Habitat 2050 imagines habitats in the future when I hope to turn100. The subject of the work considers the impacts of climate change and the consequences of other human activities on the look and feel of the landscape. The small works in the series are predominately paper that suggests the habitats are covered, squandered, cold with just a few places surviving. As the series evolves, wools and silks dominate the surface features, colour comes back suggesting that nature is gaining or humans are managing to listen to the voices of nature and do less harm. The aerial perspective of these topographic felts emphasizes the geographic nature of the work. The landforms, which I hand mold and shape when the finished felt is wet, are overlain with silk images of highly magnified organisms and natural patterns you would find at the scale of the habitat. This mix up of scales drives awareness of the small features and creatures which are often overlooked.

The umbrella series Habitat 2050 now includes Leaves: an Impression (2023)- a collection of supersized futuristic simple leaves of tress of Ontario and futuristic reconstructions of pinnate leaves. Through imagery and narrative, I share my perspective on a familiar plant structure, leaves. I present leaves of Ontario’s trees in diverse and unexpected ways to reveal some of their superpowers, vulnerabilities, and connections between the vitality of leaves and human activities. Sheila’s multicoloured, large felt leaves present extreme future responses to human-induced changes in habitat and climate.  Pinnate leaves called for a different felting technique due to their complexity. These are reconstructions of an actual leaf, measured and cut from Sheila’s own upcycled remnants of nuno or paper felts - reimagined with lichen print surfaces, multicoloured, blue - responding to unknown environmental conditions in 2050.

Vessels include the series of felted lab flasks, Erlenmeyer Imposters (2022) that celebrate women in science with the same bold imagery as is in the topographies (https://www.sheilathompson.studio/erlenmeyerimposters). Additional pieces coming on board now mine the richness of Ontario’s largest Greenbelt for subjects. Plenty to celebrate but plenty of conflict too. Examples include the 40” disc of 14 Greenbelt vs Moneybelt scenarios from the RePlay! exhibit (2024) and a new beaker depicting harmony or conflict of landuse - Redress the Balance (2025).