Category: Adobe Wool Arts Guild

January 25, 2025

Portraits in 2025

While 2024 was a year for making fiber vessels, 2025 is quickly turning into the Year of Fiber Art Portraits!

By the way, if you’re new here, welcome. This isn’t just the first post of 2025, it’s the first post I’ve made in six months! I’ll try to be better, but to see what I’m up to on a daily basis, see my Instagram page. (For now; that could change, but I’ll let you know.)

Stitched portrait — Mid-project: Stitching up my mom.

Back to the portraits at hand. Last year, the Adobe Wool Arts Guild here in Albuquerque, began planning to host a 3-day workshop with Tammy Pavich for 2025. If you’re a hooker, you probably know of her. My favorite book of hers is HERE. We’re in the midst of full-out planning for the class right now, in fact, as it’ll happen in March. The topic? Impressionistic portraits. I’m still debating what to do: Bowyn? Tom? A selfie? Gotta get my sh*t together and let her know ASAP!

Meanwhile, In the Studio Online’s Workshop Week 2025 looms in less than two weeks from today. Yay! While I’m not teaching a class this year, I am the administrator of the school. Yes, there’s still plenty of work ahead of me making sure it all goes well. And, yes, there’s still time for you to register. Find the info HERE. As administrator, I can attend the classes and talks. Guess what Wendie Scott-Davis, instructor extraordinaire, is teaching? How about Creating a Value-Based Portrait from a Photograph. Yep, another hooked portrait! Again, to feature Tom or the dog???

BTW, Wendie’s opened a second session of that initially sold-out class for Saturday, March 8. Again, see the link above.

A couple of weeks ago, TextileArtist ran a free online workshop. I try to avail myself to all of their free classes when they happen. They’re that good. In fact, if I had more time and wasn’t soooo into rug hooking, I’d join their Stitch Club in a heartbeat. But I digress. The free workshop: Get Started with Stitched Portraits with Susie Vickery. Yep, more portraits, albeit stitched, not hooked. While I haven’t finished that project yet, I decided to do my mother. Sadly, she’s falling further into aphasia and frontotemporal dementia. I’m trying to grab what I can of her now. But it’s hard with her living back east in Connecticut and me here in the desert.

Lest you think I couldn’t find any more portraiture opportunities, you would be wrong. Most mornings I do yoga and various forms of PT (that ankle reconstruction last year really did a number on my whole lower body) to YouTube before I ever leave my bedroom. Want to know what showed up in my feed four days ago? The ladies of the Expressive Stitch Collective: Liz Bessel and Hayley Perry. If you haven’t tuned into them, you really should.

Hooked art, "Bowyn's Mule" — “Bowyn’s Mule” was hooked and sold last year. (21.5″x12″; hooked with repurposed textiles and wools on Scottish burlap)

While both are accomplished artists and teachers, they like to try new things and invite us to go along with them. Find their YouTube channel HERE. BTW, Hayley’s taught for In the Studio Online before and Liz will be participating in WW2025!

Anywho, the Expressive Stitch Collective is just beginning their first challenge of the year. Wild guess on what it is? Selfies! In your fiber art medium of choice. So, there’s that now too.

I’ve done animal portraits before but haven’t had the opportunity of a human face thrust upon me. Or even come up. Looks like the art gods are making up for that. It’s gonna be a longggg 2025 (for so many reasons, really). Portraits demand more of your time and attention. There’s choosing a medium, a style, drawing the face, colors, textures, backgrounds… The list goes on and on. At least I’ll be distracted this year. You can’t watch the news while you’re concentrating on getting someone’s face just right. Especially if it’s someone you know and love.

Hooked or stitched a portrait yet? Maybe we can show it off in the next post.

July 1, 2022

Shakerag postscript

What a great experience it was teaching at the Shakerag Workshops this month! For those of you not familiar with them or my class there, please find info HERE.

Because anyone who might test positive with Covid during the week and even before we got on the shuttle at the airport would earn a number or nights in a hotel till they could be put on a return flight, I was pretty stressed out before I left and even after I got there. Too many mask-less folks in airports and on planes. And too many friends have come down with the Coronacootie during air travel in the last month or two. Fortunately, I never tested positive – deep relief. Though I wasn’t able to extend my trip to stay, as planned, with a nearby friend after her son came down with it. We’ll try to rectify that next year when she and her husband make a first trip to New Mexico. Fingers crossed!

The Res at Shakerag, inviting even in the early morning light.

Coming from the drought-full New Mexican high desert, Tennessee was a “wetter” place to visit, especially if you count humidity. But I really enjoyed my morning walks even if Bowyn couldn’t be with me. I saw the “Res” where swimming happens most every afternoon. And I loved the bike path. History was present all over too.

