A Hobby That Is

A Cut Above The Rest

By Nancy K. Crevier

The walls in Theresa Berryman’s Sandy Hook home are covered in works of art that she has produced since delving into hobbies midlife. Examples of cross stitch, tin punch, embroidery, watercolors, and reverse glass painting are neatly framed and clustered in groups in every room. Draped over a rocking chair in her living room is a rug punch project in the works, while a finished one, by her late husband John “Buss” Berryman, hangs in front of the fireplace. Chairs and couches are covered with pillows finished in needlework or stencil work, and crocheted blankets.

But standing out from much of the other artwork on the wall are several examples of Scherenschnitte, one of Mrs Berryman’s favorite hobbies.

Scherenschnitte is the art of intricate paper cutting design, first practiced in Germany and Switzerland in the 1600s. Using razor sharp scissors of varying sizes, depending on the design, or Exacto knives for fine work, Scherenschnitte artists such as Mrs Berryman create silhouettes and lace-like works from paper.

Ms Berryman is a self-taught Scherenschnitte artist, having practiced it for more than twenty years, after reading an article in a woman’s magazine about the craft.

“I found it intriguing,” she said. “It was a hobby for me to keep busy with, after my husband died in 1991,” she said. Over the years, she has created hundreds of Scherenschnitte pieces, of all sizes, which she then frames. Several of those works can be viewed currently in a special exhibit on the main floor of C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street.

Mary Thomas, library curator, said that she was delighted to have been approached by Ms Berryman to set up the exhibit.

“The thing that impressed me most is that [Mrs Berryman] is self-taught in Scherenschnitte, and in many other arts, from framing to needlepoint. She is a master of many crafts,” said Ms Thomas.

Ms Berryman’s works are fine examples of the often symmetrical art featuring silhouettes, hearts, flowers, and the animal kingdom, said the curator.

The library is always on the look out for local people to share their artwork in exhibits there, Ms Thomas said, and welcomes inquiries.

The designs used in her Scherenschnitte come from the world around her, and from magazines, said Mrs Berryman.

“If I saw a detailed ad, for instance, with a good pattern that interested me, I’d copy it and then use that to cut out. I liked cutting out the details,” she said.

Other than one very expensive pair of scissors that she ordered from Belgium, her extensive scissor collection is made up of small scissors with different sized blades that she has found locally. Longer blades work for larger sections that are being cut out, and tiny, short bladed scissors make it easy to snip out tiny pieces of paper. She has found that the curved manicure scissors are ideal for some designs, and Exacto knives are perfect for very straight cuts.

“I started out doing silhouettes,” Ms Berryman said, and then evolved into the more painstaking designs, with many careful clips of the paper to create the delicate works. A series of Scherenschnitte based on actual quilt patterns is part of the library exhibit.

“To me, it was a challenge, and I liked that,” said Ms Berryman of her many pieces of Scherenschnitte, “so I kept doing more and more.”

Many of the pieces, which take about two weeks to complete when she focuses on the project, she has given away to friends for birthdays or wedding gifts, or sometimes just because she thought a person would like it.

“I never wanted to sell them, although I did once sell some at a craft fair at the old meeting house. But that was the only time,” said the nonagenarian.

She has devoted less time to the art of Scherenschnitte this past year, she admitted, but continues to enjoy the craft — along with her many other hobbies.

The library is fortunate, said Ms Thomas, to have a copy of Scherenschnitte, by Susanne Schlapfer-Geiser, considered by many to be the definitive book on the craft of skilled scissor cutting. For more information about the Berryman exhibit or exhibiting at the library, contact curator Mary Thomas at the C.H. Booth Library, 203-426-4533.

The Scherenschnitte art of Theresa Berryman is viewable during regular library hours (Monday through Thursday, 9:30 am-8 pm; Friday, 11 am-5 pm; Satudray, 9:30 am-5 pm; and Sunday, noon to 5 pm). It is on view until February 13.