I strive to create creatures that remind me of the wonder and magic of nature that, as a grown-up, often gets dismissed as fantasy.

Each creature begins as a sketch in my notebook. Little notes and squiggly arrows will sometimes cover the page about what this creature looks like. But faerie are mischievous and forever changing their minds. The character that is portrayed at the end may only resemble the beginning sketch in the fact that it is a winged faerie, or his ears are pointed or his socks are striped.

I hand dye all of the wool I work with to get just the right shade. Often the faeries name will come to me as I am felting their eyes. It is almost like I have opened their eyes to the world, and being the first person they see, they are willing to tell me their name and whisper their stories.

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My name is Jennifer Carson, and I was born in Ann Arbor, MI. I have always been a dreamer and the characters in my imagination longed to come alive. In my writing and in my designing I strive for a connection between my characters and my reader/observer.

As a senior in high school I received a full scholarship to Washtenaw Community College, and knowing that an education was costly, and being a young graduate (seventeen), I decided to accept it, and put off going to art school. When I was nineteen I had my first son with my high-school sweetheart, and at twenty we were married. Any plans for art school were again, put off.

In the next seven years, three more boys were added to our brood, and my desire to create something other than children had been growing. I began painting murals in children’s rooms, starting with my own. Then I wanted to create the bedding, so I learned to sew—something I had fought my mom tooth and nail over as a teenager. As my children got older and more independent, I decided to go back to the community college I had graduated from and take some art classes.

I learned to use soft pastels, loving how the colors overlapped and made each layer richer, but with four children in the house--it was a bit messy. Watercolor was the next step and I found a bit of success, but I still craved something more tangible. After three semesters of life drawing, I still felt that something was missing in my art and I was at a standstill, not knowing which way to go.

I had always loved fabric and textures and figuring out how things were put together, so I slowly moved into the world of art dolls. I began teaching myself how to design bodies, starting with a simple dragon with only two feet and constantly reaching for a more complex form. In the beginning I was painting the features onto the dolls with acrylic paint. Then my high-school art teacher showed me how to use a felting needle. That was it, the next piece of the puzzle I needed to move forward with my work. Now I am teaching others the magic of a felting needle and love to see the smiles that my creations bring to people’s faces.

A driving force in my own work has always been the work of Jim Henson and the wonderful artists that were lucky enough to work with him. It is my sincere desire that one day I am lucky enough to work with his son Brian, who continues his vision.

In July of 2008 I became an editor for Faerie Magazine and I haven’t looked back. I’m grateful for all of the opportunities working for the magazine has given me, and grateful for all of the wonderful people, artists and writers included, that I have met through them.

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