Category: field trip

August 29, 2023

The Challenge of Sauder Village

Susan Feller (l) and myself (r) at Sauder Village Rug Hooking Week. WHIMSY is right over my head. Sadly, I believe that she was the only all non-wool rug there.

Last week I attended Sauder Village Rug Hooking Week. Because I didn’t register for any of the retreats or classes, I spent three days taking in the various exhibits and hooking and meeting folks I’ve only communicated with through Zoom or social media. That was a great thing, the best of my SV experience. I must admit that I did very little hooking, LOL. Hey, I’m sociable!

I chose to attend SV this year because last fall I’d been asked to serve as a judge for Rug Hooking Magazine’s Celebration 33. And Susan Feller had coaxed me to leave the HOT Southwestern desert with an offer of rooming with her. Other than on Zoom, I hadn’t met with Susan since a big rug show in Connecticut in 2014. Win!

Hooked rug at Sauder Village — VERMONT PORTRAITS, hooked and designed by Jennifer Davey, was one of my favorite Celebrations finalists. I love its colors and graphic nature.

Of course, I had to get to Archbold, Ohio. Given clothing and the frame and other hooking “stuff,” I opted to drive. That’s 23 hours on the road, not counting food-, tea-, and pee-stops. Sleep too! But I really don’t mind driving and seeing the country. And Pandora follows me wherever I go, so I had tunes.

Given that I wasn’t participating in classes, I think that I might have had a difficult time finding my bearings if Susan hadn’t acted as my Obi Wan. We had work to do too. We’re in the midst of recruiting teachers and lecturers for In the Studio Online’s Workshop Week 2024 (in February). It was nice to have someone who knows through and through the who, what, where, when, and how of SV and Rug Hooking Week.

The night before the show opened to the public, we classroom-hopped seeing what the retreat students were creating. It was an excellent way to “run in” to folks too.

Of course, the rug show and special exhibits were quite amazing. Certainly, there was fabulous artistry and quality hooking to be seen. As I walked into the hall, I was pleasantly surprised to see my own WHIMSY hanging right at the front of the Celebrations exhibit. Which is the very first thing you see! The three of us judges were encouraged to send in rugs to hang with the finalists’ pieces. Seeing the scale and the true colors of the rugs I’d assessed in January using online pictures was eye-opening.

Meeting Remi Levesque of Nova Scotia, the mastermind of the USA50 Hooked Cushions was perhaps my favorite part of the entire trip. (I had hooked the New Mexico cushion.) Remi is…delightful! Susan and I went out for Mexican with him and another new Canadian friend. He was on top of the moon as his exhibit had won the Sauder Award earlier in the week.

USA50 Cushions exhibit at Sauder Village — Part of the USA50 Cushion exhibit. New Mexico is on the far right. It was designed by indigenous potter **Patricia Lowden** (Acoma Pueblo), hooked by me, and put together by friend Ruth Simpson.

There were several special exhibits: Inspired Vessels, Amish Rugs, Rugs by Theodore Sizer, the USA50 Cushions, and Lift Every Voice. More on that last one in a bit. Then there were guild challenges, group exhibits, a display of Cushing’s Duncan rugs in all kinds of color combos, the Golden Age of Fairy Tale rugs, rugs that had been entered into the show in various categories (floral, braiding, miniature punch needle, Orientals, originals, and so on). There were 3-D rugs and applique and “fusion.” To tell you the truth, there were so many things to see that I suffered “rug fatigue.” I’d turn a corner and there’d be something I missed the previous day. In the end, I don’t think that I saw everything.

And don’t forget, ringing the show, were all kinds of vendors. If you needed wool, you’d come to the right place. I still get a little itchy just thinking about it. (I am allergic to wool, though I still use it in some of my work.)

Hooked rug by Nancy Thun — TOWERING ABSTRACTION by Nancy Thun. I loved Nancy’s rugs. Her GRAND CANYON -YELLOWSTONE was a Celebrations finalist.

Hooked rug by Judy Shields, Designed by W. Cushing CO. — While I typically prefer an original; rug, I thought that this and most of the pieces in the exhibit inspired by **Alida Bayne Akers**‘ paintings were charming. TULIP TIME was hooked by Judy Shields.

PRIVILEGE by Kris McDermet. It was pretty impossible to get a full photo of this 3-D piece. You’re looking through a door/window to outside. It asks the question: What does it mean NOT to have shelter? Don’t we all deserve shelter?

