Barbara Schutzgruber – Storyteller & Weaver

May has been a busy month filled with Show & Tell adventures!

The Ann Arbor Fiberarts Guild exhibit “The Many Faces of Fiber Art” runs from May 3-June 29, 2022 in the gallery space at Silver Maples Senior Living, Chelsea Michigan. The exhibit includes work from 17 guild members representing a wide range of techniques: weaving, surface design, tapestry, paper making, marbling, rug hooking, 3D sculptural, stitch work and embroidery. I have 3 pieces in the show – Hiking the Coastal Path, Meander, and Surround Sound Vest.

---

When the speaker scheduled for the May 7th meeting of the Ann Arbor Fiberarts Guild had to cancel I offered to present the PowerPoint portion of ‘Tales from the Weaving Room’.

It was a pleasure to share a timeline and brief history of textile technology spanning 50,000 years, and stories whose imagery is rooted in the making of cord and cloth with modern ‘fiber folk’ because we are part of a long history as we stand on the shoulders of those who went before us. We are the stuff of stories when we spin ‘straw into gold‘ (flax into linen) and carry ‘magic wands‘ (spindles and knitting needles).

---

The full 2 hour presentation of ‘Tales from the Weaving Room’ was on May 12th for Elderwise Learning in Ann Arbor. After 2 years on Zoom they have started meeting once again in person with limited class sizes. Starting with the PowerPoint and moving on to the hands-on portion, everyone tried spinning wool using a drop spindle….

and a chance to try weaving on different types of looms.

---

The final event this month was the artist reception for the Michigan League of Handweavers 2022 Biennial Fiber Exhibit at the LowellArts Gallery, Lowell Michigan on May 26th. I had 2 pieces accepted into the show Secret Forest and Fire on the Horizon. Here are just a few of the amazing entries.

For more pictures and the list of award winners go to MLH’s FaceBook page.