One thing I’ve learned over the years telling stories is that stories have a life of their own. Each teller and listener hears something different as it connects to their life experience. The way a story spoke to me in the beginning of my professional career is different than how it speaks to me now 40 years later. I see different nuances and perspectives as I continue to work on my craft….learning, growing, and changing.
The same has been true with the woven and felted pieces I’ve created. Looking at some of my early felt wall pieces I now see that they need further work. There are shawls, jackets and dresses that a lot of blood, sweat and tears (sometimes literally!) that went into making them and it’s a shame to leave them packed away because they are no longer a style I wear now. I see them hanging in the closet and think how can they be reimagined into pieces that will be worn once again. All of this cultivates my creativity as I think about the solutions.
I was reorganizing the storage tubes that hold some of my felt pieces. I pulled out ‘Secret Garden’. It had all started years ago with felting a sample of bicolored roving from a Jacob fleece that ended up as an “OK…now what do I do with it….?” It took several more years to percolate before resulting in ‘Secret Forest’.
Looking at it now it told me I need to keep working on it. I cut the piece in half and focused on the large tree needle felting additional layers to fill out the trunk and add colorful leaves. I like the tree but overall picture needed more.
The nice thing about working with felt is that you can piece things together. I added back the section with the stump. More needle felting then gentle wet felting to secure the added fibers and ‘Beware the Will-o-the-Wisps’ came into being.
Here are some my other Before & Afters. Enjoy!
Life is fluid and ever changing…..
And so is art!
Barbara Schutzgruber - Storyteller & Weaver 
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