Historical marer in Sewanee, TN — History – a sign marking the Trail of Tears.

But the best thing – other than ALL THE FOOD which was just as delicious as promised – was my class. Titled HOOK A RUG, SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT, it was one of the younger classes I’ve held; mostly because several staff members opted to learn hooking and punching. Spreading the gospel of a traditional art to new folks excites me, but I do fret about our ever aging population of devotées (and a few devotés too). We just can’t lose this 160-year old or so practice.

Shakerag Hooking and Punching workshop — The ladies are working, working, working.

I needn’t have worried. While some folks were concerned about breaking rules, others plowed on doing exactly what they wanted with hooking and punching. Fabulous. I also love to share with any students of mine the Adobe Wool Arts Guild creed: I AM THE BOSS OF MY RUG. After I repeated it a number of times and wrote it out on the white board (to remain for the week), they all took it to heart.

Like anyone learning a new skill, several folks wanted to run away after the first few introductory hours, but all were busily hooking away by Monday afternoon. Tuesday was devoted to punching, and one or two folks managed to get a piece done later that day. Woohoo! By clean-up on Friday afternoon, several had two or three pieces fully done, including hemming. It doesn’t get better than that.

Shakerag particpants — Joyce and Stacey were my first mother and daughter team.

Shakerag participant — As a teacher I knew I was successful when I came into the studio Wednesday and found Holly on the floor already planning a BIG rug

Rug by Shakerag participant — Are these not the best punched figs? Kate is a potter who has a fun food specialty.

Interestingly and relatedly, back home this week, I attended an online meeting with other fiber folks as well as a lesson featuring quilter Heidi Parkes – not at all a quilter in the fussy, traditional way. Which is exactly why I like her work. During both events there was talk about difficulties that the traditional populations of our various arts present when one wants to cross boundaries and try new things. Unfortunately, that kind of work is often disparaged by the textile “establishment.” And yet, isn’t that exactly how all art evolves? Early on in my own hooking career, I had faced challenges; my work with so called “alternative materials” wasn’t at all appreciated by most. Could pieces hooked with old t-shirts really be considered on par with those hooked using beautiful, hand-dyed wool? Fortunately, times have changed and more and more of us are jumping on that bandwagon which is 1) often more sustainable and 2) to the liking of younger people who don’t want to be told how to do their own art. Hurray!

Shakrag instructors Laura Salamy and Susan Brandeis — Susan and her fabulous book on stitching.

My week at Shakerag was memorable for other reasons. Teaching STITCHING AS DRAWING across the hall from me was none other than Susan Brandeis, author of The Intentional Thread: A Guide to Drawing, Gesture, and Color in Stitch. The past year or two, I’ve been looking at the book, wanting to purchase it, but being distracted by my own workshop and how I might make it a success for all involved, even when I met her – Susan and her husband stayed in the same house that I did – I didn’t put two and two together. Not until I saw the book in the Shakerag store. AH! Needless to say, I quickly bought it, and Susan graciously autographed it for me book is beautiful, but you should see her work in person. Mamma mia!

My Shakerag class — Isn’t this a fine looking class of new hookers and punchers? BTW – all that humidity! My hair hasn’t been that wavy since I moved to the Southwest.

So, my week in Sewanee at Shakerag was a most definite success. Essentially, it’s an adult summer camp devoted to art – learning and making it. I really hope they invite me back again one year. If you’re interested in perhaps attending next year, Liz Alpert Fay will be teaching next year, specifically how nature can inform and influence hooking. I believe that registration opens up in August of this year.

Shakerag studio assistant Claire Nolan — Claire Nolan, studio assistant extraordinaire.

Special thanks to Claire Nolan who acted as my studio assistant and helped facilitate the class. Also, to Christi Teasley, a Shakerag founder and the textile/painting/drawing coordinator and computer specialist. Christi generously put my name forth as a possible teacher. Yeah, she’s a remarkable hooker as well. In fact, she was able to work with local hookers in the area like Cass Gannaway, enabling us to borrow enough frames and hooks for the workshop. It takes a village, and you all made it happen.

IF CLASS TOOK AWAY ONE THING, I HOPE THAT IT’S:
THE ARTS ARE EVER EVOLVING, NEVER DYING!

April 7, 2022

Fiber Arts Fiesta is almost upon us!

Poster for Albuquerque Fiber Arts Fiesta 2022

A few reminders about the Albuquerque Fiber Arts Fiesta!

It starts next Thursday, April 14, and runs through Saturday. Make sure you stop by the Adobe Wool Arts Guild booth to say hello and check out the hooked art made by our members.
I have two spots in my Introduction to Punch Needle Rug Hooking workshop on Friday. Contact me directly if interested, or you can go through the Fiesta online registration.
Parking at Expo only takes cash now, so don’t try to hand them a credit card. Vendors, of course, will take pretty much anything. Bring a tote bag!

