The Apotheosis of a Meercat

Whilst driving through our local industrial estate I chanced upon the sad sight of a squashed Meercat, screeshing to a halt I nipped out and retrieved some.
"The Apotheosis of a Meercat" was the work that sprang to mind, I only had to do it, so I did.

"The Apotheosis of a Meercat" by Alexander Hamilton

a·poth·e·o·sis

The elevation of someone to divine status; deification.

Lambs on the Hill

We have a small herd of pure bred Herdwick sheep up here on the hill which visitors to the gallery are welcome to see.  I often use their fleece in my felt pictures, for example in this picture of Hector that I made for dads birthday last October.

The greenery around his head is 'mill waste' wool batt. Wool Batt is washed but uncombed fibre.  In this instance waste wool from a tweed mill, dyed in these wonderful soft green heathery colours.  I used a wet felting method and then needle felted the details on to the dry felt afterwards.

Last year there were no lambs so it has come as rather a surprise to find some of the ewes dropping lambs all over the farm as it were!  Since Sunday three singletons and a pair of twins have arrived, and there are still four potential mums-to-be.  So I've a supply of fleece 'on the hoof' for a good few years to come!
I use the fleece 'raw' ie straight off the sheep, well once it has been shorn, but it is unwashed & uncombed.  It is full of lanolin, twigs, grass seed (and dead bugs but we won't go there!) knots and tangles and has the most fantastic sheepy smell (if you're a wannabe shepherdess like me!) The clumps of wool often help to create the shape of a piece of landscape or sky or I tease it out slightly.
We had a herd of Jacob sheep before the Herdwicks came along and I use their fleece too in pictures like this one I did recently.  Titled 'Tide's out', it uses the browns and creamy white of the natural Jacob fleece.

And in these two imagined Dalraida landscapes Jacob fleece made a great boiling, stormy sky enriched by needling red merino wool in from the reverse.

I don't have any photographs yet of this years lambs but here are a couple of the sheep.

The original Herdwick girls - Harriet, Hermione and Henrietta

Mum with the first of the Jacob lambs several years ago 

Jacobs under the beech tree

And the from the last lot of lambs two years ago, mum with her shadow Rosie. 

Rosie had to be hand reared and still comes when you call her.  She thinks she is a dog rather than a sheep, and isn't being a very maternal to her new tup lamb born this afternoon.