Category: Bowyn

April 19, 2021

“Automatic” hooking

Example of automatic drawing. — Example of automatic drawing done by moi during Sketchbook Revival.

Automatic hooking – it sounds like a machine is involved. Or worse! Wink, wink! But when I typed automatic hooking, I was actually referencing the art technique developed by the Surrealists. For a quick idea of what I’m talking about, the following comes from Wikipedia:

Automatic drawing was developed by the surrealists, as a means of expressing the subconscious. In automatic drawing, the hand is allowed to move “randomly” across the paper… Hence the drawing produced may be attributed in part to the subconscious and may reveal something of the psyche, which would otherwise be repressed…

Most of the surrealists’ automatic drawings were illusionistic, or more precisely, they developed into such drawings when representational forms seemed to suggest themselves. In the 1940s and 1950s the French-Canadian group called Les Automatistes pursued creative work (chiefly painting) based on surrealist principles. They abandoned any trace of representation in their use of automatic drawing. This is perhaps a more pure form of automatic drawing since it can be almost entirely involuntary – to develop a representational form requires the conscious mind to take over the process of drawing…

You’re probably wondering why I might be providing this art history lesson when I am in no possible way an authority on art or art techniques (except, perhaps rug hooking, of course, and then only certain aspects of rug hooking). It’s because, as I mentioned a few weeks ago, I’ve been participating in Sketchbook Revival 2021, and one of the workshops was about automatic drawing.

That workshop was presented by Shelley Klammer of Expressive Art Workshops:

Shelley Klammer is an online therapist who supports creative women to heal “unfinished emotional business” from the past. She is also an educator with the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association. Shelley supports women to authentically self-express through spontaneous art and writing practices as a way to anchor self-safety, self-confidence and self-love.
-Karen Abend of Sketchbook Revival

To be honest, I wondered how much my drawings were really made without conscious thought. Wikipedia mentioned that too when I was exploring more about automatism..

…surrealist artists often found that their use of “automatic drawing” was not entirely automatic, rather it involved some form of conscious intervention to make the image or painting visually acceptable or comprehensible…”

Artist Stephen Berry was also a bit skeptical, but he could appreciate it regardless:

It was very liberating and thoughtful. It was also an interesting way to explore different shapes, to watch myself as an artist from “the outside” and see what shapes I’m predisposed to, where I’m reverting to certain habits that are lazy, what was exciting and interesting to explore that surprised me, etc.

He had more interesting stuff to say about the technique. Click on his name above.

Hooked rug; example of automatic hooking — Close-up of my current happy rug, “Abundance.” Lots of recycled textiles. I think I like my automatic hooking better than my automatic drawing.

Scintillating as all this is, you’re undoubtedly wondering how it relates to hooking. In that aforementioned post of mine, which I wrote before I started Sketchbook Revival, I mentioned my night-hooking project, the one the boys are pictured with. It’s part of my “happy rug” series in which I’m trying to focus on the brighter aspects of life after such a crappy last year. And I wrote:

For this one, I’m trying to really just go with the flow; there’s little advance planning in it. Other than the holes, which the rug dictated to me as I sewed on his tape.

See the SYNCHRONICITY that’s happened?!!? I was already kind of doing automatic hooking before I even learned about the drawing technique. Each evening I sit down and hook whatever comes to mind at that moment with whatever I have in the two big bag and one laundry baskets of fibers I have next to me. (Yes, there’s a LOT of hooking stuff in my family room at the moment.)

Both the automatic hooking and drawing efforts are fun to try if you’re so inclined to experiment. For the latter, just Google “automatic drawing,” and a slew of options will come up in your feed. As far as rug hooking goes, just throw some hooking materials into a bag and go to town. I’m using all kinds of fibers: wool strips, wool yarns, novelty yarns, a plethora of fabrics, ribbons, and so on. There’s lots of textile recycling going on!

Dogs on example of automatic hooking — Tynan and Bowyn bring you another view of “What’s on the frame.” Obviously, someone is not completely clear on the concept of his job. It should’ve been an overview of the newest happy rug, “Abundance,” an example of automatic hooking. (Let’s imagine Tynan’s thoughts for a moment…)

What have you done lately to spice up your regular practices be it hooking, painting, writing, or even working out?

April 7, 2021

Teaching at CREATE DIY in June

CREATE DIY High on Hooking will be teaching at CREATE DIY in June.

