Down Syndrome Awareness Month Giveaway!

Win a copy of 'Hansel & Gretel: A Fairy Tale with a Down Syndrome Twist' and a Tiny Needle Felt Bunny

Winners have been picked and the contest is now closed. 
It's the three-year anniversary of the release of Hansel & Gretel: A Fairy Tale with a Down Syndrome Twist, written by the late disability superstar Jewel Kats, and illustrated by me and published by Loving Healing Press. This is the first book I illustrated in my distinct style with needle felted wool. In honor of Down Syndrome Awareness Month,  we will be giving away three copies of the book. Plus, the top winner will also receive a tiny needle felted bunny like the one pictured with Hansel below. 

To enter, comment on this blog. For an additional entry share this post to Facebook or Pinterest and include that you have shared in the comment. 
The paperback books have a value of $15.95 and the bunny has a value of $30. The giveaway ends Oct. 14, 2017 when three random names will be drawn. 

Here are some reviews of Hansel & Gretel: A Fairy Tale with a Down Syndrome Twist:

"I love that this book addresses not only the low expectations that society has of kids with Down syndrome but that the Mother has as well. What a gifted author to see past the diagnosis and tell a magical story of potential and belief!"

--Nancy Gianni, Founder & Gigi's Mom, GiGi's Playhouse: Down Syndrome Achievement Centers

Hansel & Gretel: A Fairy Tale with a Down Syndrome Twist

“Hansel & Gretel: A Fairy tale with a Down Syndrome Twist” is a fairy tale adaptation that combines excellent illustrations with a powerful narrative that reminds readers that fairy tales are transformative. It is written as a children’s book, but has those moments of re-thinking that allow people of any age to question ideas of disability. — Derek Newman-Stille Through the Twisted 
Woods

Giveaway Bunny will look like this one

"I find that Jewel Kat's message that someone's disability is not what makes a person, a great one. I like how she portrayed Hansel. He reminded me of my nephew who had Down syndrome-not only someone who was kind but also very smart. I believe it's a great book for every kid to read." --Janet McNevin, Museum of disABILITY History

Hansel & Gretel: A Fairy Tale with a Down Syndrome Twist is illustrated in gorgeous needle-felted wool paintings that give a rich and magical feel to this surprising and delightful tale. The needle-felted images and scenery are beautiful and stunning.  They set the tone perfectly and whisk you to a far-off land. Each page is imbued with magic. You will find that you want to linger on each page a little longer just to take all of it in. —The Picture Book Review

The sensitive fiber art portraits of tiny but expressive needle felted dolls capture a feeling of delicate awareness that enhances the positive and empowering message of "Hansel & Gretel: A Fairy Tale with a Down Syndrome Twist.” — Midwest Book Review

How to Needle Felt a Tiny Cardinal or Tiny Bird

I use tiny birds to decorate branches and little felt trees and some of my treetopper Waldorf angels hold little red cardinals. I created many little birds for my picturebook Seasons of Joy: Everyday is for Outdoor Play. 

In this blog post, I'll explain how to make a tiny red Northern Cardinal. You can also watch me make the cardinal in the YouTube video.

Learn to make the tiny cardinal like the one on cover of Seasons of Joy: Everyday is for Outdoor Play

Supplies 

• orange wool
• red wool
• grey-brown wool or alpaca
• black wool
• toothpick
• felting needle 38 or 40
• sharp scissors

Wrap orange wool tightly around toothpick.

Wrap red wool over orange, wrapping in same direction.

Carefully slide off toothpick, felt with needle, and bend wool to shape bird.

Wrap small piece of red wool around head, and felt in.

Cut head crest to shape like cardinal.

Wrap tiny piece of black wool around beak and felt in, add red wool to create tail.

Blend red and gray wool, fold a tiny piece of the blended roving and felt in as wings.

Watch me make the cardinal in this YouTube video:

Waldorf angel with cardinals

Another angel tree topper with cardinals.

The tiny cardinal in a Winter illustration from Seasons of Joy: Everyday is for Outdoor Play.

Wool Painting, Needle Felting Feature on Major Chicago News Station

An already busy holiday season became a bit more hectic, and a lot more exciting, when I was contacted by WGN news producer Pam Grimes, who was interested in doing a feature on my work. "Wool Painting: How a Love of Animals Led a Chicago Area Artist to a New Calling," was featured on the evening news, Dec. 21. I was pleasantly surprised that the feature was about 5 minutes.

"Wool Painting: How a Love of Animals Led a Chicago Area Artist to a New Calling

Pam and photojournalist Steve Scheuer came to my home to talk to me about my work, photograph my winter woodland mantle display, some of my wool paintings and illustrations, and my needle felt animals. Prince Preemie also made the cut. He is from the most recent book I illustrated for the late disability advocate, Jewel Kats,  "Prince Preemie: A Tale of a Tiny Puppy Who Arrived Early." 

"Prince Preemie: A Tale of a Tiny Puppy Who Arrived Early." 

Actually, it was interesting to see just how much of my story was portrayed in 5 minutes -- my summers working in national parks, my love of animals, my former career as a journalist.