One of the exhibits stood out for more than its artistry. Other than Kris McDermet‘s “Privilege,” there were few pieces that highlighted social issues. Most were decorative, which isn’t wrong, certainly, but I do value art that is beautiful and well done and challenges me in some way. I can truly appreciate all the work that goes into creating a large, hooked Oriental to use on the floor or a gorgeous landscape to put on the wall. But our world is troubled; art that I see or make should – at least sometimes – help me make sense of it.

Design by Catlett; hooked by Lisa Meechem. — “MY RIGHT IS A FUTURE OF EQUALITY WITH OTHER AMERICANS.” In the pic you can see the original print. Hooker **Lisa Meechem** is Canadian but states that both countries have a shared history of discrimination and segregation regardless of “emancipation.”

The Lift Every Voice exhibit wildly moved me and others who took the time to read the texts that accompanied the artwork. Most visitors did not. Of those who did, some actually cried, especially when they got to Deirdre Pinnock‘s piece. Maddy Fraioli coordinated this exhibit, and all contributions were based on Elizabeth Catlett‘s own prose (third paragraph below).

Fourteen American and Canadian women, spanning the continent from Nova Scotia to Seattle and Vancouver collaborated on hooking the series of fifteen block prints that artist Elizabeth Catlett first produced in Mexico City in 1947. During the pandemic in 2021 and 2022, of the 14 artists, 6 of us are black, 2 of us are Canadian, and the remaining 8 are white and from the U.S. We found common bonds of purpose and passion during the period of time that we worked to complete our rugs

We met on zoom, chose the prints through lottery, discussed the artist, and reflected on how we might approach our hooked pieces so that they accurately reflected on what Ms. Catlett had conveyed over 70 years ago when she first produced this collection of social justice block prints. We recognized that Ms. Catlett’s’ images and message resonate as much now as they did then.

“I am the black woman. I have always worked hard in America, in the fields, in other folks’ homes. I have given the world my songs. In Sojourner Truth I fought for the rights of women as well as Blacks. In Harriet Tubman I helped hundreds to freedom. In Phyliss Wheatley I proved intellectual equality in the midst of slavery. I have studied with ever increasing numbers. My role has been important in the struggle to organize the unorganized. My reward has been bars between me and the rest of the land. I have special reservations, and a special fear for my loved ones. My right is a future of equality with other Americans.”
-Elizabeth Catlett

Deirdre’s piece is of a lynching. She had this to say about the print she chose:

One side of “AND A SPECIAL FEAR FOR MY LOVED ONES.” Hooked by Deirdre Pinnock. Yes, that is a lynching portrayed in hooked art.

I originally chose three pieces that I liked from the collection. I had no intention of following through on rug hooking a lynching. At the time I was being righteous in trying to find my way to voice: “I am the BLM movement” and that I’m not okay with the six lynching’s that occurred in the USA in 2020-2021.This image was subliminally at rest in my head, and now it is real… it’s in my hand. So, what else could I do but give this man back his voice, to give him dignity and show him kindness. Give him Life.

Note the Life in the grass and lively yellow flowers, his bright bloody red shoe bottom, a crisp clean white shirt, baby pink open hand, and the Dapper Dan purple socks… all wrapped in silken golden lasso that I made with laboured respect.

Through the creation of this piece, I experienced traumatizing tearful moments. I did find my joy after letting myself rest and letting the piece rest for several months — it was necessary. I reprimanded myself to get back to giving this man his dignity. I did this through my colour schemes. Please note he is lynched on one side of the canvas and not the other side again giving him LIFE! This work should hang with both sides evident to the public. I’m so proud of myself for completing this work through all my trepidation, inner battles, self-doubt, and even the anger that I, the Woman of Colour, was faced to do this lynching piece out of Catlett’s collection.

In conclusion, racial diversity in rug hooking is missing. The honour to work with art by a Black woman artist was a thrill. After 22 years of doing Rughooking, I’ve only met two rug hookers of colour, and one of them is me. We’re both in Canada paying homage to a woman that was not given a seat at the table in 1950’s America. In 2023, the sisterhood of rug hookers gave me a seat at the table. I present this work to the Rughooking community that proves that change has come and it’s here to stay. This piece will start the conversation for a need in diversity of people and of art. I believe it’s truly needed in the crafting of Rughooking; is not just crafting anymore; it’s a place to have a voice, to be brave, and truly never give up on one’s art no matter how controversial or Vincent van Gogh – traumatizing it may be. I’ve kept my ear through it all.”

