(Elena Popko)

A Magical Menagerie in Needle-Felted Wool

by Pam North

As a child, Russian artist Elena Popko was taught to knit by her mother. Whether that activity influenced her future is unknown, but after serving in the army for 3 years in the anti-air defense forces, her mother then worked as a hair colorist, a designer, and a copyist, so some of her mother’s endeavors may have had some influence on Popko, as she also worked as a hair colorist for 20 years. “I loved making people beautiful and happy,” she explained. “It was my passion, dyeing hair in different colors, and creating hairstyles for celebration and special events. My working as a colorist helps a lot now,” she added, referencing her later choice to pursue needle-felting animals from wool fibers.

Popko did not know about felting toys from wool as a child, having never seen them. “I don’t know exactly what influenced me to start making animals out of wool. I saw the realistic needle-felted work of Mikaela Bartlett, and fell in love with that kind of creativity. Now I am very interested in this.” Perhaps that was an important influence that helped in serving to guide her to the craft she presently pursues. “I have been doing felting since 2017, almost 4 years. I've always enjoyed being creative. I had knitted toys, woven bracelets, bows, and flowers with beads, but needle-felting animals has fascinated me most of all.”

Now married for 30 years with her husband, Oleg, and a son, Arseny, she can concentrate on her chosen endeavor. Needle-felting is an intensive and tedious process which uses a barbed needle to interlock wool fibers into forming a more condensed material. As the felting needle is moved up and down, the barbs on the needle catch the fibers of the wool, entangling them into place and allowing the formation of a sculptural shape. “Needle-felting is long and difficult. I prick the wool for a very long time so that the sculpture is hard.”

Popko uses a variety of materials and techniques in her craft. The main material encompasses different types of wool - nettle, viscose, and silk fibers - chosen specifically to replicate the textures and colors of the coat of whatever animal she has chosen to create. A wire armature gives form to the paws and feet and the tail, and she doesn’t use weights or pellets. “I use only glass eyes for my animals. As it is said that the eyes are the mirror of the soul, then the eyes should be the best.” The realism of her animals is outstanding, the result of her artistic sense and her meticulous attention to detail.
Her spectrum of creation includes many species: cat, dog, wombat, kangaroo, giraffe, numbat, opossum, golden opossum, honey opossum, leopard.

Asked what she loves most, and what gives her the most satisfaction in her creative process, Popko responded, “I love creating animals in a realistic style, choosing and blending the fibers to create just the right colors, and inventing new ways to improve my sculptural shapes. Inspiration is endlessly there, as there are many animals on our planet, and each creature is unique.”
As with most artists, she finds some aspects of her work challenging. “I think the most difficult thing is to create realistic animal legs. Also, needle-felting is a complex and intricate form of needlework, one in which many other artists have refused to be involved.”

Popko’s work area is simple but effective for her needs. She has a comfortable chair, next to which is a cabinet where wool of different colors and textures is stored in transparent boxes, and there is a table with her tools. She likes everything to be close by.

She sells her sculptures on Facebook and in her Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/Sckulpturee.
On her Facebook account, she shows facets of the creative process so that collectors can see and know what's inside the animal and how it is formed. So far she has not elected to do workshops or seminars, saying, “To teach others, it is also necessary to have that talent!”

The future of artist-made collectibles is of concern to any crafter, and Popko is optimistic that collecting will always live on, explaining, “After all, every person is a child at heart. A carefree childhood is the happiest period of a person's life, and I think that is evoked by my creations. The world of the artist is always appreciated. It is not always possible for an artist to show himself to the world, nor is it possible for all people who are engaged in creativity to become famous. For myself, I simply would like my sculptures to be loved, and that they bring joy to people. I make different animals so that each sculpture is non-repeatable and unique in its own way. This is the focus of what I think and what supports my interest in creating. I'm always interested in inventing something uniquely my own.”

As for what’s next for her and her creations, she shared her thoughts, saying, “I definitely will go ahead and create new animals. I'm always interested in inventing something of my own.”

Contact Information:
Name:  Elena Popko 
Email:  o.popko2010@yandex.ru
Website: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008171613104
Instagram:  Sckulpturee 
Etsy:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/Sckulpturee
Address: Moscow, Russia