This week’s artist’s spotlight is on Veronica Gregerson aka @feltbuddies

1. Tell me a little about yourself: “I want first to say thank you for letting me be part of your world. I’ve enjoyed your Instagram and blogs for quite some time. Let’s see Who am I? My name is Veronica, and here’s the backstory of what makes me, me. When I was a baby, I was dropped off at an orphanage in Bogotá, Colombia, adopted at age one, and here’s where my story picks up. Growing up, I had always had a knack for being creative. When I was younger, we had the Childcraft Book Set from World Book Encyclopedia, which had several volumes of fun, innovative, and exciting things to learn and create. I looked at those books so often that I’m sure the spines wore down. I liked how the books sparked my creativity with pictures and crafts. I did crafts here and there, but drawing was my passion. My grandma would always say you should use your talents because you’re so good. I never thought anything of it, and for a time, I had given up drawing because life got in the way. I did remember when I drew or was creative; it put my mind at peace. I had thought for a time about what can I do with my creativity? I pursued going to school for floral design, which I had done professionally for a few years. I then went back to school for graphic design, and then the dot-com stock market crashed; finding a creative job at this time was difficult, so I put that creative career on the back burner. As I pursued a professional career, I was missing that joy, but what was that joy? I remembered that when I was creating, it brought out the best in me. I realized I could have both things! Working and having time to be creative was a good balance for me. As I picked art back up, I dabbled in other creative things outside of drawing as I wanted to see what else interested me. It was almost like being reintroduced to the world of art, and there were so many possibilities. I was relearning and learning something new, fun, and exciting! If you can have a healthy balance of two things you enjoy overall, you will be your best person. ”
2. What made you want to start creating this kind of art?: “

“I had tried wool felting once before but never gave it much dedication and had shelved my one and only project, a hedgehog. I decided to revisit felting in the spring of 2020. I had recently lost my dad to cancer, and shortly after, I lost my job. As I tried to pick myself up off the ground, I did some soul searching and thought about what could bring me peace. I remembered my love of art but wanted to try something different, plus I had time, the one thing that I hadn’t in years. I went through my craft drawers, pulled out some wool roving that I had, and came up with a design, a felt sun. I literally needed some sunshine in my life. I made something and gave it life by adding personality to it; it was gratifying. In the process of learning this art, I never knew how painful stabbing your fingers with small needles on accident could be. Yes, stabbing your fingers is a thing when you are starting of as a needle felter. While planning out what I wanted to make, I would framework my 3D characters with armature wire. Armature wire is a bendable wiring often used for clay sculpting to keep it from collapsing, and in the case of wool felting, it is the framework that you can build around. Once the framework is created, you use core wool roving (undyed natural wool) and start poking the wool. Once your shape is as you would like it, you take the dyed wool roving color, place it over the sculpture and poke it repeatedly to catch the core roving fibers to give color to the object. You poke and prod and poke with a very fine barbed needle until it starts to take the shape you desire. With time and practice and many poked fingers, I have gotten to the point where I rarely break these needles or stab my fingers, a considerable improvement.”

3. What are your top 3 favorite art pieces you’ve created and why?

” Tallulah & Brooklyn My dogs mean so much to me, and they were my inspiration to start my dog felting adventure. I wanted to have a memento of my two girls that I love so much. Tallulah is an English Bulldog, and Brooklyn is Frenchton (French Bulldog/Boston Terrier). 

Daruma I have always had a love for Japanese culture. In 2017 I was lucky to spend two weeks in Japan, a place I had only dreamed of and now a reality. We have several Darumas throughout our home, and now I have one more to add to our growing collection.

Yakul from Princess Mononoke Tying back into Japanese culture, I enjoy the Studio Ghibli films, and Princess Mononoke was such a fantastic story with complex characters. I wanted to make my son something that he loves and would appreciate for years to come. If I could have Yakul as a pet, I would in a heartbeat.”

4. What has been the most unique or weirdest art piece you created?

” The most unique thing I have created so far is Spiki, a creation of Nakanari; he’s an artist mostly known for his vinyl toys, which I have followed and admired for several years. My husband and I collect vinyl toys going on 20 plus years now, and in our collection, there are a few Nakanari pieces sprinkled throughout our shelves.”

5. Do you have any exciting news or events that you would like to share?

“I was part of a local holiday market with the Textile Center in Minneapolis, where I had six different ornaments available. I was incredibly excited to participate as they highlight BIPOC artists. BIPOC artists are often underappreciated and forgotten, so this was so important for me to join in. It was a wonderful experience as an up and coming artist, and to be part of this community of beautiful artists was a complete honor and to share my happiness with others. Now that the market is over, I have had the time to reopen my commission list and have been busy creating some touching pieces for people. While I have been getting many dog portraits and memorials, I have also gotten a few others like fruits and fun little one-off items. It’s nice to have the variety and freedom to make things that people enjoy. You become connected to the characters you create by their backstories and the owners’ love and interests.”

If you like to learn more about Veronica and her amazing art. This is her following contact information:

@feltbuddies