I really do miss – and prefer – teaching in person, but one of the Coronacootie’s most pernicious side effects is how it’s kept us all from one another. From family members, from friends, from students and teachers, you get the idea. But humans do adapt, and makers still gotta make, so Zoom entered all our lives. Truthfully, I think that we all understand that that hasn’t necessarily been a bad thing. Many more folks were able to “get together” through Zoom talks and workshops than would’ve been possible pre-Corona. And Zoom will continue well into our futures even when we’re all vaccinated up and, hopefully, have achieved herd immunity and get back to meeting each other in real life. But till then…

If you or someone you know would like to learn how to rug hook, in June I’ll be teaching a class through the online textile arts festival CREATE DIY. In fact, there will be several workshops and a couple of lectures going on during the event. General info can be found HERE. Topics include:

Quiltfest presents … Create DIY, a comprehensive journey into the magical world of the textile arts. Indulge yourself with Create DIY! This online festival includes educational workshops, studio tours, live presentations, and more.

Quilting ■ Needle Felting ■ Stampwork ■ Crochet ■ Wearable Art Japanese Boro Stitching ■ Jewelry ■ Paper Weaving ■ Dollmaking ■ Dyeing ■
Thread Painting ■ Dorset Buttons ■ Embroidery ■ Rug Hooking■ Macrame ■ Knitting ■
Modern Weaving ■ and more!

Join us online:
Thursday through Saturday, June 10-12, 2021

Introduction to Rug Hooking – Not So Traditional
Friday, June 11
Half-Day Workshop
12 pm – 3 pm EDT, Friday, June 11

Learn the basics of traditional rug hooking with a bit of a twist. Not only will we use the usual wool fabric strips (more about that in class), but we’ll also try old t-shirts, yarn, ribbon, and anything else you might have in your house that you can pull a loop with. We will:

Discuss the history of rug hooking and where it is today, including its various forms;
Learn how to prep our materials;
Begin hooking a “mug rug,” a small table mat, or wall hanging; and
Discuss the ways we can finish the piece when the hooking is done.

Welsh Springer spaniel on hooked rug — While big brother Tynan snoozes, Bowyn brings you “What’s on the frame.” “Abundance,” part of the #happyrugseries, is an adventure in mark-making with all kinds of fibers. And she has three holes!

There’s more info online HERE. Kits are optional, but participants need to contact me to make sure they have everything. Contact me at Laura@highonhooking.com if you have any questions.

Hoping to have a new and very special venue announcement in the next week or so. Stay tuned!

So, after a year, what’s your stance on Zoom workshops?

March 16, 2021

Of sketching and day-hooking

Thursday makes it a year that “regular” life came to an end here in New Mexico. Not knowing what I know now, I rather welcomed it. No meetings for the foreseeable future! Remember – we never thought the crisis would go on for sooooo long, and Zoom wasn’t a BI Ad for Sketchbook Revival 2021; sketching G THING yet. I figured I’d have time to work on my own projects and actually get a chance to explore other ideas percolating in the back of my brain, maybe even move them to the front.

Some of that happened. I certainly had ample time to “play” with the Ribbon Rug Journal. In fact, without Covid, I’m not sure how I would’ve been able to log each day’s entry. (Now if I can only get to writing the magazine article on the damn thing!) I managed, too, to finish “Holes,” a rug about the effects of motherhood on women. But then Karen Miller came up with the idea for In the Studio with its presentations and two! online Workshop Weeks (keep watch; the third will be coming), my own class offerings, and, of course, rugs to make (I do have an Etsy shop). The forced time at home was not quite so restful. Such is our new reality.

Sketching — A one-line, mirror sketching from 2019. Sadly, a self-portrait.

But some things didn’t change. This March, as I did in 2019 and 2020, I will participate in Sketchbook Revival presented by artist Karen Abend. It’s a free, online event whereby each day for a couple of weeks a different instructor presents a a different approach to filling up your sketchbook or journal. As much as I used to be good at that, I’m not anymore. Sketchbook Revival gives me a do-over each year and a way to learn new techniques. As Karen says:

Some sketches are colorful. A “creature” rug perhaps?

“Imagine waking up each day brimming with ideas, excitement, and confidence to open up your sketchbook and start creating, no matter what.”

As far as I’m concerned, sketching can be relaxing and enjoyable on its own, but more importantly, better sketching leads to more and better better hooked pieces. Click on the link above to join. While there are social media pages to share your work and to see that of others’, I generally prefer to keep to myself. And you don’t have to attend every session. I pick and choose. One comes out every day, but the videos stay up for a few weeks.

