California Seascape - Needle Felted Fiber Art by Loretta Alvarado

You can see more of my ocean themed art at http://www.LorettaAlvarado.com This is my piece entitled "California Seascape." The critters are representative of what you might find off the coast of California. This work of art is 4 feet tall by 2 feet wide and took me several months of work to create. Interspersed within the video are images of the sub-structure of the piece. I used lots of pieces of leftover Styrofoam and plastic bags to build up the base. I think this was a much better use than adding it to a landfill. I added foam insulation over that to give a better substrate to attach all the undersea life to. The octopus, Garibaldi fish, Moray eel, the starfish, and several other creatures were created by a process known as needle felting. Basically that means that each one of those critters was created entirely by hand. The octopus alone took almost 3 weeks to create. He measures about 12" and has wire in each of his tentacles so you can pose him. I tried to make this piece as accurate as possible. I did a lot of research to make sure that this piece looks like what a diver might see off the coast of California. One of my favorite websites for research was the Monterey Bay Aquarium site. (And not just because I am originally from Monterey.) There are lots of great resources on that site. So, I hope you enjoy my efforts. This piece is for sale and I hope that it will go to a very special home where it can be enjoyed for many years to come. Loretta Alvarado [email protected]