For the love of alpacas

Alpacas changed Susan Neri-Waldron's art. Now she paints with roving or fleece from her livestock rather than oil or pastels.

In fact, alpacas changed her life and that of her husband, Ron Waldron.

But the Waldrons would say the lifestyle is the point of raising these gentle, prancing, somewhat goofy-looking animals.

The couple and several other area alpaca owners will welcome the curious on National Alpaca Farm Day Saturday and Sept. 30.

For the love of alpacas, the Waldrons moved from their home in Wayne to a very old farmhouse on 5 acres west of Elgin.

"When something unusual comes up, I always say 'Why not?'" said Neri-Waldron, whose previous careers have included an interior design firm and owning a shop called The Stone Cottage in St. Charles.

The couple was searching for something to keep them active in retirement and discovered alpaca breeding after trying and rejecting a Florida lifestyle.

Visitors won't consider the Waldrons' move a huge sacrifice when they drive into a yard where flowers and tall grasses bloom under walnut trees and other old beauties.

At first Neri-Waldron did not know where they would find a private outdoor spot, away from the rather busy road out front. This was accomplished when they had a large garage built next to the farmhouse, and behind it installed a patio and a garden with a pond.

This is all arranged so they can sit and watch their alpacas in their pens, of course.

The animals come in white, black and multiple shades of brown. This is reflected by some of the names for the Waldrons' 30 animals.

Camisea's Nutmeg, My Peruvian Raisin, Captain Sable and Siena Warrior are just a few examples.

The couple has heard all kinds of unverified rumors about the history of their house.

"It was a roadhouse built in the 1870s for a stagecoach stop, and during one of the wars soldiers were here and some are buried around here," Neri-Waldron said.

With its additions and remodelings over the years, it now has a first-floor master suite, a second-floor studio and two stairways connecting the levels.

The Waldrons painted the heavy oak kitchen cabinets white and installed oak floors as well as French doors from the screened front porch to the dining room, where they hung an old-fashioned style wallpaper in green with persimmon birds.

Neri-Waldron's studio is on the second floor, where the couple raised the ceiling with a large dormer that brings in light.

This is where Neri-Waldron paints pictures and decorates purses and clothing with roving or fleece from the alpacas.

She calls her work felting, and uses different methods to create it.

For dry felting, she joins the fibers together by repeatedly punching them with a tool that holds several sharp needles.

With wet felting, the roving is the medium just like pastels or oils, she said.

The roving is applied to the design, then she wets it with hot, soapy water.

The fabric is all rolled up around a child's swimming noodle with bubble wrap and agitated perhaps hundreds of times.

Without any adhesive, the roving adheres to itself and the backing.

"I love the experimental part of it. Every day there's something different," said the artist.

Neri-Waldron creates pictures of flowers and landscapes with her roving as well as abstracts.

She also teaches classes, sells roving either natural or dyed, and she spins yarn from the combed fleece and dyes it for sale to knitters and weavers.

Her Suri alpacas receive buzz cuts to collect fleece, which is as soft as cashmere, she says, asking visitors to compare samples.

Suris are the rarer of the two alpaca breeds, and it's the silky, dreadlock-style fleece that distinguishes them from the Huacayas, which have fluffy, crimped fleece.

Ron Waldron -- who was raised on Chicago's West Side and sold candy both wholesale and in company-owned retail stores for many years -- is all wrapped up in raising and living with alpacas.

In fact, he was reluctant to accept an offer perhaps twice what might be expected for one of his prize-winning young alpacas until his wife reminded him they have 30 animals now, with new ones being born every spring and fall.

"Susan will not allow me to go to any more auctions without her. It's the lifestyle more than anything," Waldron said.

But his wife is also smitten.

"They're really rewarding," Neri-Waldron said. "After working with them if they're in any kind of trouble like having a baby or frightened, they seem to look to me for comfort.

"They're extremely gentle. I trust my 2-year-old grandchildren out there with them."