See you next week at Fiber Arts Fiesta!

February 28, 2022

Workshop, workshop, workshop! And more…

We’re in workshop heaven here at High on Hooking. Let me explain.

Boucherouite inspired hooked rug — Your Boucherouite will be your own pattern. It can be small just to try it all out in the workshop or as large as you’d like. (Original design.)

MARCH 12: BUILD A BABY BOUCHEROUITE

Because of interest during Workshop Week 4, we added another session for those who couldn’t make it in January. (The class was getting a little large too.) If you’re interested and available on Saturday, March 12, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, give me a yell. We’re at six right now, so there’s a little more room. For info about the class, see HERE. (Also, watch for coming announcements regarding Workshop Weeks 5 and 6!)

APRIL 15: INTRODUCTION TO PUNCH NEEDLE RUG HOOKING

Albuquerque’s BIG, BIENNIAL FIBER ARTS FIESTA, postponed from last year, will be open for business Thursday – Saturday, April 14-15. There’s a superb line-up of classes including my own punch needle workshop on Friday at 10:00 a.m. It is in person, and you’ll need to be vaccinated, but masks will be optional at this point. Yay! You can contact me here or see WORKSHOPS LISTING.

JUNE 19-25: HOOK RUGS, SAVE THE PLANET

This is a week-long residency workshop in Sewanee, Tennessee, as part of the SHAKERAG WORKSHOPS. We’ll be doing

Rug hooked with reclaimed textiles (old tshirts and bedsheets). — Table runner/wall hanging hooked with recycled textiles (old tshirts and bedsheets). (Original design.)

both rug hooking and punch needle rug hooking. In addition, though we’ll still have wool to work with, we’ll strive to look beyond the wool to materials that otherwise might end up in landfills. You know, old textiles you probably have in your house this very moment: ripped t-shirts, stained tablecloths, clothing and scarves that have seen better days… If you’re looking to pair vacation and fiber art therapy, this one’s for you. More workshop information can be found HERE and below.

Shakerag Workshops is a group of arts classes for adults held in June each year on the St. Andrew’s-Sewanee campus, in Sewanee, Tennessee. Instructors from around the world offer classes in a variety of media – knitting, basketry, book arts, clay, digital arts, felting, fiber, mixed media, jewelry, wood working, sculpture, and painting. Most participants, faculty, and staff stay on the campus, eating and working together for the week. After classes, participants enjoy hiking on the campus trails, swimming in the stream-fed mountain lake, and relaxing in yoga classes. Meals feature locally grown and organic foods served in historic Robinson Dining Hall. In the evenings, faculty members show slides and talk about their work. The studios are open throughout the night. The week culminates with a Tennessee meal on Friday evening for faculty and participants.
-from Shakerag’s website

As you can see, we’re busy these days here in the New Mexican desert. Covid’s waning, and folks are slowly getting back into the swing of things. More good news came in the mail yesterday in the form of Rug Hooking Magazine. If you recall that, during 2020, I spent much time on a yearlong project, the RIBBON RUG JOURNAL. If you turn to page 50 in RHM, you can read all about it! I also urge you to peruse Pretext Studio Rug Hooking’s Nadine Flagel‘s article on page 40. We share attitudes about the growing textile waste crisis. Her website slogan is Making Art out of Making Do: Reclaimed Text & Textiles. “Boucherouite” is a Moroccan-Arabic word for “torn” or “reused clothing.”

Dog with hooked rug — The High on Hooking Dogs, Bowyn and Tynan, bring you WOOLLEY MAT HORSE by Woolley Fox.

Bowyn actually calmed down enough to be in this week’s WHAT’S ON THE FRAME. This is a pattern I inherited when a member of the Adobe Wool Arts Guild passed away a few years ago. As a guild, we’ll be highlighting Pat’s rugs in a special exhibit at Fiber Arts Fiesta in April. The pattern, as I received it, was not identified.

You might remember, I hooked it a couple years back after receiving it. Because it sold, I needed to make another for the exhibit. Patti on Instagram was able to identify the pattern this week; she hooked it herself awhile back. LOL It’s from Woolley Fox and is called Woolley Mat Horse. As before, I’m hooking it with old t-shirts. Because we believed it to be Pat’s design, not a purchased pattern (also based on an antique rugs by Magdalena Briner Eby), I won’t hook the design again after I finish this iteration.

