Wool Into Textural, Sculptural, Immersive Works
Artist Statement:
I am Chantal Cardinal, and my practice explores the transformation of wool into textural, sculptural, and immersive works under the name FELT à la main with LOVE. My work is rooted in the transformative potential of wool, a natural and renewable material. Through a manual, intuitive, and meticulous process, I create felted pieces that combine texture, volume, and color, where wool becomes both medium and message.
Felting, an ancestral technique with contemporary approaches, is for me a living, tactile language that continually inspires. It allows me to paint with fbers, to sculpt and mold wool into form, entering the heart of this magical process. This practice connects me directly to the source: local farmers, raw feeces, and material still imbued with its origin. Inspired by organic structures and the visual language of nature, I translate these impressions into felt, exploring both two- and three-dimensional forms.
Artist Biography:
Based in Vancouver, I work full-time from The Arts Factory. Recent projects include Come Together: The Power of Connections (288 sq. ft. public art installation, ACT, Maple Ridge, 2024) and Felting a Community Garden (participatory installation, TED2024, Vancouver). My practice has been recognized internationally through exhibitions, public art commissions, and features in leading publications such as FilzFun (Germany), Fiber Art Now (US), Surface Design Journal (US), and GRIMA (Denmark), as well as artist profles on Radio-Canada and CBC. I continue to explore wool as a medium of connection, creating works that bind material, people, and place together.
