By LINDA CHION KENNEY
It’s not for the ribbons that Barbara Williams has turned to art in retirement as a grand way to feed upon a lifetime of creating, including during her years as a high school student sewing her own wardrobe.
For Williams, who turns 77 in April, art has become an even greater passion as she explores new materials and textures, working with and learning from accomplished artists and earning high praise in the process.
“It’s never too late” to learn new things, Williams said. “It’s a way to stay engaged and have some fun. Just because you’re getting older doesn’t mean you have to sit in the corner. Don’t be afraid to try something new.”
For Williams, that exploration has involved wet and needle felting and weaving, including working with an embellisher machine after watching her sister-in-law, Mary Beth Withey, work her magic with one in Syracuse, N.Y., through her company, “A Few Good Bananas.”
“She had started some needle felting, and I spent some time with her in her studio,” Williams said, about that fateful visit some five years ago. “I had so much fun I ordered a machine so it would be here when I got home.”
Then, Williams expanded into wet felting, after happening upon a workshop in Gulfport that sold fiber and yarn.
“My sister-in-law was visiting me, and we took the class together,” Williams said. “It was so much fun we decided we we’re going to do more of this.”
“More of this” has led to 23 entries in Florida State Fair competitions over the past three years, for which Williams took home 26 ribbons, including four for best-of-show. This year alone she had nine entries in the fair’s sewing, weaving and felting categories.
“I’m still flabbergasted that my entries win awards,” Williams said. “The first year I thought it was because nobody entered. It was COVID.”
Williams credits, as well, her involvement with outside groups, including art classes in Sun City Center and meetings with the Tampa Bay Surface Design Guild for encouragement that keeps her going.
“Some of these people are so talented that, really, I felt kind of like an imposter, to tell you the truth,” Williams said. “They kept on encouraging me. And the guild is a really supportive group of people.”
Williams said art has been in her blood since she was a child, with sewing her main passion. In addition to learning from others. Williams said she self-taught herself as well, with books and You-tube videos that furthered her mastery of new and emerging skills.
Curiosity and a love of learning new systems and techniques are not foreign to Williams, who started her working career as a secretary at the Pentagon.
Married, and then later divorced, she moved to California, where her boss encouraged her to go back to school. She did, at night, where she studied business and business management and earned associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
Her career at what is now known as Pratt & Whitney, a company that makes gas turbine jet engines, started when they needed someone to start a new group in San Diego where her background in government pricing and accounting served her well.
“I developed a reputation for solving problems,” Williams said. “When someone had a problem in another department, they moved me over there.”
Living in Ruskin for almost 11 years now, Williams said she still owns a house in Sun City Center, where she moved 15 years ago to be close to a cousin whose husband had died.
As evidenced through her life of challenges and new beginnings, Williams has an insatiable appetite to learn and create, which she does, in part, to make gifts for family and friends. She also sells some items through her business, “Barbara Ellen Watermelon Designs.”
Photo courtesy Barbara Williams
Retiree Barbara Williams wears a jacket she created. Also in the photo are the green felt fairy slippers that earned her Best of Show at the 2022 Florida State Fair. Overall, Williams earned 10 ribbons for her nine entries in the Sewing, Weaving and Felting categories.
“I’ve always kind of enjoyed art and doing things like that, and now that I’ve got the time to do it, I take advantage of that,” Williams said. “You’ve got to do something with your life. At one point in life, I kind of dropped out. My husband and I in the seventies built a boat, and we sailed off into the sunshine. I lived on a boat for about three years. I discovered that I’m not very good at being a bum.”
Williams said she also learned valuable life lessons for taking the first step forward.
“It surprises you sometimes what other people think of what you do,” Williams said. “Art is one of those weird things. Like they say, ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.’ You just never know.”
Secondly, “it’s never too late to get started,” Williams said. “And don’t be afraid to try something new. There are too many things out there that you can do, and people need to go out there and do them.”
To view Williams’ work, visit www.Instagram.com/BarbaraEllenWatermelon/. Email: watermelonfelts@yahoo.com/.
