Belle Arnold began her artistic journey as a painter. In 2006, she attended a workshop on handmade felting – for her, it was an epiphany. “I could see from the workshop that I could work in 2-D or 3-D formats. That I could play with colour, with texture, with form. So I began to play.”
Since then, Belle has continued to learn and experiment with felting techniques and fabric dyeing. Taking inspiration from her surroundings, Belle now creates masterful 3D felted pieces. “I draw very much on nature. My garden, which more often than not is a jungle. The surrounding bushland, the tree bark, leaves, birds, insects, rocks. It’s all fascinating.”
Belle’s felting follows original, traditional, age-old felting traditions.