My friend Elisabeth Lutz is making these unique dreamcatchers using natural materials from the area: willow, hand-spun wool, feathers from seagulls, swans, ducks, pheasants and whatever feathers she finds, and shells from the beach.
Here is how she makes them:
Wool from local Jacobs sheep and Shetland sheep gets prepared for spinning by carding it. This leaves the wool fibres aligned into one main direction. Elisabeth uses a small hand-turned carding machine for this.
Then on the spinning wheel she spins natural sheep wool into fine threads, and after that turns two threads together to make a yarn. The yarn gets hand-dyed or left in its natural colours.
She uses fresh willow branches, cuts off the side shoots and leaves, and twists the branches around each other to form a hoop.
Then she starts weaving the web by tying wool threads across the hoop, which is also strengthening the shape of the willow hoop. Since the willow is fresh it will dry and the hoop may change its form slightly. Also the green of the willow bark will turn into brown.
The actual web takes shape by threading a spiral into the radial threads. This continues the processes of twisting and weaving, first with the wool, then with the willow hoop. The final web takes shape.Elisabeth works intuitively with all materials, never having a fixed idea how the dreamcatcher will look like, but let the materials guide her.
Finally the hoop with web gets decorated with feathers and perhaps shells, always choosing a step at a time what feels right to put where. Feathers and shells get tied on or glued in place.
Here is a link to Elisabeth's website Creativity in Nature which shows more of her creative work: http://elutz.members.beeb.net
~Hans