PENDLETON — Pendleton artist Stephanie Huffman was an inquisitive child who wanted to touch the paintings she saw. Now as an adult, Huffman has kept that childlike wonder alive by creating textile art.

“With textile art you can touch the finished creation which definitely steered me to become a fiber artist,” she said. “The tactile sensations of working with textiles makes me very happy.”

Huffman’s art consists of stuffed animals made out of recycled textiles. After engineering the individual pieces of her chosen animal, she picks from her stash of thrifted sweaters that she has deconstructed to reuse the material for her stuffed animals.

“The finished animals have a uniform shape while the upcycled materials give each one a unique appearance,” she said.

In her previous collection, Huffman explored designing whimsical stuffed animals such as cats, whales and owls. Now working on her next collection, she’s decided to return to her roots by creating a series of monster hats and bags made from fun fur fabric and upcycled liner fabric.

“All monsters are modeled to look as if the monster is eating the wearer’s hand or head,” she said. “I enjoy visual puns and making monsters is one of my favorite creative activities.”

Huffman’s art appeals to the senses with her use of fun, bright and interesting fabrics, but above all else, she explains that she hopes her art will convey joy for viewers just as it has for her.

“I was in an isolated period in my life when I started experimenting with fiber,” she said. “My world improved dramatically as a result of making art and meeting fellow artists.”

Now having found a sense of community through creating and sharing art, Huffman has discovered her desire to not only create art that uplifts viewers, but also inspires them environmentally through her use of reducing, reusing and remaking textiles into cherished collectibles.