Wool “paintings” premiere at Hawes museum 

The story of Wensleydale sheep has been put at the heart of the Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes in advance of Yorkshire Day

The Event has been put on owing to the efforts of a Hartlepool woman who credits the breed with restoring her health.

“The Wensleydale Sheep – A Handcrafted History” features 56 pieces of art and crafts by 40 people, from textile collages to furniture upholstered in the long curls of Wensleydale wool.

The exhibition has been organised by Jodi Shadforth of Elwick near Hartlepool, the secretary of the Wensleydale Longwool Sheep Breeder’s Association.

A highlight is the premiere of a piece by Cumbrian needlefelter Nicky Long, who has “painted” – in Wensleydale wool – one of Jodi’s ewes and tup lambs (see photograph 1).

Another highlight is an event this Saturday, 26 July, when Wensleydale sheep will be brought to the museum’s amphitheatre.

Despite Wensleydale sheep producing fleeces of unrivalled quality, the breed is once again in decline, with only 266 white Wensleydale gimmer lambs being registered this year by 70 breeders. 

Jodi Shadforth said part of the reason for staging an exhibition was to raise awareness of a distinctively Yorkshire breed that can be traced to a tup born in East Appleton near Catterick in 1839.

She said: “Wensleydale's had a bit of a revival in the 80s and 90s, but it’s gone gradually back.  They are a sheep that takes work to keep, with all the fleece to keep right.  But they are really friendly, docile sheep, easy to handle. They are good to eat as well - not just for wool! - they have a nice lean carcass.”

Organising the exhibition has been her way of giving back to a breed that has helped her recover her health.

She said: “You can’t really help but feel like they are there for you.  They were there every day in the field for me when I went through my tough times. I’d go out and I know that they’d want to come to see me, they’re like big pom-poms that run over to you, their wool flying everywhere. They are just a joy to see and they gave me a purpose. 

“Joining the Wensleydale Longwool Sheep Breeder’s Association, there’s so many people in it that are supportive and encouraging, and have pushed me to improve my sheep and to keep them.  You feel like you are part of something, keeping a rare breed going, improving it, together.  It’s that community that has helped me all in all.  I no longer take antidepressants. I no longer go to a counsellor. I manage to get through life like anybody else.  But I wasn't always able to. I was basically non functional after University - I would lay in bed and cry and stare at the wall.  It was rubbish.  Honestly, they’ve pulled me from the depths and given me a purpose in life, and I wish everyone had that.  People need to find something that gets them up on a morning, and my Wensleydales get me up on a morning.”

An exciting moment during the exhibition set-up was the delivery of a new artwork by Nicky Long, who lives and works in Cumbria.  

Nicky Long said: “It’s of a Wensleydale ewe and her lamb, from a photograph given to me by Jodi.  It speaks to me, if you like.  There’s an attitude or a character.  She just had that look in her eye. I thought, there’s a protective mum, with her lamb.  She’s saying, don’t you come any closer.

“My usual subject matter is Herdwick sheep. Coming from Cumbria, that’s the sheep I’m really into.  Jodi contacted me last year about this exhibition and I thought, that’s a challenge I’d like to have a go at.  She sent me the wool.  This is the third picture I’ve done now of Wensleydale sheep.  It was challenging with all the curls.  I had to wash it very carefully, clean it and then tease it out.  I needle-felt the wool into linen.  It’s very time consuming, to get the detail.  I follow the line of the fleece to get as much realism as possible. 

“About 70% of the painting is made of Wensleydale wool.  The grey colour of the face I had to use another type of wool, with a short fibre.  When I start a picture like that, I always start with the eyes.  Once you’ve got the eyes right, the rest of it follows.  Where the light and shade is coming from is important for the depth of the picture.  That picture would have taken me 60 hours of actual felting time, on top of the preparation.  I can only work for a couple hours at a stretch, because of concentrating so much, I’ve got to walk away with a cup of tea.  So it’ll take me about six weeks to make a picture of that size.”

A view inside the special exhibition, The Wensleydale Sheep, at the Dales Countryside Museum

Neil Heseltine, who is Member Champion for Promoting Understanding at the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, which runs the Dales Countryside Museum, who is also a keeper of Wensleydale sheep, said: 

“The Dales Countryside Museum is delighted to be hosting this exhibition from the Wensleydale Longwool Sheep Breeder’s Association.  The range of arts and crafts on display, all made with the wool of this Yorkshire breed, demonstrates a real labour of love.  It will connect people to the field and remind us that farming is about fibre as well as food.   If it can inspire even one more person to breed these characterful sheep, then it will be a success.”

“The Wensleydale Sheep – A Handcrafted History” is open from 17 July to 19 October.  The Dales Countryside Museum is open daily, seven days a week.  Admission is £5 for adults, with under 16s free; entry to the special exhibition is included in the admission.