My son's alma mater, Da Vinci Waldorf School was also featured in the segment. Very fitting, as my Waldorf connection was integral to my finding needle felting.  We drove over to the school where Pam talked to Kindergarten teacher Ieva Scoggin.  Ieva commissioned my Waldorf Seasons wool painting, which has become popular in my Etsy store and among Waldorf families. So many people have connected to the image, that it inspired my first picture book as author and illustrator, "Seasons of Joy: Everyday is for Outdoor Play," to be published in Spring 2017.

The original Waldorf Seasons hangs at DaVinci Waldorf School. 

I was touched that the news segment captured my motivation for doing this work -- the joy that it brings me and the joy it brings to others.

My wool painting inspired by Sibylle von Olfers "The Story of the Root Children."

Claudia Marie Lenart of Claudia Marie Felt explaining and demonstrating needle felting on WGN.

A scene from my holiday woodland mantle display

Illustrating the Sad Picture Book: Jenny And Her Dog Both Fight Cancer

When Jewel Kats first approached me to illustrate her picture book "Jenny and Her Dog Both Fight Cancer," she told me she had written the book some time ago, but was looking for a distinct type of illustration for this project.
I read the book and cried; it touched me deeply. While I had little experience with pediatric cancer, I had lost three dogs to the disease.

Jenny and Her Dog Both Fight Cancer features a rainbow theme symbolic of the Rainbow Bridge.

A story about a little girl and her dog both fighting cancer is not your typical, light-hearted picture book fodder, but the story rings true. There is beauty in the bond between a child and her best friend; that bond is especially strong through difficult times. There is a beauty in death (sorry for the spoiler, but the dog does not survive cancer).
As a needle felt artist, my dolls and animals are noted for their character, their expressions. With Jenny and her dog, I wanted to convey the emotions of the characters as they struggled through cancer.

Jenny tells Dolly she will be by her side as she fights cancer. 

A subtle shift of the head can change the emotions of the characters.

There is a magic to characters with very subtle features. When posing Jenny and her parents, a slight shift of the head could change the expression from happy to sad. Photographing the scenes was quite the challenge as each character has to be carefully posed.
The illustration process starts with me imagining what is the most compelling aspect of the page. I create a story board, which generally depicts each scene. Then I create the characters out of wire and wool. Needle felting is like sculpting with wool. In Jenny and her dog most of the scenes were created by building props, like a sofa out of wool, a trail with twigs for trees, and an animal hospital with a number of needle felted pets.

Jenny is thrilled to be greeted by Dolly who recently returned from the animal hospital. 

Jenny takes Dolly on a walk and notices that she is slowing down.

Jenny waits at the animal hospital while Dolly undergoes cancer treatment.

Jenny wears a pink scarf throughout her journey, which she throws in Dolly's gravesite in the final scene. The pink scarf was a natural both for its symbolism in cancer awareness and for its connection to little girls.
Rainbows also run throughout the book as I hand dyed a series of pastel shades for Jenny's dresses, which she changes with the seasons. In the final scene she wears a rainbow dress. The Rainbow Bridge is known as a sort of path to dog heaven.

Jenny throws her pink scarf in Dolly's grave. 

Understated illustration conveys the bond between child and dog, both with cancer. 

When I create pet portraits or woodland animals, I tend to fall in love with the pet or the species. Jenny and Dolly were no exception. I fell for them too and I hope readers can feel the love as they turn the pages.
I think the soft and wooly illustrations are a nice balance to the the serious subject. Jewel, who passed away in January, was so thrilled every time I shared an illustration with her. She was such a positive supporter of my work.
This was the first book I illustrated and as I continue to blaze the trail for this type of fiber art illustration, I learn and continue to perfect my techniques. I create many more wool paintings for backgrounds now than I did with Jenny.  "Hansel & Gretel: A Fairy Tale with a Down Syndrome Twist," was the second book Jewel and I worked on. "Prince Preemie: Tale of a Tiny Puppy Who Arrived Early," was our final collaboration; it is due out in fall of this year.

Next year, I will embark on my journey as both author and illustrator. Stay tuned.

How I Made Tiny Felt Food for Needle Felted Book Illustration

DIY Felt Food and Candy Ideas

I recently was at a book fair where a 5-year-old boy purchased Hansel & Gretel: A Fairy Tale with a Down Syndrome Twist.  I asked him which picture was his favorite. He told me he liked the candy houses because it looked like the candy was popping out of the page and he wanted to eat it. 

Easter Inspired Candy House in Hansel & Gretel: A Fairy Tale with a Down Syndrome Twist

It was gratifying to hear from a child that he connected with the 3-d illustrations. When Jewel Kats asked me to illustrate this book, I was immediately excited about the forest scenes, but I wasn't sure how to handle the candy houses. To be honest, I don't get particularly excited about candy, but I do like cakes, cookies, fruit. So with the gingerbread house, I added some window boxes with iced berries, chocolate chip cookie trim, and of course candy canes lining the entry. The other candy house (you have to read the story to find out why there are two) was created during Easter and you can see how that influenced the design, pastel M&Ms, lollipops and even Peeps on the lawn. 

