About the Artist
Based in Wilmington, North Carolina, fiber artist Rachel Frey trained at SCAD, creates felted pieces of all sizes. Rachel’s inspiration comes from her surroundings. She is drawn towards colors and textures that occur in nature. Rachel grew up by the Blue Ridge Mountains and that inspiration always seems to find a way into her work intentionally or not.
What may look like only a surface from afar, is actually a textile that has been constructed through a laborious process of mixing and arranging multiple layers of dyed wool to create the composition. Starting out as delicate wisps, the wool is transformed into a solid, strong material through an ancient method using water and friction to felt the wool.
To best achieve the colors that Rachel sees in nature she uses natural dyes. Boiling organic materials produces rich, intense colors which amaze her every time. Through this process, her art is fully composed of natural resources. A sheep’s wool is Rachel’s canvas and natural dyes are her paint.
Artist Statement
I love to create felted wool art of all sizes. I am inspired by the way light interacts with its environments. My curiosity and connection with nature has continuously guided my art. My feltings are structures that have been formed through a process of mixing and arranging many thin layers of wool roving to create compositions. My technique allows me to uniquely evoke the soft brushstrokes of watercolor paint with sheep’s wool. These methods are led and inspired by ethics and sustainability.
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