Liz Schott on Dorothy Liebes and the Red Cross The Healing Power of Weaving

World War II saw an overwhelming number of injured servicemen and women returning from battle to veterans' hospitals across the United States. In response, the Red Cross established its Arts & Skills program to assist the V. A.'s professional occupational therapists. Renowned textile designer Dorothy Liebes guided the Red Cross to assemble a corps of artists and craftspeople to train volunteers to teach injured servicemen and women a number of different arts and crafts. These ranged from sculpture, bookbinding, and plant grafting, to photography and weaving. Liebes led the charge in 126 hospitals across the country. Liz Schott's presentation chronicles the build-up to the war, Liebes's response to the Red Cross's call, her other wartime volunteerism, the soldiers and sailors who benefited from Arts & Skills, and the story of one notable alumnus. Liz Schott is a retired educational leader who is writing the biography of renowned textile designer and weaver Dorothy Wright Liebes. In June, 2025, Liz received the Biographers International Organization's Hazel Rowley Prize for her proposal for 𝘜𝘴𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘞𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘓𝘪𝘦𝘣𝘦𝘴. She lives in Sebastopol, California, with her husband of 39 years, Perry, and their rescued cattle dog, Roxy. Their daughter Francesca lives with her husband Jason near Sacramento and their son Augie is in New York.