From 2010

This would be another favorite of my needelfelts. X3

Mara the saluki was made with a totally new technique for me. Instead of a wire armature, I molded the alpaca wool under hot water and wet felted it into a compact body. Then, I rolled a long tube of more wool under hot water and felted it into a kind of hard rope, which was used for the legs. The resulting body and thin legs made me think of a slim, graceful creature as I was putting them together, and that's what inspired me to do a saluki.

I've never owned a saluki or seen one in real life, but I remember when I was younger I was obsessed with dog breed books and they always fascinated me. They're among the oldest breeds still surviving today, and were even painted in Egyptian tombs!

This was an interesting challenge in proportion for me too, for everything about them is so long. I'm still not entirely happy with how the tail came out, but it works. I LOVE the face though, it turned out really cute!