Day-hooking. I mentioned it last post. It’s not necessarily what you think. But it is another benefit of being stuck at home. I generally hook in the evening. Like many of you, if I don’t work with my hands after 8:00 p.m. or so, I’ll fall asleep. That’s when I catch up on TV and movies. But sometimes – like right now – I’m hooking a piece that needs: 1) good light, specifically, the light of day and 2) concentration. Like I said before, in another world in other years, my guild , AWAG, held three retreats and had a teacher visit us, usually for an open workshop. Each event gave me three whole days to work on more challenging rugs. And a multitude of folks to ask for advice when it was needed. Or even when it wasn’t. LOL

While I tend to do other tasks during the day, lately I’ve been trying to carve out some time for day hooking to get through this one difficult project. I feel guilty sitting on my ass, but the work happens, and I can even get some of those year-old NOVAs out of my DVR queue. So, day-hooking, yeah, it’s a thing.

Meanwhile, the night-hooking continues. Which is exactly what the boys bring to you today in the pic. I’ve started on the fourth of what I’m calling my #happyrugseries. I realized that after such a negative year, I’d prefer to mostly focus on the brighter aspects of life. For this one, I’m trying to really just go with the flow; there’s little advance planning in it. Other than the holes, which the rug dictated to me as I sewed on his tape.

Dogs with hooked rug — “What’s on the Frame.” Bowyn takes being a High on Hooking dog very seriously while Tynan is quite blasé about it these days.

Nancy Hart of AWAG created a rug a couple of years ago that I really loved. I miss you, Nancy, but you’re here with me in spirit, and your rug is my inspiration for this project. Tom’s going to kill me as parked in the living room is a large shopping bag AND a laundry basket filled with all kinds of fiber to pick and choose from as I go. (Plus the day-hooking paraphernalia.) But I’m enjoying working on it all!

What’s got you’re attention these days as we head into the final stretch of the Coronacootie’s reign?

Workshop reminder: Hooking With and Beyond the Wool happens this Saturday. Contact me if you’re interested.

March 2, 2021

Public Service Announcements

Public service announcements, odd from an art blog, I know. But still genuine.

Public service announcement 1: Don't let blepharitis happen to you. — PSA 1: Blepharitis, don’t let it happen to you.

PSA 1

You know when they say that you should throw out old makeup? Eye makeup, in particular? Yeah, it’s true. You go almost a whole year NOT going out, NOT needing to wear the usual make up (because God was cruel to redheads and caused our eyes and eyelashes to recede as we age). Who cared? No one was going to see you. And then you finally get a date early-bird-special evening/afternoon with your husband. You put on some mascara to go with your best yoga pants to have truly excellent gluten-free pizza at Farina Alto (in Albuquerque). You plan on, even try sitting on the patio, but the freaking wind is too strong. It’s 4:00 pm; there’s barely anyone in the restaurant, so you chance it and move inside. The pizza, the wine, they’re all great! And then a day later, your eye starts to twinge, then redden, then swell. Where’s an pyrate’s eye patch when you need it? By early Tuesday morning you’re in the urgent care located conveniently up the street. BLEPHARITIS, they say. WTF? Swelling of the eyelid. Who knew? The people who say to change out your old mascara knew. Stupid blepharitis, stupid coronacootie.
Public service announcement 1: Chuck all makeup from 2020 and before; buy new shit even if you rarely wear it (and it looks practically new)!

PSA 2

If you’re working on a particularly difficult rug or painting or short story or other piece of artwork, always have something else requiring less concentration that you can work on in the evening.

Rug needing less concentration — PSA2 : Always have a rug that needs less concentration.

I typically work at night while I watch television or Netflix or whatever. Otherwise I’ll fall asleep. (I know you get this.) A couple of weeks ago, I started a piece, a wall hanging, that requires good light and my full attention. That means day-hooking. Not that I’m against day-hooking; actually, I love it. In fact, I really miss the Adobe Wool Arts Guild‘s three annual retreats, one of which usually happens at this time of year. I can hook all day long for three days in a row and get assistance when I need it from all my AWAG peeps. Sadly, our last retreat was in February of last year. Again, stupid Covid. Now I have to deal with this rug on my own. I miss you guys…
Public service announcement 2: Work on your more difficult pieces during the day; save the fun, easier stuff for evening.

Whimsy, a rug needing a forever home — PSA 3: All rugs need a good forever home, including “Whimsy” (approximately 15″x36″).

PSA 3

Some rugs need a home. Yeah, this is completely self-serving. “Whimsy” is finished and looking for her forever home. And yes, in the pre-pictures on Instagram and Facebook, I did hide that she has a hole built into her. But that’s just part of her charm. Consider giving “Whimsy” a home.
Public service announcement 3: All rugs need a home. Don’t let them suffer.