Hansel eats a marshamallow off the Gingerbread House

Creating the sweets in both candy houses and for the feast scene was an exercise in trial and error. This is not a step-by-step tutorial, but I will share some tips and techniques I used. I hope you can be inspired and create some fun felt food.  

• Fiber to Create Cake -- One of the most important tips for creating cupcakes, cakes, marshmallows, is to use a wool that is very springy and fluffy. I used Rambouillet. To be honest, I had picked up some Rambouillet from a fiber store and found that it wasn't useful for my needlefelt animals. However, it makes great cake dough. I used Rambouillet extensively in the pastel house and in the feast scene. 
• Coffee is Great Cake Dye -- The Rambouillet was white, but if I soaked it in leftover coffee for a while, it turned the perfect beige shade. 
• Felt Baked Goods -- The cinnamon roll in the feast scene was simply the Rambouillet and a cinnamon-colored wool rolled up together and held in place with a little needle felting. The cake slice was a bit more complicated. I layered rambouillet with a red wool in the middle, like a sandwich, and needle felted until it was dense, rolling a bit as well to keep it roundish. I finished with chocolate-colored alpaca as the icing and felted lightly, but firmly. When my cake was finished, I used very sharp scissors to cut a piece. 
• BFL Silk Blend for Icing --The icing on the roofs and berries was created from a Blue-faced Leicester and silk blend. I wet the wool then tore off little pieces, which makes it curl. After placing it on the roof, I used hairspray to keep it in place. 
• Waffle Irons make Waffle Cones -- I actually used a waffle iron to make the waffle cone and the waffle door. This didn't work out as well as I had hoped. I dyed some 100 percent wool felt the color of golden waffles. While it was still wet, I put it in the waffle iron. Do not put the waffle iron on! I pressed it in and let it sit in place for about a day. The indentations were not as deep as I had hoped, so I had to needle felt around the edges. 
• Candy Canes and Lollipops -- At first I made the candy canes out of pieces of felt that I twisted and then inserted a wire. That didn't look so good. So then, I took a piece of copper wire, a thicker gauge, about 18, and wrapped it with white wool and then swirled the red wool. This made it easy to shape the cane. 

A felt food sweet table in Hansel & Gretel: A Fairy Tale with a Down Syndrome Twist

BFL/Silk Icing over felted berries on Candy House

Marshmallows of Rambouillet wool on the tower

Have fun creating! I'd love to see what you come up with and you can share on Claudia Marie Felt on Facebook. 

Needle Felt Book Illustration — The Next Big Thing

When I first embarked on this journey to illustrate a book in needle felt, I did a Google search to see if anyone else was doing this. After searching with a few different terms, the only illustrators I found were Cozy Classics.

The Cozy Classics author/illustrator team of Jack and Holman Wang created a series of board books for little children, based on classics like War &  Peace and Jane Eyre. Each book has just 12 words, and endearing needle felted characters posed both outdoors and in miniature settings.

Pride & Prejudice from Cozy Classics

I wanted to illustrate a book for author Jewel Kats almost completely in wool with wool backgrounds and characters. It was uncharted territory. Hansel & Gretel: A Fairy Tale with a Down Syndrome Twist is the second book I illustrated for Jewel. Loving Healing Press will publish the first later this year.  And, the third book is in progress. I am still in awe of Jewel who saw my needle felt animals in my Etsy shop and surmised that I could illustrate her book. 

Hansel & Gretel: A Fairy Tale with a Down Syndrome Twist

This week, I was thrilled to see some needle felt illustration make its way into the mainstream with the announcement of the Caldecott Medal Winners.  Caldecott Honor Winner 2015 Yuyi Morales includes some needle felted characters in her book Viva Frida. Morales, who is an innovative illustrator and accomplished artist, uses a variety of media to tell the story of artist Frida Kahlo. 

Viva Frida by Yuyi Morales

I was also delighted to discover that Viva Frida and Hansel & Gretel: A Fairy Tale with a Down Syndrome Twist  have something in common. Both books include a needle felted deer.

Another wonderful surprise this week, was the Google Doodle. While working in my Chrome browser, I noticed the doodle and immediately recognized that it was needle felt. The Google Doodle celebrating Laura Ingalls Wilder’s 148^th birthday was created by Cozy Classics. What a thrill! The Doodle page also has a nice explanation of how the characters were created, which is similar to how I created mine. 

I was speaking to Loving Healing Press Publisher Victor Volkman about the trend of needle felt illustration this week and he had an interesting perspective. It's all about the 21st century revolt against mass-produced products and return to the handmade ethos,” he said.

The needle felt characters have a special quality. I think creating with fiber gifts from animals gives life to the characters.

Illustrating with needle felt is a slow process. Hours go into creating each character. The backgrounds I created are akin to creating little movie sets. When it’s all done, the photography is quite a project. More hours go into posing each character perfectly, a slight twist of the head can change a smile into a frown. But the process is invigorating and be sure you will see more from me.

And a side note: Cozy Classics is working on a Star Wars series with Lucas Films/Disney. Looking forward to that!