Vampire Squid

The long, long, LONG overdue half of my art trade with pahein, a fellow needlefelter and extremely talented artist. Besides making fantastic creations, she's always trying new techniques and sharing her knowledge. She's a great critique giver -- whenever she comments, she always gives me something new to think about. You should all go check out her gallery and see the unbelievable piece she made with her half of the trade: Noobalee needle felted!!! The rest of her gallery is brimming with amazing versatility and personality. Check it out! pahein

Making a vampire squid -- which is neither a vampire nor a squid, but is a real animal -- was certainly a challenge. These creatures are so mysterious and strange it's hard to get a straight idea of their actual shape. In one photo, they look like an umbrella; in another they look like a torpedo; in another they look like a ball of spikes! So here's my interpretation. I can't claim anatomical accuracy... In fact, I'm certain of a few errors already. >.< 

There is a wire armature underneath so that the "wings/ears" can be posed as well as the arms. In fact, the arms and "cloak" (the webbing between the arms) can be pulled up to cover the rest of the body in the classic vampire squid defensive posture. The cloak itself is made from 100% wool sheets cut into shape and then sewn onto the wire armature. The spines (called cirri) along each arm are made from Bendable Clay (oven-baked polymer clay) so they're flexible and not too dangerous. ^_^ The eyes are made from plastic hemispheres attached to a piece of hand-colored paper; all the space inside gives that globular look. I used glow in the dark fabric paint to simulate the photophores at the top of the mantle and at the base of each arm. Because yes, the vampire squid not only has spikes all over its underside, it also glows in the dark.

Vampire squids are one of the most fascinating creatures on earth. Watch this: youtu.be/S3CJIKKSUpg

I really hope you like it, pahein! I am so sorry I took forever to make it. You deserve a million vampire squids and more!

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This vampire squid is about 12 inches long with a spread of about 14 inches when the arms are laid out straight from the body. It is made from needle felted wool over pipe cleaners with plastic eyes and clay spines.
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More views
Defensive Vampire Squid
Inverted Vampire Squid
Glowing Vampire Squid (bad photo, sorry!)