That brings us to the end of the PSAs. Though don’t forget that on March 20, High on Hooking is holding another online workshop: Hooking With and Beyond the Wool. If you’re interested in playing with fibers other than wool (much like those original rug hookers), contact me at Laura@highonhooking.com. It’ll be fun; I promise. Now keep hooking, or otherwise playing, and stay safe! We’re so close to being able to achieve herd immunity. Vaccinate!

An extra public service announcement, crazy dog — Instead of “What’s on the frame,” we have a public service announcements corollary. Never ask Bowyn to be serious in the evening. His concentration, like my own, is shot. Tynan, meanwhile, is properly aghast.

January 19, 2021

The Violet Protest – Will you help?

A few folks who follow High on Hooking’s Instagram account, got a peek at my offering to The Violet Protest last week. Today I packaged my 8″ x 8″ square up and mailed it off to Phoenix where it will be part of an exhibit and then sent on to lawmakers in Washington.

For those in the dark who have never heard of the Violet Protest, it’s a project that was conceived of by Ann Morton, a textile artist, educator, and “social practitioner” in Phoenix, Arizona.

“Driven by a desire to make right, the work she does reflects her own handwork, but also orchestrates handwork of interested community members through public interventions that seek to socially engage the hands of many to harness the power of making for social purpose.”

Textile artists across the country have been asked to make these 8″x8″ squares using whatever techniques they wish. My M.O., of course, is hooking. I might have used crochet or embroidery as well, but I opted to commit to only one square (knowing the project and teaching backlog that I’m already juggling). The squares are to be made using pretty much equal parts blue and red. As you know, BLUE + RED = VIOLET/PURPLE. The point is to create an “overall presentation of violet in the final display” of all the squares made.

Small hooked rug for the Violet Protest — My hooked square of wool strips and yarn and recycled silk blouse strips.

“The Violet Protest is a public effort to send 50 hand-made textile squares to each and every member of Congress
in support of these core American values:

•Respect for the other •Citizenship •Compromise •Country over party and corporate influence
•Courage •Candor •Compassion •Creativity

Whether we weave, knit, crochet, quilt, or embroider all 26,750 of these squares — through this social action, and from every corner of America; we as makers of all political persuasions, believe we can employ our willing spirit and our talents to contribute to healing divisions that threaten our country. This collection of textile squares will be first displayed at Phoenix Art Museum, in the Spring of 2021, before they are sent to the new
117th Congress by late 2021.

Focused on the values we hold dear as Americans, rather than any political beliefs, the color violet symbolizes the literal combination of red and blue, long held as symbols of our nation’s differing ideologies. Our common goal is to send a physical message of friendly protest through this colossal visual expression to demonstrate that if we as citizens are willing to come together, so then must our elected officials.”

There’s still plenty of time for you to get involved with this project. In fact, Ann could use a lot more squares, all total 26,750! Maybe your rug queue isn’t as long as mine is, and you’re looking for away to resist the winter doldrums. These squares hardly take any time to hook…or crochet…or sew…or whatever. While there is a February 1 deadline for squares to be exhibited in the Phoenix Art Museum, you’ve got plenty of time – till August 1! – to get some to Ann to be sent to members of Congress later in 2021. I’m hoping that I might be able to do some more once High on Hooking’s rug obligations are fulfilled.

Getting involved in the Violet Protest is easy, really. Ann mails out a tag to you. You attach it to your square(s) and mail it all back. Done! For more info click HERE. You can see examples of squares on the Violet Protest Instagram page.

In other news, we had another fine Zoom gathering last Saturday for the Build a Baby Boucherouite workshop. There were five of us. If you’re interested in the class, please contact me. I will say that this is one that works better and is more fun with the energy of a small group of folks working together and bringing all kinds of ideas. If you think your guild or a klatch of friends might want to get together to explore hooking some BBs, give a yell.

A reminder, that there are a few more spaces left in In the Studio’s WORKSHOP WEEK 2. I believe that Karen Miller, Beth Miller, and Meryl Cook have a couple of “seats.” Contact them directly. (To do that follow the WW2 link above) I have some more room in my second Intro to Punch Needle Rug Hooking session on February 20. Let me know if you’d like to be join us.

And lastly, Tynan and Bowyn bring you “What’s on the frame” this week. If you remember, they showed what this rug looked like when I started hooking it back in December. It’s almost done. Hope my aunt likes it. It was inspired by her color choices and a drawing she made. More on that when I finish it. Till then, be warm and stay safe. May our Covid vaccine shot(s) happen soon!

Might you be able to make a square for THE VIOLET PROTEST?