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of inspiration
The artist’s journey is most fascinating when a chosen life path surrenders
to an unexpected creative passion. In the case of Bev Thoms, it emerged
from the challenges of life on a farm and a little flock of sheep.
BY WIB MIDDLETON
B
ev Thoms always wanted to have
a horse and live in the country. It’s
been ascribed as the impetus that
eventually placed her, husband Dick
and family in the heart of the Agricultural
Reserve in Dickerson, Maryland. Bev’s journey
from nurse to fiber artist was fraught with
the vicissitudes of farm life. While raising
four children on the farm with Dick, she also
helped to relocate and rebuild a horse barn
on the property, piece by piece, and tirelessly
advocated with others for good local educa-
tion, ultimately resulting in the elevation of
Poolesville High School, now rated the best in
the state.
Sitting in her cozy, light-bathed art
studio overlooking Tiewyan, sixty gently
undulating acres she calls home, Bev talks
about the art of nuno felting. It’s a relatively
new felting technique where the artist fuses
the fibers of wool into sheer fabrics, like silk,
using water, soap and agitation. The creative
design potential of the fabric is vast and
includes display art, home décor and wear-
ables that are lightweight, strong and make a
striking fashion statement.
A Tough Row to Hoe
It’s quickly evident that Bev’s work is
completely intertwined with the land. This
is cycle of life stuff, the land eventually
giving rise to her art. But the path wasn’t
easy. The Thoms’ first farming venture turned
tragic. One thousand thriving peach trees
that produced copious fruit met an
unfortunate demise after a freezing rain. “You
could hear the trees cracking in half, like a
rifle shot, one after the other,” Bev reflects
soberly. More than half were lost.
Determined to make the farm viable,
it was time to try something altogether dif-
ferent. The Thoms decided to move into
unknown territory: boarding mares for a
syndicate that raced American Standard-
bred horses, specifically pacers that pulled
the buggies at racetracks. Bev’s training as a
nurse proved helpful with many nights spent
sleeping in the barn caring for the mares dur-
ing foaling. For the most part, foaling takes
place without a lot of drama, except for one
night. A newborn foal got tangled
in the placenta and was struggling to get
up to nurse—a crucial step for early sur-
vival. Bev’s vet had declared Nancy, the foal’s
mother, the “scariest horse” he had ever
met. With Dick in the house tending to their
young children, Bev had to act fast. “I ended
up literally crawling on my belly into the stall,
untangling the baby, and crawling out as
crazy Nancy just looked at me,” Bev recounts.
Happily, the new foal got up, started nursing,
and all was well. But when the horse syndi-
cate closed, the Thoms had to reinvent the
farm once again.
This time, they settled on sheep. It
A small section
of a nuno felt
blanket created
by Bev Thoms.
Loose wool roving
was sandwiched
between hand
painted silk.
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