About the Artist
Art is standing with one hand extended into the universe and one hand extended into the world, and letting ourselves be a conduit for passing energy. Albert Einstein
The Beginning
Rug hooking has the unique ability to serve both practical and inspirational needs. A final product can be as simple as a small mat to keep your feet warm as you get out of bed, or a wall hanging that transcends our mundane existence to nurture our souls. It has been a part of my life for the last 45 years more or less. My own journey in rug hooking arose out of purely practical need Although I was born and brought up in Boston, Massachusetts, I lived in Halifax, NS Canada in my mid twenties. As a new young bride in Halifax, far from home, I saw a hooked rug on the front of Woman’s Day Magazine. I was “hooked”. I learned to hook in a very traditional way with fine strips and much detail using a commercial pattern that depicted flowers and fruits, and scrolls and leaves.
After returning to live in New Hampshire, I had the great good fortune to become a student of Hallie Hall in Contoocook, NH. Under Hallie’s mentorship, I learned to look at the world around me in a new way, really examining the elements that something looks the way it. An accomplished artist herself, Hallie taught us about color and dyeing as well as many techniques for achieving a desired effect using narrow to wide cut wool. As we learned the discipline of hooking, we learned our craft using beautiful, subtle, muted colors and sophisticated color plans. We studied flowers, fruits, geometrics, and landscapes, but most of all she inspired and instilled a love of the art of hooking. My teachers were renowned for this style, and I worked hard to define my own style within this. Pieces I produced during this period are shown in the gallery. The “Memoria” rug demonstrates this style of accurately representing scrolls that twist and turn and flowers that curl outward, but with an artistic twist. The oak leaf and acorn stair runner was a commission done at this time using a more painterly approach.
Probably the culmination of my work in this period is the “Game Preserve” rug, which depicted four Audubon scenes of ruffed grouse, ring-necked pheasants, mallards, and quail in natural settings. At that time, I began to realize the emotional connection between the blank rug warp and my vision of what could be. The satisfaction and thrill of taking thin strips of wool of carefully chosen and dyed colors and pulling them through a backing only to see an amazing bird or beautiful flower appear became almost palpable.
Life has a habit of intervening, and the next ten years became a journey at the side of my mother who had been diagnosed with dementia. They were quiet years, although I continued to teach school full time and run a non-profit. In the end, as one door closed, another did open, and I saw many things in new ways. Although some artists prefer to make social or political statements in their art, I believe I strive to make personal statements but try to evoke emotions such as joy, excitement, drama, solitude, or calm. I do not apologize for wanting to make something beautiful for the sheer sake of beauty.
Recent Influences
After a ten year hiatus I was able to spend some time looking at what had been happening in the hooking world and the art world in general through the internet for the last ten or twelve years. I saw Deanne Fitzpatrick’s work, and was immediately drawn to her style and design. Her designs, brought alive by color, texture, and movement, were entirely different from what I knew. After several workshops with Deanne, I experimented with mixing different sized cuts and materials such as yarns, fleece, sari silk, reclaimed silk, and whatever else could be pulled through a backing. The workshops resulted in hooking several of her large original designs, including “Ocean of Tears”, and “The Wind Blew the Poppies on the Outside of Town”. There was tremendous freedom in this work, and no rules to be followed. Vibrancy and depth of color could be explored, juxtaposed with simplicity but simultaneous complexity of design. These were all an experimentation in various materials in addition to wool fabric strips, combining yarn, sari silk, embellished yarn, and roving. However, these rugs revealed a new way of looking at and thinking about hooking for me.
In this vein, I completed another very large project of a 1950 traditional pattern which has been lost and wrote a three-part series of articles for Rug Hooking Magazine. In this 9.5 by 15 foot rug I combined the skills of fine hooking in the scrolls and flowers, but have reinterpreted the design. When this rug was designed it would have been in soft, rather muted colors and hooked with only one width of the finest strips.
I have used very vibrant colors, both deep and bright, and combined several widths of strips. There is a great deal of movement in the background, and it takes on its own character but still complements the design.
My color planning constantly pushes the boundaries and juxtaposing unlikely combinations brings this rug outside of its 20th century box. I feel that I have brought these wonderful old designs into the 21st century with modern coloration and hooking techniques which will increase their accessibility and appeal to a wider range of present and future hooking artists. Upon its completion I was selected for a month long artist’s residence at the Kingsbrae International Residence for the Arts in St. Andrews By The Sea, New Brunswick Canada. During this time, July of 2017, I was able to think and work solely on designing and hooking which has helped me further hone my vision.
My Philosophy
My home is in Peterborough, NH, although I have lived in many other places including Halifax, NS. My parents bought the 1865 farm house I live in when I was born 71 years ago, and I returned to stay here in 1983. A 100 lb Labrador Retriever and a 19 month old German Shepherd share the house with me. When I undertake a project, whether it’s remodeling a room, making new drapes, or starting a new rug, I am relentless in pursuing its completion. Planning is key for me, and it takes me hours of thinking and visualizing before I can start. As I continue to mature, my work has changed as my philosophy has changed. One learns the basics as a foundation, but once those are established the artist should feel free to fly. When I was absent from hooking for 10 years, I returned with a new sense of freedom as well as seeking a more sensory experience in the process of creation.
As I spent time studying the work of others and seeing the innovation that has been fostered, it engendered excitement for the future. The world of color and dyeing has made huge advances, but only now do we truly realize their infinity. The Internet has had a tremendous influence on the hooking world, both because we can see what other artists are doing as well as communicate with artists all over the world. Groups on Facebook are virtual communities that facilitate sharing.
As an artist, I create and experiment with new dye techniques and colors to continually push the boundaries. Although I have another large project in the works (9’ x 12’) I also have some smaller original designs in process. Pictured here is an ink drawing i created based on a photograph of a hibiscus I grew.