Wendy Allen
Durham, NC | Exhibiting Since 2012
I am an accessory designer who has worked exclusively in wet felted Merino wool for many years. I start with pre-dyed and carded roving and work with a variety of resists to create my hats, scarves, mittens, and other accessories. As a student of costume fashion, I have always been interested in how we define what is beautiful in the human form, how we have chosen to manipulate our silhouette with personal adornment throughout history, and how we combine shapes from the plant and animal kingdom with our own to produce emotional content or portray a personal narrative. Felt, with its infinite sculptural possibilities has afforded me the perfect medium to explore those ideas while making work that is at once evocative, functional and accessible to my audience.