Sadly, this display is so very timely today given our current events. You can read all about each piece in Rug Hooking Magazine‘s January/February, 2023, issue. Or see where the exhibit’s off to next.

Lift Every Voice as well as the demographics of Rug Hooking Week participants and viewers made it very clear how our rug hooking community lacks diversity – of skin color, of age, of income, and of gender. While there’s nothing wrong with being an older, white woman, if that describes us all (and it pretty much does), our art is going to disappear as we disappear. Of course, it’s not just hooking; many fiber art organizations suffer from the same problem. I’m 59; in my guild there’s one woman who’s 58. We’re the “babies.”

When I walk into Sauder Village, I should see the past, present, and future of rug hooking. I don’t see the future, the young folks who are experimenting with punch needle and even tufting. Maybe they learned how to punch on YouTube. Maybe they don’t bind a rug like we do or follow the “rules.” But we need those people to keep our art viable and relevant in coming decades. I suspect they’re not too interested in primitive patterns or many of the themes we saw in the rugs at Sauder this year. Let’s invite them and ask them what and how they make art on their monk’s cloth or linen. Let’s learn about each other. There’s room enough in rug hooking for all of us.

Donna Hrkman with her piece THE RED BIRD. Sauder VIllage winner. — Congratulations, **Donna Hrkman** on receiving a People’s Choice Award for THE RED BIRD. “The Red Bird” rug is a tribute to a Lakota Sioux woman who survived being taken from her family as a child and sent to a Residential School. She survived cruel treatment and went on to become a writer, poet, and teacher. She was called Red Bird because it is a symbol of courage.”

NIGEL, "textile taxidermy" by Yvonne Iten-Scott. Sauder Village winner. — **Yvonne Iten-Scott** also won a Sauder Village People’s Choice Award for NIGEL, her “textile taxidermy” piece.

SHAKER TREE OF LIFE, rug hooked by Karen Buchheit, designed by Lucille Festa as adapted from a design by Hannah Cohoon — I absolutely love this rug. Wish the pic was better. SHAKER TREE OF LIFE is a Celebrations finalist. It was hooked by Karen Buchheit and designed by Lucilla Festa as adapted from a design by Hannah Cohoon (in 1854).

GOOD VIBRATIONS/ACID SNOW designed and hooked by Becky Headley. At Sauder Village. — This is fabulous! GOOD VIBRATIONS/ACID SNOW was designed and hooked by Becky Headley. It was part of a “snowflake” exhibit by the Friendship Rug Hookers.

May 11, 2021

On to Ghost Ranch!

Meet up at Ghost Ranch in June!

You know that old saying “The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away”? Well, indeed He does. Just ten or so days ago, I wrote about how excited I was to be finally attending an in-person fiber festival up at El Rancho de las Golondrinas near Santa Fe. Then, last week, Cathy and I got word that, due to state or county Covid guidelines, they had to cancel it. Not sure why, as that county is opened as much as anything can be here in NM. And I’d gone to a couple of farmers’ markets that were pretty crowded down here in Albuquerque where we aren’t quite as open. I was so anticipating the festival and chatting folks up about hooking and all things fiber…

But there is some good news. Because, I’m fully vaccinated, I taught a lovely 80-year old to punch last Friday. In person! She’s quite the pistol too. I hope to have pics when the yarn I ordered for her comes in, and I can get over to her house again. And I have a student coming this Friday as well! I’m looking forward to spreading the fiber gospel some more. In person! Thank goodness for the vaccines!

Then there’s even better news. I’d alluded earlier to the fact that I was planning to teach at a “special” venue. It’s finally up online so I can spill it. June 27 – July 2, I’ll be teaching at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiú north of here in New Mexico. Having only driven by and never stopped, I can’t wait to spend the better part of a week there. We’ll be working on both hooking and punching, stressing all the while the use of recycled and reclaimed materials in our work. Think old t-shirts, bed sheets, plastic bags, and so on. The workshop is titled HOOK A RUG SAVE THE PLANET! (Click on the link for more info.) There will be plenty of downtime to hike and explore the Ranch and surrounding area.

