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Felted Animals 3D wool characters in paintings

My name is Tamara Tsurkan I live with my husband and our dog in Wisconsin. I started painting when I was a child, and attended an Art School in my home town in Ukraine. However, after finishing school I didn’t pursue a career of an artist, instead opting for a college degree in math and computer science, and a teaching career after that.

Since 2006 I have been actively participating in art exhibits and art fairs throughout Wisconsin and the Midwest, including Art Fair on the Square, Art Fair off the Square in Madison, Agora Art Fair in Fitchburg, Spring Green Art Fair, Green Bay Art Street, Third Ward Art Festival in Milwaukee; East Side Millennium Park and Gold Coast Art Fairs, Arlington Heights Art Fair, Skokie Art Fair in Illinois; Edina Art Fair, Stone Arch Art Festival and Powderhorn Art Fair in Minnesota; Ann Arbor Art Fair in Michigan, etc. 

I am currently a member of Association of Wisconsin Artists (AWA). Several of my works have received State Exhibit Awards and Honorable Mention through the Wisconsin Regional Art Program.

I gladly do commissions, so if you have a favorite pet and would like to have a 3D felted painting created, please contact me.

I returned to acrylic painting in 2005 after a long break (check my other website with my old paintings www.art-by-tamara.com). Soon I realized that I really enjoyed it, and in a few months I found myself devoting most of my free time to art – reading about art, learning as much as I could, taking art classes at University of Wisconsin, Madison and Art Metal/Jewelryclasses at Continuing Education at Madison College, I also was trying different styles and techniques as well as some less traditional media.

I have worked in several different media, and now mainly work with fiber (www.feltedanimals.com). I use needle felting technique to create paintings and sculptures from wool, then combine them with recycled objects so the finished work is essentially a mini-story. I enjoy using wool for my paintings because it allows me to create three dimensional characters in paintings that (literally) pop out of the frame.

The choice of the subject of my works was very easy for me, since I have always loved animals and have had pets all my life. In my works I tell light-hearted fairytale-like stories that depict animals in unique and non-standard way. The characters of my folk art are animals (dogs, cats, cows, sheep and others) involved in various unusual activities (climbing to the moon, flying, scuba-diving, dancing, playing musical instruments, etc).

My other passion is jewelry. Around seven years ago I created my first leather jewelry collection and later coral collection (www.jewelry-by-tamara.com). I enjoy working across different (and sometimes non-standard) media.

Thank you for visiting my site.

Tamara

 

MY OLD ART WORKS

I started painting when I was a child, and attended an Art School in my home town in Ukraine.

I returned to acrylic painting in 2005 after a long break. Soon I realized that I really enjoyed it. Several of my works have received State Exhibit Awards and Honorable Mention through the Wisconsin Regional Art Program.
Giclee prints of my earlier paintings are available at my www.art-by-tamara.com I found myself devoting most of my free time to art – reading about art, learning as much as I could, taking art class (painting, metalsmithing, pottery) and trying different styles and techniques as well as some less traditional media. I am currently a member of Association of Wisconsin Artists (AWA).