Several of my recent posts have been about the work that was being created by members of the Waltham Textile group for our Making Waves Exhibition. It’s been about six weeks now since that took place so many of our readers will have already seen images, and possibly the video, but if you haven’t, and you’re interested, you can view them on Facebook or Instagram.

Something else I had wanted to make for the show, but didn’t make time for, was a felted Leafy Seadragon. I discovered so many weird and wonderful sea creatures while researching for the exhibition but this species is in a category of its own!!

Leafy seadragons inhabit rocky reefs, seaweed beds, and seagrass meadows in waters off the coast of South Australia, where they have been adopted as the state’s marine emblem.

These timid creatures grow to between 20 and 30cm in length.  They use their ornate leaf-like appendages as very effective camouflage to blend in with their surroundings, becoming almost invisible to the untrained eye.

Belonging to the same family as seahorses and pipefish, Australian leafy seadragons are generally brown to yellow in body colour, while their spectacular appendages are typically olive-tinted and provide near-perfect camouflage in seaweed. Depending on the age and health of the individual some Leafies can also change their colouration if they need to.

The leaf-like structures are not used for swimming. They move very slowly using their pectoral and dorsal fins which are so delicate they are almost transparent.

So I thought I’d have a go at making a Leafie this month and I’m hoping there will be space for me to display her as part of my submission to “Water“ – the 2024 Lincs Textiles Exhibition in Lincoln Cathedral at the end of August. Our work will be on show in the Chapter House at the Cathedral so if you are in the vicinity it would be lovely to see you there!
I know these creatures are normally pictured horizontally but for aesthetic purposes I’m using artistic lisence and hanging mine vertically! So, would it be wet felted and stuffed or needle felted? I liked the idea of wet felting the body but decided against it as I didn’t think it would provide enough support for the appendages.

Best to start with a 1.2mm galvanised wire armature and needle felt the body…..but what was I thinking when I switched to 0.5mm aluminium wire for the appendages? I was thinking I could form the leaf shapes using that wire and fill them in with painted lutradur……what I wasn’t thinking was that they would twist and bend and drive me nuts all the time I was needle felting the body! That wire was making the whole thing too fragile and too difficult to work with so it had to go!

It was replaced with 0.6mmgalvanised wire which, being retro fitted, would now require careful poking and anchoring to ensure they all stayed put! This also meant the leaf/seaweed shapes would need a rethink. They wouldn’t be outlined with wire, as I’d originally intended, because the replacement wire was far too stiff for that. But at least it was easier to work on now!

I began adding detail and colour to the head. When I was happy with that I moved on to wet felting several boney spikes to attach in rows along the back, front and sides and then needle felted colour to the body.

Next the new wires that will hold the foliage were wrapped with fibre and I made flat felt to cut up for the leaves.

This is where I’m at right now. There’s more foliage to add and the de-fuzzing to do so I’ll include a photo of the finished dragon in my next post. In the meantime I just have to share some inspiring Leafie sculptures I came across online.

I was blown away by the beautiful design and detail in these first two which are the work of artist Ellen Jewett Ellen says “Each sculpture is constructed using an additive technique, layered from inside to out by an accumulation of innumerable tiny components.  Many of these components are microcosmic representations of plants, animals and objects.  Some are beautiful, some are grotesque and some are fantastical.  The singularity of each sculpture is the sum total of its small narrative structures.”

In addition to her life as a professional artist Ellen operates a small scale animal refuge with the help of her partner on their Vancouver Island farm.

I also like this one made by Australian artist Dean Fox using recycled copper and brass on natural rock…… “I am much inspired by the beautiful environment of Kangaroo Island in South Australia where I live. The beaches and bush alike are a constant source of ideas and materials. During my working life in the building and metalwork industry I learnt the many skills I now employ in my creative work. I work in metal, copper and brass and may incorporate found objects and natural timber into my work.”

Mine is still very much a WIP but in my head I’m already working on a more abstract version for Leafie number two which may or may not involve fibre.