Painting with wool
- Jessica tends her own flock of Wensleydale and Romney sheep
- Her handcrafted textiles transform raw fleeces into artworks
- To create the felted pieces, she has developed her own needle punch technique
Jessica Switzer Green describes her childhood as a marvellous upbringing in the wilds of Oregon, where she developed a deep bond with nature. After a career in marketing and PR, she returned to rural life on a Sonoma County farm and began raising sheep. Hoping to make blankets from their wool but finding her knitting skills lacking, Jessica found a converted felting machine and pioneered her technique for making handcrafted, non woven textiles. “I use the wool as a natural paint set to celebrate the beauty and the benefit of natural fibres,” she says. Jessica works with wool from over 20 sheep breeds, including members of her own flock, to produce her one-of-a-kind fabrics, pillows, throws and tapestries.
INTERVIEW
Every piece comes from raw fibre. When I paint with wool, I put the raw fleece and carded fibres on a big table to create a canvas. Then I run it through a giant industrial felting machine with 10,000 needles to make hand painted fabric.
It is a symbiotic relationship that has deep resonance with humans. Nature has engineered wool to be this magical fibre that wicks water, resists bacteria and mould and regulates body temperature. Our use of wool is like a gift the sheep give in return for caretaking. When I pull them into my art and use that palette as my paint set, it is just a joy.
We host felting workshops and learning events about local sourcing and the benefits of wool. I get on a bit of a sustainability soapbox because I really believe in natural fibre. Some people come on repeat, almost like they are going to wool therapy.
The surprise and delight so far is how much people need and want a connection to animals. My work feels like a conduit for that. I have had people come in and just hug our pillows and not let go. It is a connection that I love to share.
