The Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF) comes to Fletcher Friday, October 23, through Sunday, October 25, for its 32nd year welcoming fiber enthusiasts, artists, farmers, families and visitors of all ages. The show features vendors, competitions, demonstrations, workshops and exhibitions, and will be held at the WNC Agricultural Center from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
Artist Melissa Gray began working seriously with fiber in 2000, and five years later started raising sheep for wool. Today, her flock contains Corriedales, Teeswaters and East Friesians. “I discovered along the way that the medium wool I was already producing from my own sheep was phenomenal for needle felting,” she says. “That led, first, to larger puppets, then, sculptural pieces and, eventually, to much more detailed fiber artwork and kits.”
For this fair, she will be teaching a class to create a three-dimensional needle felted sculpture of Tilly, the character from her children’s book, Tilly’s Mud Puddle. “Tilly is especially meaningful to me because the ornate chorus frog is an endangered species in North Carolina and is part of the North Carolina Zoo’s recovery work,” Gray says. “So the project brings together several things I care about—wool, fiber art, education, native wildlife and conservation.”…