Category: business of rug hooking

April 21, 2022

Earth Day 2022

Earth Day exhortation - recycled art

At High on Hooking we try to remember the Earth every day, not just on Earth Day. It’s not difficult, really. Since we moved to New Mexico almost seven years ago (my mind is blown every time I think of that!), the summer temperatures and number of days above 100 degrees F have steadily increased. Hell, when we made our plans to relocate to the high desert from Massachusetts, average summer temperatures here were less than 95! And while we were aware of the drought, no one thought that it would go on this long. Now it’s considered a megadrought, the worst in 1200 years! On my walks in the Bosque, I’ve witnessed the Rio Grande dribble itself into a Rio “Pequeño.” If I didn’t worry about the mud and the potentially toxic crap in the mud, I might venture to walk across it.

Between smog and wild weather and drought and fires, I understand why young folks have anxiety about their future. My own kid is pretty cynical and depressed about it all. Yesterday’s headline in the Boston Globe certainly didn’t help my own mood: “As Earth’s temperature rises, Massachusetts residents’ sense of urgency on climate change declines.” We’re all tired of the doom and gloom, but I think the most terrible thing is that we seem to have lost hope. The past couple of months have demonstrated Americans’ inability to give up our gas-guzzling ways. A couple of weeks ago, city councilors in Albuquerque rolled back a single use plastic bag ban that had barely been in play since the mayor had put it on hold during much of the pandemic. They couldn’t even wait till June for the study to determine if it was effective was completed. Now, in addition to dirty, used masks, I’ve started seeing plastic bags again on roadsides and caught up in trees. Shit, if we can’t even get the mostly surface level stuff right, if we’re so short-sighted about garbage in our streets, how can we ever be serious about righting our sinking Earth, our only home?

Clearly, the adults of the world don’t care much about what we’re leaving for our kids. Just look at how so many treat Greta Thurnberg of Sweden.

Others diminish Greta Thunberg’s work because of her age. Ever since Greta first made headlines a few years ago and she delivered her now-famous “How dare you” speech, her age has been leveraged against her words. As Thunberg points out in her speech, her detractors are right in a sense. Thunberg shouldn’t have to stand before world leaders, telling them the obvious, which is that we’re being led directly into the jaws of the greatest threat to humanity we have ever known. Climate change.

It’s shameful that Thunberg has to do what she does, but the adults of the world are failing to ensure a future for the next generation. So it’s up to people like Thunberg to try to do something to save the world that the youth will inherit.

–https://www.yourtango.com/news/why-do-people-hate-greta-thunberg

_________

Part of the reason she inspires such rage, of course, is blindingly obvious. Climate change is terrifying. The Amazon is burning. So too is the Savannah. Parts of the Arctic are on fire. Sea levels are rising. There are more vicious storms and wildfires and droughts and floods. Denial is easier than confronting the terrifying truth.

–https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/why-is-greta-thunberg-so-triggering-for-certain-men-1.4002264

_________

Laura Ingraham, the Fox News host, called Ms. Thunberg’s United Nations speech “chilling” on her Monday night show, and ran a segment about how climate change “hysteria” is changing American youth.

–https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/24/climate/greta-thunberg-un.html

Climate change has been caused by human activity. And no one likes being told that their actions have contributed to a freaking calamity, but at some point, we have to own up to it and make it so that human and other life can go on. So that the lives of our kids and their kids can go on. That’s what being an adult is about, isn’t it?

Thunberg has already had a demonstrated impact on how her generation views the climate crisis, with one recent survey showing that nearly 70 percent of people under the age of 18 believe that climate change is a global emergency compared with 58 percent of people over the age of 60. …Thunberg isn’t daunted by her status. The way she sees it, the demonization is a diversion from clmate science, to which skeptics have few answers.

–https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2021/08/greta-thunberg-far-right-climate/619748/

Much of High on Hooking's art is recycled art — We try to use mostly recycled or reclaimed materials in the art at High on Hooking every day, not just on Earth Day. But we can’t always resist virgin wool yarns like in that sunflower.

At High on Hooking, I know that I need to do more to care for my and our environment: take shorter showers; buy way less crap; mend more; drive my little Honda Fit rather than the CRV when I’m cruising around Albuquerque; and really be more aware of how my actions affect it all. We can’t buy our way out of this problem. We have to change. In my art, I already already work hard to hook with materials that others might just discard. But it’s not enough. If I can’t adjust what I do, how can I expect others to do anything?

Earth Day 2022 is Friday. Will you mark the day as crucial for our home?

April 5, 2022

Instructor Call for Entry

If you’re a fiber arts teacher of any kind, you’re in luck. In the Studio (Online) has just put out an Instructor Call for Entry for our next two online Workshop Weeks (WW). The dates are:

Workshop Week 5 October 23-30, 2022

Workshop Week 6 February 18-23, 2023

The original teachers of In the Studio (Online) include: Susan Feller, Karen Miller, Meryl Cook, Beth Miller, and myself. In order to keep our class offerings fresh, before WW2 we began looking for others to join us. We’ve had workshops in: rug hooking with alternative fibers; braiding; finishing your art; combining paints and hooking; design; felting wool sachets; weaving; Chakra color play; pet portraits; needle punch rug hooking; abstract work; landscapes; watercolors;and so on. We are NOT looking for all hooking classes; rather we’d like to see most any type of fiber art and creativity workshops (that work well online) in addition to subject matter and skills that can inform our hooking and other art practices.