LASTLY, PLEASE KEEP THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE IN YOUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS. IF YOU’RE LOOKING TO HELP OUT IN A SMALL WAY, SEE THIS DIGITAL DOWNLOAD ON ETSY, BY A UKRAINIAN ARTIST. (THERE ARE OTHER ARTISTS AND PRODUCTS AVAILABLE; JUST USE THE SHOP LOCATION FILTER UNDER SEARCH.) IT PUTS $5 IN HER POCKET, AND GOD KNOWS SHE AND ALL OF UKRAINE NEED IT.

January 25, 2022

Lying to myself

I really have been lying to myself. More than I’d like to. But I bet you do it too. Take that last blog post of mine from a couple of weeks ago. It really must’ve been the chardonnay whispering because that little slow down before breaking down that I went on and on about… Yeah, it didn’t last very long. Oh, the gratitude crap did for a bit, but the oxygen mask? I took that off right quick.

textile art from Stitch Camp — My Stitch Camp piece piece watching me, always watching me. And waiting.

But I tried. I really tried. Last week I was smart enough to sign myself up for Stitch Camp which consisted of five days of self-paced and very short videos by Gwen Hedley. I have to say – and I am not lying to myself here – I started out well. Sunday I pulled out the paints, the fabrics, the various threads/yarns, the needles, all kinds of implements and textile substrates. On Monday I made my marks. Not sure how much I liked them, but then how often do we question our own artwork in the throes of creation? Onward ho! Tuesday, I cut the painted fabric into pieces. Come Wednesday – despite four online events, meetings, appointments – I sewed some of them together. I had momentum, a big stone rolling down a hill. I was making time for myself.

And then Thursday happened. I remember that I went out for a haircut. Where the rest of that day went, I have no idea. No worries, I told myself. There’s Friday and a weekend. Friday I watched the videos for Thursday and Friday. And then…nothing. The piece that I began last week sits draped over a dining room chair eying me with reproach. I tell it we’ll be together in a week or so. I hope that I’m not lying to it. And to myself.

Why am I lying to myself?

Like many of us, it’s because we just get too busy with all the things and people that make up our lives and relationships. I suppose that I’m grateful for that busy life; it’s certainly better than being bored and not having enough to keep me engaged. And I have great friends and family and projects.

Unfortunately, the Stitch Camp piece is destined to wait for another week or two because:

Tomorrow I have an online class about how to better serve on a nonprofit board. That’s two hours I’m happy to give to Susan’s Legacy where I’ve been a board member for three or four years. Women’s mental health will always be important to me, and we all know someone who could’ve used what SL provides.
Saturday I’ll attend an online Guild Development Retreat put on my the Handweavers Guild of America. No, I don’t weave, but it’s all about the betterment of all kinds of textile guilds. “Through panels and discussions, we hope to strengthen guild leadership, unite organizations, and provide a platform for the sharing of ideas. We want participants to end the day feeling motivated in their effort to build and grow their guilds so that all guilds can thrive.” The Adobe Wool Arts Guild (AWAG) here in Albuquerque is a fine guild, but we have our issues too. As president of AWAG, I feel this is an imperative. Two other members think the same and will “go” with me.
This is the newest Boucherouite-inspired hooked piece that I’m using to get ready for Sunday’s class. (Hooked with old bed sheets and a little t-shirt.)
Sunday we kick off In the Studio’s Workshop Week 4! My Build a Baby Boucherouite class is the first to roll followed by our panel discussion led by Susan Feller and three of the teachers: “What inspires you to be creative when in the doldrums?” Lord knows we’ve all been in the doldrums! There are a few workshop openings if you’re interested. Me, I’m adding to my ~~workload~~ creativity toolbox and taking Jane’s watercolor class. Because I don’t have enough to do. (As I type I’m also making a chicken soup.)
And because we never have enough to do, I’m trying to finalize AWAG’s plans to have Donna Hrkman here for a second visit in late February. We’re praying that Covid doesn’t waylay those plans a second time. Damn, I need to come up with a project for that too!

So all those nice sentiments I expressed last post? I guess that I prefer to think that I was hopeful rather than lying to myself. There are always going to be crazy days and weeks in our lives. It seems that this January is one of mine.

High on Hooking Dogs show off newest Boucherouite-inspired hooked rug. — Tynan and Bowyn, the High on Hooking Dogs, bring you this week’s WHAT’S ON THE FRAME. Sadly, they’re frustrated with how little walking has been done in this new year, but they too look forward to better days.

And I remember now! Thursday went to buying a new mattress to deal with my lower back problem. That took a few hours. To all those who have kindly expressed concern, I’m on the mend…slowly. With steps forward and then again backward but then again forward. The new mattress is a help. We even got one of those frames that lets you raise your head and feet. Very cool. I will never live without that again, I promise you (no lying!).

Life really is good. Tom and I celebrated 29 years married Sunday. Of course, there is always Tynan and Bowyn. And they have made all the difference.