Together, they create artwork that not only showcases the beauty of the planet, but is also made from recycled materials that would have otherwise gone to harm the natural world.  

The importance of preserving the natural environment the artists hold dear pushes them to think outside the box when crafting. For Woodland Muse, most of their work is made from worn materials that would otherwise be heading to a landfill. 

Patricia has come to perfect a method of creating faux stained glass works made of shards of previously used colored glass. 

“The base of it is plexiglass that I end up gluing glass pieces to and grouting into it … so it’s more of a mosaic,” she said. 

Patricia said the process allows her to avoid contact with lead, which is commonly used in stained glass. She also enjoys the ease of working in her home studio. 

Bill can often be found scrounging for parts to create his weaponry. 

“We go visit my parents about once a year and he (his father) always loads us up with supplies and it’s the strangest stuff … mantles from a thrift store that he figured I could use the wood for. He changes the lawnmower blades on his two lawnmowers every year, so he gives me a stack of lawnmower blades to work with.” 

Bill takes these seemingly unconnected items and gives them new life as a carefully crafted works of art. The artists pride themselves in their innovative recycling and know their actions have a positive impact. 

Bill was immersed in nature from a young age. Raised in the upper peninsula of Michigan, he grew up near his grandmother who lived off the land. Here, he was taught skills about the outdoors that he would carry with him into adulthood. Bill enlisted in the Navy, where he served as a photojournalist for eight years. He describes that time as taking a mental toll that found him longing to live a more peaceful life. 

When his enlistment was up, Bill moved to Tuckasegee. His work utilizes a combination of woodworking and forging to create weaponry that can be used practically or as decoration. His hope is that others will appreciate his work for its craft and innovation. 

Throughout her childhood, Patricia knew she wanted to be an artist. 

“There’s never been anything other than art. Everything else has been secondary. This has been what I’ve wanted to do my whole life,” she said. 

Patricia’s family has a rich artistic tradition, including her grandmother who was an adept painter and created murals in churches. Growing up in a small town in western Tennessee, Patricia rarely spent time inside as a child. She describes finding herself most at peace when she was in the forest surrounded by the natural world. 

A defining experience was a year spent with her mother traveling across the country where they saw many natural beauties, including herds of massive buffalo and wild donkeys that licked the salt off their car. As an artist she uses the themes of nature to fuel her body of work, mostly centering around animals. Patricia’s multifaceted approach spans several mediums including illustration, textiles and wood burning. 

Through their shared love of nature and creating, the couple has found ways to collaborate and complement each other’s own artwork. 

“Where my aspects are more three-dimensional, hers are often two-dimensional … that’s why we kind of started calling our collaborative effort Woodland Muse because it’s not just Bill Weinert, it’s not just Patricia Weinert, it’s both of us.” 

Woodland Muse’s signature works are their wooden-handled knives and hatchets. For these, Bill starts out by forging a blade to be attached to a shaped piece of wood, carefully selected to fit well with the structure and color of the blade. Once the knife or hatchet is complete, Patricia integrates her detailed illustrations in the form of wood burnings on the handle. The designs she implements range from colorful snakes curled around the haft of an ax to geometric patterns stamped on the smooth wooden portion of a knife. 

Bill and Patricia Weinert have been touched by the arts and nature throughout their entire lives. The artists realize that, as humans, we have a responsibility to preserve the ecosystem that has served us for so long. 

“A lot of this world is wasteful, too many people are wasteful …. We put out a lot that we don’t need, while what we should do is appreciate what we have. Make work with what we have and there’s a lot of beauty in making do,” Patricia said. 

Through their artwork, Woodland Muse is contributing to a revolution of making through reclamation. To contact Bill and Patricia Weinert, visit their Facebook Page at Woodland Muse Crafts.