This month’s featured artist at the Copper Country Associated Artists Gallery is CCAA member Dolly Luoma, who uses needle felting to make creative designs. (Photo provided)

CALUMET — The Copper Country Associated Artists is featuring a new artist from its membership each month. This month is needle felting artist Dolly Luoma from Calumet. 

Luoma said she did not used use felt to make her work, but she taught herself how to create captivating felt pieces recently. 

“I started off as a basket-maker and I made baskets for probably 30, 35 years,” she said. “But, I have arthritis in my hands and I can’t pull the reed tight anymore. So, I started needle felting about 15 years ago.”

Needle felting is done by condensing yarn into a tight, doll-like form. Then, other types of fabric are woven into the now-wool to create practically any design. Common needle felting works include dressed-up dolls and animals. Luoma said she uses her medium to express herself and design whatever she wanted to make. 

“I still enjoy weaving so much and I do some weaving with yarn and stuff,” she said. “I really started to enjoy the needle felting because I could design animals, people, things I wanted.”

The art form traditionally takes a lot of time. The process of jabbing, poking and compacting the yarn into wool gives time for the artist to think about what designs they will make. Luoma said she takes inspiration from other forms of media. 

“I end up looking through magazines and catalogs, and I’ll find something not necessarily made out of material. It might be a glass figure or something, and it just hits me,” she said. “It’s just that kind of a thing for me.”

Luoma said she gets sone of her yarn and supplementary fabric from family members, like her kids. She said her daughter even packed a suitcase full of different fabrics she acquired from Ireland. 

“I love using all the different colors,” she said. “Sometimes you think you’re going to get this to work one way, and it doesn’t, but then you sort of make it into something else.”

An artist reception will take place from 12-6 p.m. on Saturday, June 27 at the CCAA Gallery. Luoma’s work is currently on display near the front entrance. The gallery is located at 117 5th St and is open from 11-4 p.m., Thursday thru Saturday. 

Luoma