Society of Artists session will create soft, cuddly sculptures

Artist Terry Weber will lead a hands-on needlefelting demonstration when the Batavia Society of Artists meetings Tuesday at GO Art!, Seymour Place, 201 E. Main St.

Weber, a member of the Society of Artists, started needlefelting about eight years ago and uses it to make soft, cuddly sculptures. She says the creations are very hands on.

“The soft sculptures that can be created have a warmth that you don’t get through other mediums like stone or clay,” Weber says.

And, she notes, wool naturally repels dirt and water so a bit of vacuuming once in a while is the only care required.

Weber will demonstrate her craft during the meeting, scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. The demonstration will be a hands-on class where participants will be able to make their own soft sculpture that they will be able to take home.

Non-members of the Society of Artists are welcome to attend and participate for a $5 fee.

For more information, contact Teresa Tamfer at (585) 506-2465.

Weber, who grew up in Batavia, studied art at St. Mary University in Leavenworth, Kan. Her concentration was in pottery with a secondary education minor. She taught in Denver for three years before moving back to New York in 1982. After eight years in the hotel businesses, Weber opened her own shop where she says she “did a bit of everything – selling beer and lottery tickets, ice cream and tacos, gifts and antiques.”

Weber closed the shop in 2005 “and started a revival of my life as an artist.”

Weber dabbled in many media, including textiles, watercolor and silk painting, before turning to needlefelting.

“There are many artists working worldwide in this relatively new medium. Some use it to embellish clothing, others make works of art fit for any museum,” Weber says. “The process relies on the nature of wool, which has many scales on each strand. When pushed together, either through heat and agitation, such as in wet felting, or the action of barbed needles in needlefelting, the strands bind to one another quite strongly to make felt.”