I ask you, What could be more perfect than a river otter for day eight?

I kind of love how twisty he is. He looks like he's ready to slip and slide down a sand bank and splash right into the river.

Truth be told otters are among my favorite of animals so I knew for sure that I wanted to include one in this year's menagerie, but there's a bit of a risk in doing a favorite animal. You get a picture in your head and it's sometimes a bit difficult for a novice felter like me to adequately execute that vision. This little guy was a great example of this. I knew where I wanted to go with him but had serious doubts along the way. You wouldn't think that it would be so, but the tilt of a head, angle of a nose, or a minor alteration in the neck to body ratio can change a cute and playful otter into a dinosaur in about a millisecond. It's sometimes fretful stuff this felting. I do think I ended up with an otter, a river otter, definitely not a sea otter, after all was said and done, and I learned a ton with him along the way. There are things that I would definitely do differently next time around, but overall I think he passes. That's been one of the great things about this project. I feel like I'm learning a lot and it's so much fun to just delve into something new, to interact with fiber in a new way, to sculpt. I'm finding that it is giving me all sorts of crazy creative ideas—some totally doable and some pretty pie in the sky, but all fun to ponder.

Sending cozy wishes your way! TTFN...

~xox~

alison