coast

Today’s post is a sneak peek of my latest needle felting project: Anthopleura sola, the Starburst anemone.

These are one of the most gorgeous sights you’ll see as you walk along the tide pools of the California coast, with their jewel-like tentacles dancing in the currents. You can spot this particular species by the stripes radiating out from the center in a luminous “burst.” Here is a photo I took on one of my excursions to the tide pools:

FitzgeraldAnemone — *Anemone at the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve*

And more photos of these magnificent life forms:

Sunburst Anemone, Anthopleura sola, Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, San Mateo County, California

Anthopleura sola

I want the felted Anthopleura sola to be life-sized with a diameter of about 150 cm. I’m pushing myself to work larger which allows me to get in more details.

AnemoneWIP_web — Here you can see I’m experimenting with different colors and seeing how they come together. I had to blend a few different colors together to find what I wanted. I blend the wool by carding it between two combs.

AnemoneWIP3_web — I found the colors that I liked and put in the delicate “burst” pattern.

AnemoneWIP4_web — Starting to put in the tentacles!

I loved poking these creatures when I was a kid and watching their tentacles retract, and then poking them again and seeing the water gush out. It was so exciting! I doubt they enjoyed it very much, however, and I no longer practice this harassment. But I still adore watching these beauties in their shallow pools.