Question 1

Where can I view available works?

Accepted Answer

To view Monica Maya’s available works, visit her portfolio.

Question 2

Where can I view Monica’s work in person?

Accepted Answer

Monica’s work is currently located at two galleries on Vancouver Island: Peninsula Art Gallery & The Gallery at Mattick’s Farm

Question 3

How do I purchase a piece?

Accepted Answer

To purchase a piece, please contact us.

Question 4

How do I clean my piece?

Accepted Answer

The good news is that merino wool is naturally low-maintenance, thanks to one of its remarkable properties—its anti-static quality. This helps the fiber repel dust and resist buildup over time.
To freshen your piece, I recommend a gentle cleaning approximately every five years. Simply place a piece of tulle or fine mesh fabric over the end of a vacuum hose, set the vacuum to its lowest setting, and lightly pass it over the surface. This method is safe, effective, and helps preserve the integrity of the fiber art.
With proper care, your merino wool artwork will remain beautiful and vibrant for many years to come—it’s truly easier to maintain than most people expect.

Question 5

What Exactly Is Wool, Anyway?

Accepted Answer

Strictly speaking, wool is a general term describing fibers spun from the hair of any of several mammals—sheep to be sure, but also alpacas, goats, llamas, vicuñas, and even rabbits (think Angora). Lambswool specifically is produced from a lamb’s first shearing, which usually happens around seven months. It can come from any variety of sheep. But Merino wool can come only from the fleece of a Merino sheep. An adult female sheep is called a ewe, an adult male a ram. The coat of wool shorn from a single adult sheep is called a fleece: one ewe yields between 10 and 18 pounds of wool, rams more because they are larger. This is enough to make four or five sweaters after washing and processing the wool.

Question 6

What is Merino Wool?

Accepted Answer

Merino Sheep = a specific breed of sheep that originated in Spain via North Africa
Merino Wool = the wool from a Merino sheep
Wool = spun fibers from any of several types of animals
Fleece = one coat of wool shorn from one sheep
Lambswool = the wool from the first shearing of a lamb of any breed of sheep

Question 7

What determines the quality of merino wool?

Accepted Answer

The size of the fiber determines the quality of the wool—the smaller the fiber, the higher the quality. The diameter of a wool fiber is measured in microns; a single micron is one millionth of one meter. To put this minuscule number in perspective, consider this: a single human hair is 40 microns in diameter. Insofar as wool is concerned, the number of microns describes the degree of refinement; the smaller the number, the softer and more expensive the wool. Garden variety Merino wool measures about 23 microns; “fine” Merino wool measures 18, “superfine” 16 to 17, and the ultimate—“ultrafine”—is anything under 15.5 microns. Wool between 11.5 and 24 microns is used for clothing, and the rest is consigned for use in blankets, insulation, and furnishings.

Question 8

Sheepish Factoids

Accepted Answer

– Worldwide there are over 450 sheep varieties, of which the Merino is one of the oldest.

– Hay- and grain-fed in winter and grazing on pasture in the summer, the Merino typically yields one or two lambs a year and lives about 10 to 15 years.

– Only male Merinos have horns; both male and female sheep of some other varieties have horns, but most sheep breeds have no horns at all.

– Though Merino sheep are raised in nearly every country worldwide, the bulk of Merino wool—about 80 percent of it—now comes from Australia.

Question 9

What is the history of merino wool?

Accepted Answer

Merino was developed in Spain between the 13th and 14th centuries when local sheep (which the Phoenicians had introduced via Asia Minor) were bred with sheep from England. But an especially meaningful chapter in the history of Merino wool was written right here in our home state of Vermont, and it all began with Napoleon. Prior to his invasion of Spain in 1808, the Merino sheep had been highly prized there, representing a substantial part of the country’s revenues—so much so it was a capital offense to export one. Faced with the decimation of its Merino flocks as a consequence of war, Spain thought better of this policy and lifted the blockade.

There were no Merino sheep anywhere in the U.S. before 1801. Then one William Jarvis, a successful American merchant and the former United States Consul to Portugal, took advantage of the sea change in Spanish policy and began introducing the sheep to the U.S., and to Weathersfield, Vermont in particular. Merino sheep are hardy and will graze on just about anything; they took to Vermont’s cold climate and its many thousands of acres of poor, rocky soil, which suited them just fine. This “invasive” species also dovetailed with an American desire at the time to establish manufacturing that would compete with and break our dependence on the Brits.

By 1837 there were over a million head of sheep in Vermont, but the boom was relatively short-lived, ending only a decade or so later when tariff laws changed, and when farmers in the American West began raising sheep for a much lower cost per head. But during its heyday, Merino farming made Weathersfield one of Vermont’s most prosperous towns.

Question 10

What makes merino wool great?

Accepted Answer

Here are five excellent reasons Merino wool is so desirable:

– Merino wool is soft. Modern technology allows the selection of only the finest Merino fibers, which lack the annoying microscopic barbs other wools possess—tiny, invisible miscreants that irritate the skin. Because of this Merino feels exceptionally soft by comparison. And because Merino wool is only about a third the diameter of a human hair, it lays comfortably against the skin.

– Merino wool drapes well. Merino is elegant and sleek and fits the human form beautifully; it also holds dye well, and comes in widely varying textures, weaves, and weights. And it’s easy to tailor—no small thing for designers—and may be permanently “set” with temperature and moisture.

– Merino wool is insulating. The wool of the Merino sheep works to keep them warm in winter and cool in summer—why shouldn’t it do the same thing for us? This means Merino will also regulate the body’s temperature and heart rate to improve sleep. And unlike cotton and other synthetics, Merino continues to insulate even when it’s wet.

– Merino wool keeps you dry. The long, fine, very soft hairs wick moisture away from the sheep’s skin and release it back into the air as vapor; you can expect the same when you wear Merino wool. It behaves as a buffer by managing the buildup of moisture—individual fibers can absorb as much as 30 percent of their own weight in moisture—keeping the body drier longer, whatever the external temperature. Once wet, Merino dries more quickly than cotton or synthetics, but does not cling to you, so your skin can continue to behave “normally.”

– Merino wool is a natural performance material, possessing many of the same technical properties that must be added to other performance textiles. Merino wool is antimicrobial, resists odors, fire-resistant refusing to melt or stick to skin, anti-static,( this property works magic in my art wall pieces because repels the dust from the piece) and wrinkle-resistant, hypoallergenic, and boasts an Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) of 50+ depending on its weave.

The end result is a beautiful, functional textile now in days used for creating wearable art or two or three dimensional art.
Although it is not necessary I like to use merino wool for my art because it gives the piece maximum quality, softness and better results compared to coarse wool.

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