I am Carolyn McIntosh, artist and owner of Wandering Fig Studio based in the Perth hills, Western Australia. I love the magical process of creating, I couldn't imagine my life without it!
I work in many mediums and currently immersed in the art of needle felting. Stabbing into raw wool fibre with a sharp barbed needle hundreds of times to sculpt anything that you can imagine is thrilling to me and a great stress reliever. I enjoy both hand sewing and needle felting and often use a combination of wool and fabric in my art and craft. My fibre/textile soft sculptures, homewares and accessories are handmade using a combination of recycled and natural fibres and fabric. Wool for my needle felted creations is sourced from New Zealand Corriedale sheep who are well cared for and are not mulesed.
My art education and background has been broad and diverse spanning twenty plus years commencing with technical college, university fine art studies, to recent local workshops with local artists and online workshops with artists from across the globe.
My studio name derives from the wandering fig vine which covered the outside walls of my first studio space (aka the garage) in the Perth riverside suburb of Bassendean. The dried vine is a great fibre for weaving nests and free form baskets. In late 2016 I moved to the Perth hills suburb of Greenmount with my family to a lovely home with a great light filled loft studio space - lucky me! The vast array of native birdss and reptiles who frequent my garden are a pleasure to see everyday and a source of inspiration for my creative work.
"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life"
Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973)
