LAUREL — Bonnie Ohrt was born and raised in rural Marshall County and resides on a farm between Laurel and Haverhill. While she spends her time raising registered polled Hereford cattle with her husband Mark, horseback riding and working in insurance, she also creates art — primarily from wool — and uses a chainsaw to carve designs out of wood.

Although she grew up doing farm chores and helping care for dairy cows, creativity was modeled and nurtured by her parents, David and Joyce Bollhoefer. After graduating from what is now East Marshall High School, she took a job as a graphic artist for an advertising company in Newton.

“I learned to weave from my grandmother, and she wove rugs until she was 98 years old, and she passed away at 100,” Ohrt said. “But I have her original floor loom to make primarily rugs on. Over the years, both my parents wove rugs, and my mom and dad started a small side business called Homespun Family, probably 20, 25 years ago.”

Then around 15 years back, Ohrt’s mother taught her how to use a spinning wheel. Soon after, she added alpacas to the farm. Ohrt participates in art and craft shows and hosts classes in a studio above her garage, plus some in the area. On November 13 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. she will lead a fiber art class at Grimes Farm Conservation Center. Registration Fee is $45 with a registration deadline of November 6 by 4 p.m. She will outline the basics of needle felting using three unique types of wool: alpaca, sheep’s wool and llama fiber. Attendees will create a personalized Christmas stocking or picture. All materials are provided.

How the wool is sourced is important to Ohrt. In addition to the alpacas she raises, llama wool comes from a friend, while the sheep wool is via her daughter Casey and son-in-law Joel Faircloth of Toledo who raise Jacob and Racka sheep.

Once the animal is sheared, she goes through the fleece, discarding undesirable parts and holding back high quality pieces for her art. While she used to process and clean the wool herself, she now entrusts that to C&M Acres, run by Christian and Michelle Davies of Maxwell. Carding refers to preparing raw wool fibers by aligning and detangling them so they can be spun into yarn. Then, the fibers are dyed. She uses the finished product for weaving, spinning or packaging for reselling.

“Each species’ wool, whether it’s alpaca, llama or the sheep’s wool, felts differently. That’s one thing I go over in these classes,” Ohrt explained.

She said learning how to felt can be intimidating at first, but she’s instructed people ranging in age from 7 to 90.

“The needles are very sharp and young children need adult supervision,” she noted.

The range of designs and color schemes possible makes it a fun discipline to teach, as well as a relaxing process.

“Everybody has how they like to do their art. I could have five people doing the same project but it comes out completely different just based on that person’s interpretation of it,” she said.

Farm life continues to inspire her. In the past, Ohrt painted murals on the sides of barns. Today, she takes felled trees and turns them into works of art at a carving station on her property.

“People just think it’s so strange that somebody like me would do that, but it’s always fascinated me,” she said of working with a chainsaw. “Growing up on a farm my whole life, I’m very busy outside. I help my husband all the time whether it’s the cattle, the tractors, everything. I’m used to the heavier equipment…We had an old apple tree we took down, and I left the trunk. I just kind of started working on that myself.”

She’s gained insights on techniques through chainsaw carving groups on social media.

“It’s just another art form I’m growing. I’m learning as I go. I have just recently started doing commission pieces, but it is a very sideline, sideline thing. I just tell people, it takes me a while, I’ve got a lot going on, and I just do it when I can,” she said.

She makes sure not to get too overwhelmed by the work.

“I want to just keep that art form enjoyable to me. You know, once it becomes like a job that you got to get it done, that just takes the fun away,” she said.

To learn more, visit: www.homespunfamily.net. She may be reached at mbohrt1@gmail.com and 641-485-1758.