Barbara Schutzgruber – Storyteller & Weaver

I have two great artistic loves – fiber and stories.
Each of these areas can be very solitary as I work alone playing with textures and colors creating actual items or storylines and spoken word creating images seen within the depth of imagination. October has been a month of being out and about with others sharing artwork and stories.

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Thanks to Zoom I spent an evening with the Peninsula Weavers & Spinners Guild in Port Townsend, Washington presenting Tales from the Weaving Room which explores the connection between the skill, tools and often magical looking processes developed to make cloth and how they are reflected in the stories women told each other as they worked throughout the year to clothe their families and communities. 

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The Ann Arbor Fiberarts Guild  is back in the lobby of the Power Center for the Performing Arts from October 13th through December 10th. My felt piece Confetti is part of the exhibit. 

Over the years I’ve learned lot working along side fellow guild members as to what all goes into arranging and hanging an exhibit. The Power Center is not an easy venue because of the cement walls and fixed hanging peg locations set every 24″.

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Presenting my workshop Painting with Wool for the fall term of Elderwise Learning gave me the opportunity to spent several hours with a small group of adults teaching the basics of wet felting and helping them create small pieces of artwork.

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I had a great time being interviewed for a local talk show Celebrate Michigan which highlights the people, resources and activities that make Michigan a great state. The show is part of Madonna University’s Broadcast & Cinema Arts Program and is recorded at the TV studio on campus. It is overseen by industry  professionals giving students real world experience as producers, directors, writers, along with lighting, sound and camera work. The student producers, director and crew were great and host Chris Benson made me feel at ease. We talked about storytelling, fiber arts and I told a story. After we finished the taping several tied on the felt mask and the hat woven from National Geographic maps.

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As October comes to a close I shared the stage with fellow storytellers Jean Bolley, Jennifer Pahl Otto, Jeff Doyle, Mike Cox, Robin Nott and Larry Castleberry for the annual Scary Stories Festival at the Howell Opera House to raise funds for the eventual restoration. The Opera House built in 1881 and has sat frozen in time since 1925. This is my favorite venue for telling creepy, spine tingling tales.

It’s been a busy month spending time talking shop with fellow artists
and introducing people across the country and down the road
to the worlds of fiberarts and storytelling.