Vanessa Sparrow is a fibre artist working mainly with wet-felting techniques. Starting with wool and other natural fibres, she combines these with water and soap, and then uses her hands (and muscle power!) to shape the resulting felt into vessels, wall hangings, and other sculptural forms. Originally trained as a painter, she has found her true affinity to be with the tactile, physical process of felt-making.
Her work seeks to combine materials in new and surprising ways, creating organic forms and textures, and playing with the capacity of felt to be both malleable and strong; mysterious, yet familiar. Most recently, she has sought to push the boundaries of traditional wet felting by incorporating materials such as metallic paper and pigments into her work, bringing a sense of richness and inviting a reimagining of a material often seen as simply utilitarian.
She works and teaches small group classes at her home studio in Cranberry.