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Fiber Artist Lynn Schuster Combines Creative Skills

“Weaving came naturally,” says Lynn Schuster. Photo by Len Villano.

“I knew I was an artist when I was a kid,” says fiber artist Lynn Schuster, sitting on her couch besides piles of woven table runners; felt and silk pins and journals featuring embroidery, crochet, and beadwork; as well as intricate beaded jewelry. “My mom taught me to sew in seventh grade, in eighth grade I was putting in her zippers. I taught myself how to embroider when I was in sixth grade. In high school, I made my own clothes.”

The multi-media artist gestures to the large looms taking up half the living room. Where I see a pile of planks hanging by strings, she sees her first artistic love, a tool to create colorful, complex patterns for rugs, table runners, or blankets. “Weaving came naturally,” she says. “I could figure things out when others couldn’t. It’s like a puzzle; just get the pieces right and it flows together.”

Schuster signed up for her first weaving class in 1978 as a sophomore at Illinois State University, majoring in fine art with an emphasis in fiber arts. She excelled. “I was designing very intricate patterns that master students were designing,” she admits. After just two semesters of weaving she competed with fellow students to design a weaving that would be used in a workshop. “I designed a floral pattern and they chose mine,” she smiles. “My instructor said, ‘How did you do that? I haven’t taught you that!’”

When Schuster graduated from college in 1980, she relocated to the place she spent every summer – Door County. “My grandparents retired up here,” she explains. “I learned to swim in Clark Lake.” She took up a job at Bay Print, which is no longer in business, in the pre-press department. “I could use my artistic and creative ability,” she says. “That was my livelihood. At night I would weave.”

Throughout the years, Schuster tried her hand at creating a variety of weaving patterns – some designed by herself. “There are so many weaving structures to explore,” she says. “I would take those patterns, which are almost like recipes for cooking, and make them my own.”

Experimenting with a combination of her skills, Schuster creates many elaborate pieces – baskets, jewelry, journals, and pins. Photo by Len Villano.

A popular pattern and one she teaches to her students is the “Summer & Winter” weave structure. “That’s been around for many years,” she says. “I use that structure and create my own block patterns. I think, ‘What do I want to say with this? Do I want bold and splashy, warm and subtle?’”

Schuster admits she tends to work with greens and purples. “I have to force myself to change it up,” she laughs. “I’m pretty comfortable using any color scheme; I know how colors work together.” She came to that comfort through a process of trial and error. “I weaved a lot of ugly stuff,” she laughs.

After closing her store Fiber Work on Third Avenue in Sturgeon Bay, which was open from 1990 – 1996, Schuster stepped away from weaving to learn more about other artistic interests. She took classes at Sievers School of Fibers Arts on Washington Island.

“In ’96, I took beading. I went crazy with that. Then I learned about basketry. I went crazy with that,” she laughs. “It was great – I could put things in a little bag and work away on the road. I can’t move my looms.”

Experimenting with a combination of her skills, Schuster creates many elaborate pieces – baskets, jewelry, journals, and pins. She recently started creating beaded figures – Pod People. “When I make them, I hold them in my hand and listen to what they want to say.” Once she picks up on a few key words such as ‘hope,’ ‘love,’ or ‘peace,’ she writes it on a piece of paper and stuffs that paper inside the figure. This desire to pass on spiritual goodness and health to others is also apparent in Schuster’s passion for Reiki.

One of Schuster’s ‘Pod People.’ “When I make them, I hold them in my hand and listen to what they want to say,” she says.

“A friend of mine asked if I wanted to go to a Reiki workshop in 2002. I thought we were working on feet. I’m not keen on working on feet,” she laughs, “but I wanted to see my friend and then I found out it’s body work – energy that comes form the hands, it’s very spiritual. I love teaching it, experiencing it. I do it daily.”

Schuster also works on an art project daily. “It’s like mediation. I feel centered. If I don’t, things get wonky.”

And when she’s not creating art or teaching Reiki, she’s co-managing the Kimberley House, a living facility for alcoholics and addicts, with her husband, or teaching one of her many artistic skills to others, whether in a private setting or at Sievers. “I think creative people in any medium are very willing to share knowledge and inspiration,” she says. “I want to tell you how [weaving] works, it excites me.”

All our welcome in her classes – experienced and novice. “So many people think they are not creative, but they are,” she says. “Art keeps me in the moment – that’s the only place we really have power.”

To learn more about Schuster’s art and Reiki, visit lynnschusterdesigns.com. To view art for sale visit lynnschusterdesigns.etsy.com.

For more information, contact Schuster at [email protected].