The will of the wool
- Ines creates contemporary pieces using the ancient technique of hand felting
- She lives and works on a sheep farm where she sources all her natural materials
- Continuous research led her to spend time with the nomads in Kyrgyzstan
Ines Schertel received a phone call from a friend in the early 2000s telling her about a fantastic piece of land in the south of Brazil. Ines was living in the buzz of São Paulo at the time, working in the prominent art scene. She and her husband felt so intrigued by the offer that they decided to buy it immediately. What started out as a hobby farm became a full time project. They started running sheep to make the land productive and, after the annual shearing, Ines would look at the wool fibre and feel compelled to work the material. That is how she started experimenting with felting and wool. Today, Ines lives and works at the farm where she also runs her creative workshop and makes a varied selection of felt decorative items.
Interview
- How do you express tradition and innovation in your work?
- Felting is an ancestral technique that emerged over 6,000 years ago, and I like to apply my background knowledge in art and architecture to express it in new ways. Wool has surprised me every day since I started working with it. The more I work, the more I discover new ways to get excited about wool.
- What are your sources of inspiration?
- Nature that surrounds me. I like to live in the countryside where everything happens in its own time. Sheep need a certain amount of time for their wool to grow; leaves, moss and tree bark also need a ripening time to be used in my botanical dyeing. I feel inspired by nature’s cycles.
- Is sustainability important in your creative process?
- I love working with wool because it is a natural, renewable and biodegradable material. The simple magic of being able to reuse a residue no longer needed by the sheep, while at the same time honouring an ancient tradition dazzles me every day.
- What do you love most about your profession?
- Connecting with people through my craft. When I do research trips, I find myself speaking the language of craft. I had the opportunity to go to Kyrgyzstan, where I lived with nomad families to learn and improve my technique. We shared the same passion for felting.
Ines Schertel is an expert artisan: she began her career in 1990
Where
Ines Schertel