While we began WW to fill a need during Covid lock-downs, we’ve found that they remain popular and that our students want us to continue. Workshops Weeks have allowed students to take classes without the expenses of travel. As well, students get the chance to work with teachers and artists who might otherwise be unavailable to them. Workshop Week 4 happened in mid-winter. There were nine classes. Eighty students participated with many taking more than one workshop.

(If you search using the words “Workshop Week” here on site, you can see what classes we’ve provided in the past.)

Advertising photo for Workshop Week — Our first In the Studio Workshop Week poster.

If you think you might be interested in joining our group of teachers for WW 5 and/or 6, we invite you to submit a proposal. If you have any questions about the coming or past events, please email me at Laura@highonhooking.com. We’ll be accepting proposals until May 15. You can find the prospectus below. We look forward to hearing from you.

Laura, Susan, Karen, Meryl, and Beth

Click to see In the Studio’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

INSTRUCTOR CALL FOR ENTRY

Teacher Proposals for In the Studio
Workshop Weeks 5 and 6

Deadline: May 15, 2022

In the Studio (Online) announces that its next two workshop weeks will be held:

Workshop Week 5 October 23-30, 2022
Workshop Week 6 February 18-23, 2023

As the last two years have shown, affordable, online instruction is here to stay. In the Studio’s online Workshop Weeks (WWs) have allowed students the chance to take classes without the expense of travel. The students are also able to work with teachers and artists who might otherwise be unavailable to them.

Starting with 2021’s WW2, we began to bring in additional instructors who could offer something – not necessarily rug hooking or even a textile art – beyond the expertise of the original In the Studio artists. We look for complimentary/ancillary/supporting arts and skills.

We are now planning WW5 and 6 and again looking to diversify our workshop offerings. We are specifically looking for teachers who conform to our overarching tenet:

Art by artists responding to contemporary events in the world. We invite you to reflect on these responses and consider creating your own art that reacts to our current times.

FYI
WW1 attracted 36 students in five classes. Eighty participated in WW4’s nine workshops. Many took advantage of our non-overlapping schedule to take multiple classes. They “come from” the US, Canada, and even Europe.

PLEASE READ BEFORE APPLYING

Workshop sessions typically last 2-4 hours but are set by individual instructors.
Workshops are standardized to begin at 1:00 PM or 6:00 PM Eastern.
Fees for all classes are: $50 US for one-session classes and $75 US for two-session classes. Teachers may set additional costs for kits, other materials, etc.
Teachers are responsible for collecting payment from their students and keeping in contact with them regarding classes and other WW information.
Teachers are required to submit their class lists to the WW administrator.
All teachers are required to promote all WW classes in their social media, newsletters, etc. Promotion by every teacher is what makes the week successful. Each teacher will also be required to take over In the Studio’s Instagram account for a day in the weeks leading up to WW5 and/or 6.
There are two additional bonus events (a social gathering midweek evening and a panel discussion) that teachers are expected to attend (dates to be determined).
Teachers must have their own Zoom account to use to hold their class.
New for WW5 and 6! An administrative fee of $50 US will be collected once a teacher agrees to teach with In the Studio (Online). We’ve realized that there’s a need for one person to coordinate social media announcements and calendars, send out group emails, maintain the mailing list, etc.
Participation in one WW does not guarantee that one will teach in subsequent WWs.

WHAT YOU WILL RECEIVE

The benefit of promotion amongst a collection of well-known teachers. Instructors will receive a “brochure” detailing the WW and all classes that should be shared to their networks.
Support from the other teachers in how to run an online class particularly if this is your first time.
The Workshop Week administrator will send out links to all students for bonus events.

TO APPLY

Applicants should indicate if they prefer to teach during WW5 or WW6. If you don’t, we will assume that you are available for either. (We will plan classes for each WW depending on both subject matter and teacher availability.) Because we schedule WW classes so that they don’t overlap, also indicate if you are unavailable on certain days of the week or dates. Let us know too if you have a preference regarding a 1:00 or 6:00 start time. We strive to schedule everyone to their liking.
Provide a detailed class description of the online class you propose to teach. Please include the following: title; length of class; minimum and maximum numbers of students; materials that students will need (will they have to purchase from you?); what will be covered in the class, experience level of students required; and anything else pertinent to the class. Will it require more than one session?
Include a short bio that includes your experience teaching (if any) and any references.
Please send the above information to Laura@highonhooking.com by May 15, 2022.

PLEASE NOTE

If selected, you will be expected to attend at least one online meeting of all teachers (date to be determined).

If you have any questions, please contact Laura Salamy at Laura@highonhooking.com.

March 21, 2022

Of Cinco de Mayo (and margaritas)

Cinco de Mayo Folk Art Fest poster So, because Cinco de Mayo is on a Thursday this year (and my neighborhood Bunco night to boot), here at High on Hooking we’ll be celebrating the Sunday before, May 1. Not only will Tom make some of his FAMOUS MARGARITAS for our gustatory pleasure, pal Catherine Kelly and I will first break out the tent and mark our first show of 2022: the CINCO DE MAYO FOLK ART FEST at La Parada and Farm&Table in Albuquerque’s North Valley. Think artisans, food, beverages, music, pinatas that you decorate yourself – in other words, a party! Or a fiesta, as we call it here. We hope that local peeps can come celebrate* with us!

Hooked art available at Cinco de Mayo Folk Art Fest — NOVA will be at the Cinco de Mayo Folk Art Fest. Will you? (10″x9″; hooked with wool strips, recycled silk sari yarns, old t-shirts, wool yarn, and old ribbons.

*As usual, if you mention High on Hooking’s blog post, take 10% off HoH’s prices.

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.