Wool Art from Mid-Atlantic - Azores

by Angélique Verdel

Sheep raised on Faial Island in the Mid-Atlantic produce distinctive, richly textured wool. Artist Angélique Verdel carefully handcrafts this wool into felt and transforms it into striking, finely made pieces of art.

Felting for me is ZEN

Felting is bringing love into shape.

My name is Angelique Verdel and felting is my passion. I started felting four years ago and now I can’t imagine living without it.

Felting is meditation.

I get my greatest inspiration from nature!

Wool is my passion!

Natur, Struktur, Island, atmosphärisch, Fotografie, außergewöhnliches Island, Untergrund, Unterwelt, jenseitig, Waldlandschaft,

When I came to the Azores in 2021, I learned that sheep’s wool was only used as fertilizer, so I talked to a few farmers who had sheep, to see if I could get the wool from the freshly shorn sheep.

And that is when the work started. I picked up the sacks and the wool arrived wet and dirty at my house. I chose the most beautiful wool and washed it at least six times and then let it dry.

Here in the Azores the humidity is high, so it takes at least a week before I can process the wool further. When it was finally dry, I plucked the wool to store it in large paper bags.

I bought a carding machine. At first I tried hand carding but soon I realized that they weren’t enough. I kept getting wool as gifts and could hardly keep up with washing the wool. That’s why I bought that carding machine so that I could card larger quantities. That helped a lot. But before carding I also dyed a lot of wool and then it took another week for the wool to dry . Then I had to pluck it again before I could card.

In fall and winter , it’s finally time to get creative.

On the Azores Island Faial you find mostly the sheep breed “Ile de France”. They are living the whole year outside in the evergreen nature and provide wonderful wool. Perfect for Felting-Art.