Art with Archi

Story by Petra de Mooy

Above: Darwin, Otis, Bonnie and Tala are all part of the Art with Archi pack.

When Karla Tegan spotted a post on social media for quirky little needle-felted dogs, each one a customised miniature of the owner’s real-life pup, she was enchanted. ‘I thought, oh cool, I love my dogs, I’ll get one,’ Karla recalls. The $700 price tag was, however, somewhat less enchanting.

That initial spark of excitement she felt at the thought of seeing her beloved pet rendered in tiny, fuzzy details stayed with her. She began to wonder what she could bring to the craft. Four years and much experimentation later, Karla now creates her own felted pooches (and other critters) under the name ‘Art with Archi’. And how else could she name her creative enterprise, other than in honour of her own canine companion – Archi the eight-year-old cocker spaniel.

Karla’s early explorations into the craft of needle felting, started with a few books. She’d always been creative in drawing and painting but had never worked with fibres, so her next stop was the local craft shop to source the necessary needles and wool.

In the early days, she started out with random shapes to test out felting techniques, though she soon challenged herself to try making an animal. Using a wire armature, Karla works the wool around the shapes she has created to build out the characteristics of the individual creatures. She began posting her work on social media and through word-of-mouth started to get commissions.

In 2018, she entered a dog-themed art show – ‘Dogs Day Out’ – held at the dog park at Port Elliot. The exhibition included all types of art in different mediums. Karla’s work stood out as a unique entry among the many drawings and paintings. She even took home some ribbons for her work.

While word-of-mouth has been a valuable source of commissions, connecting into the online world of the dogs of Instagram has led Karla in some interesting directions. After she began following ‘Sugar the surf dog’ in California, Sugar’s owner took interest in her work. Karla felted a mini Sugar for him and he then shared it to his page. She also created a three-legged dog for a Canadian man whose dog was being treated for cancer and eventually had to be put down. These types of stories are important to Karla and she likes to understand the feelings behind the commissions she works on, so that the end product will have meaning for the owners.

Having now refined and perfected her technique, Karla sources her wool from the UK where they have the best wool felting materials available. Of course, we couldn’t resist the chance to ask Karla to create a wool felt replica of our own Fleurieu Living mascot, Lulu the Chihuahua. If the result is anything like her most recent commission – a personality-filled mini sculpture of a Jack Russell terrier – we’ll have something to treasure forever.