic changes. Art and travel is an opportunity to explore ideas outside my usual cultural realm which provides depth and meaning to my work.

    • Ethnic Cleansing
      Ethnic Cleansing

      TK

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    • Felted drawings

    abstract drawings based on memory

    • Missions and crossstones_0.JPG
      Missions and crossstones_0.JPG

      TK

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    • Imagined Beings and Future Space

    Imagined Beings and Future Space. 2021
    In the future there will be no definitive boundaries between plant and animal or mineral forms, mass and light, artifice and organism. Felted wool over fig branches, needle felted wool figure with armature and wool needle felted stone/egg shape with synthetic fill. 
    Fig branches sizes inches: 56h x 24w x 20d, 32h x 28w x20d, 18h x 12d x 10w
    Stone/egg shape size inches: 12h x 12w x 15d
    Figure size inches: 36h x 4w x 2d
    • Imagined space.jpg
      Imagined space.jpg
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    • Zero Hour (cast sheep)

    Zero Hour (cast sheep) 2022. The form of a life size sheep is made with emergency blankets and needle felted with raw unprocessed sheep fleece. A cast sheep is in crisis when it is on its back because it is unable to right itself. Gases build up in its stomach and make it difficult to breathe. A herder must keep alert and have knowledge to correct this. Those unfamiliar with this dilemma may not recognize the crisis before it is too late. Haven't we all regretted not recognizing and responding to a crisis one time or another? It is part of being human.
    Approx. Size: 5'x 4' x 3' (life size)
    • Zero Hour(cast sheep)
      Zero Hour(cast sheep)

      Zero Hour (cast sheep) 2022. The form of a life size sheep is made with emergency blankets and needle felted with raw unprocessed sheep fleece. A cast sheep is in crisis when it is on its back because it is unable to right itself. Gases build up in its stomach and make it difficult to breathe. A herder must keep alert and have knowledge to correct this. Those unfamiliar with this dilemma may not recognize the crisis before it is too late. Haven't we all regretted not recognizing and responding to a crisis one time or another? It is part of being human. Approx. Size: 5'x 4' x 3' (life size)

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    • Unemployed Oracle

    Unemployed Oracle 2022. Seeking relevance in the 21st century for the Greek oracles. Intuitions, premonitions, and belief, have become irrelevant in a scientific-evidenced based society. Needle felted figure/armature, hair shirt and lead strip with stamped letters. 
    Figure: 30"h x 8"d x 8"w
    Lead strips: 10.5"w x 2"h
    • Unemployed Oracle full figure.jpg
      Unemployed Oracle full figure.jpg
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    • The Flaying of Marsyas Debacle

    The Flaying of Marsyas Debacle. 2020 The mythology around the Greek gods often includes brutality. The Flaying of Marsyas is an event where Marsyas challenges the god Apollo to an artistic (musical instruments) competition. King Midas witnesses the competition and claims Marsyas won. Apollo gives Midas donkey ears for being foolish. Apollo declares himself the winner and chooses his prize - that of flaying Marsyas alive. I would like to imagine a better outcome for the story. What if , the mythological characters are now showing their age, perhaps Apollo is forgetful and has to go searching for his knife. It takes so long that Midas helps Marsyas get away. Returning the favor, Marsyas helps Midas remove his ears. Let's hope artistic competitions no longer have this winner take all outcomes.
    Donkey ears: Needle felted raw wool on synthetic felt: 14" x 4" x 3"
    Marsyas and Midas: Ink on paper 10" x 10"
    • Midas's Donkey Ears.jpg
      Midas's Donkey Ears.jpg
      2020 Needle felted raw wool on synthetic felt. The donkey ears Apollo gave Midas. 14" x 4" x 3"
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    • Displaced Objects

    2020 - 2022 Objects found on walks in rural paths and city sidewalks. Replicated in needle felted wool. Perceptual deception/visual pun.
    The objects in this project are found objects with their needle felted wool copy adjacent to them. "life-size"
    • Two Ugly Rocks.jpg
      Two Ugly Rocks.jpg
      each rock approx.size h4" x d5' x 3"
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    • Aberrant Objects

     
    2021-2022  With my recent attraction to the wool felting process I have found combinations of everyday objects and this modest material brings surprisingly meaningful results. I see expressions of humor, irony, nostalgia, and psychological or spiritual moments. 

    • A head with an eye.jpg
      A head with an eye.jpg
      A Head. Needle felted wool on worn, thread bare soccer ball. h22" x d10" x w10"
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