Last month I received a very kind e-mail from April Quan, the artist who created the woolen castle for Deer Park Library in 2000. She explained that three pennants and a collection of small human figures had been plundered from the piece more than eight years ago. The fact that her delightful castle was mentioned and appreciated in my blog post about Deer Park motivated Ms. Quan to restore the missing features and return the textile chateau to its original glory. It makes me so happy to think that my library blog played a role in the castle’s evolution!
More recently, April responded to my query about the source of her inspiration to use wool. She replied: “The wool is recycled fabric from the big Goodwill store that used to be at Adelaide and Jarvis . . . (the store had) a perfect winter coat just waiting to be turned into stone. . . . The turrets and grass were skirts from the same store.” For many years, April used her creative skills to make toys from natural materials like wool to raise money for her children’s school.
Three Cheers for The Restored Woolen Castle!
