Bonny Hall is an amazing wool felter. We met her at the Peru Fair in 2017. I fell in love with her birds. But honestly, they are wild birds. It took me two visits to her booth to decide.
She only started felting about six years ago. She began her career making puppets. She said her “birds and animals are now fighting it out with the puppets for studio space.”
Bonny began her puppet company with her significant other, Jamie in 1982 in San Francisco. They performed in schools, theaters, and museums. She is retired from performing but helps to design, build and direct shows.
Bonny felting work began with needle-felting but expanded and became more artistic after attending a workshop with Andrea Graham. Artist Andrea creates exquisite 3D pod-like sculptures. This technique she learned was how the birth of her birds began which were both wet-felting and needle-felting. Her felted animals are inspired by the work of German fiber felted artist Gabriele Mazaracis who crafts natural toys with plant dyed wool to make fun animals and dolls.
Bonny works now in her studio in Southeastern Vermont. It’s a big, open, sunny space with plenty of windows where she can get to hear the Green River. “Nature is both an important inspiration and a daily necessity. I continue to explore new ideas and creatures. When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I want to do is get into the studio to start working”, states Bonny. Check out her work online. Here is a snap a photo of the lovely bird I purchase at the Peru Fair in Vermont. I would love to see her work there again.
For a list of her shows and events, click here.
