Where the Land Holds Us

“Where the Land Holds Us” invites the viewer into a sweeping, tactile landscape where earth, water, and sky seem to move as one. Soft currents of turquoise and sea-glass blue flow through the foreground, giving way to layered ridges of mossy green, ochre, and rust, while a sky of drifting grays and pale light stretches above. The composition feels both grounded and fluid—like a place remembered rather than seen—capturing that quiet moment where land and water meet and hold each other in balance.
This 21" x 28" piece begins with a wet felting process, where fibers are carefully laid in multiple directions and transformed through olive soap, warm water, and steady friction into a cohesive textile. That handmade surface becomes the canvas itself—organic, irregular, and alive. From there, the landscape emerges through needle felting, as layers of natural and hand-dyed alpaca and sheep fibers are built up, blended, and shaped to create depth, movement, and rich, painterly texture.
The result is a piece that is as much about process as it is about place—where each fiber is intentionally set, yet the whole retains a sense of natural flow. “Where the Land Holds Us” reflects the quiet strength of the earth beneath us, and the feeling of being supported, rooted, and gently carried by the landscape we call home.