For those not familiar with Ghost Ranch,

The landscape of Ghost Ranch—made famous by painter Georgia O’Keeffe and the incomparable hospitality of first director, Jim Hall—encompasses 21,000 acres of towering rock walls, vivid colors and vast skies. People from all over the world come to work together in creation care, to paint, write poetry, to hike, ride horseback, to research globally renowned archaeological and fossil quarries or simply to rest and renew their spirits.
-Ghost Ranch website

Photograph by ghostranch.org.

Georgia O’Keeffe is indelibly and colorfully linked to the Ranch though she only owned seven acres of it. More info on that HERE. The actual owners gifted it to the Presbyterian Church who created the Ghost Ranch Education & Retreat Center. The Center “fosters well-being and spiritual health through this historic, inspiring southwest landscape.” They do that by offering various activities on the land like hiking, camping, and horseback riding as well retreats and workshops. And that, my friends, is where my class comes in. The Ranch values good stewardship of the earth. An art workshop stressing re-use of materials to make something beautiful and maybe even useful falls right in their wheelhouse. And I couldn’t be any happier. I’m thinking of what it can mean for my own art and then just to have that time away from “home” stuff. Time to talk fiber, time to hike and sketch.

Chile pepper hooked rug — “The Ripening” is all New Mexico. (Old t-shirts; 9.5″x9.5″)

If you’re thinking about traveling this summer, maybe a peaceful, fiber retreat in northern New Mexico, a place filled with our special light and color, is the place for you. Chile peppers always available!

August 1, 2019

Finding artistic elements: Can I incorporate that into a rug?

Star as artistic element found in Black Forest — I liked this eight-point star superimposed on the blue sky and angles of the building. It’s found in Germany’s **Black Forest**.

I bet a whole bunch of you spend a fair amount of time looking around, see things, and wonder, “That looks cool; can I make a rug out of it?” I do. Even Tom has started asking me if I can use a particular design that he spies in nature, in the store, in the clouds…

My vacation is long gone now that summer is churning forward and August is just around the corner. Sigh… Sure, it’s freaking hot here in New Mexico, but I love the vibe of summer. So, I thought that I’d try go back to Germany in June – it was chilly – and share some of the “artistic elements” that I discovered there.

Metal bird sculpture. — Okay, less an artistic element than a piece of art itself. I really liked these metal yard birds. Also in the Black Forest .

Scalloped roof shingles as artistic element. — These roof shingles were on many of the houses of **Breisach**, Germany, a little town on the Rhine. As old as the town looked, it was almost completely rebuild after WW2. Besides the scalloped shape, I like the variation in color.

Lines and reflections as artistic elements in Strasbourg, France. — Just check out the lines and the reflections of these homes in **Strasbourg**, France.

Artistic elements on pottery. — If only my own flower pots has this kind of artistry! Found this at Heidelberg Castle in Germany.

Sgn for a restaurant. — I loved the individual artistic elements incorporated into this sign, I think for a cafe. It was in **Rüdesheim**, Germany. The sun, the grapes, and the tea- or coffee pot caught up in the leafy grapevine.

Lines as artistic elements - rows of grapevines. — Never mind the steepness of the hill that these grapevines have been planted upon (though workers do have to tie up to a bar at the top and repel down to tend to the vines). Note the rows and rows of straight lines. The ones that go off at a bit of an angle are owned by a different farmer.

Circles and cylinders: artistic elements in the castle kitchen. — Kitchens – even in castles – are full of artistic elements. Here we have circular plates, cylindrical cups and vessels, and the horizontals of the shelving. Saw this in **Marskburg Castle** near **Koblenz**, Germany.

More circles and lines: artistic elements in the kitchen. — Spoons on a rack provide us with more circles and lines. They look like pewter lollipops!

Slate roof with repeating tiles. — Marksburg Castle had some interesting slate roof tiles.

Floral artistic elements in carved wood walls. — And incredible woodwork!

Colored wall panel, floral design. — Both Tom and I looked at this and the other wall panels and thought RUG!

Animal artistic element. — Dog? Sheep? You be the judge.

Snakes as artistic elements. — Maybe snakes are more your thing… Seen in Koblenz.

Stained glass window, cubes of cut glass. Artistic elements. — This window in the **Cathedral in Cologne** was made of colorful, glass squares. Being that I love to hook geometrics, I was quite taken by it. Wish the pic was clearer, but the camera on my phone bit it soon after this.

What have you recently seen during your travels that might make it into a rug?

July 23, 2019

“Memory of Water” is going to a show!

Fiber arts eye-candy. — **“Memory of Water” is hooked with plastic bags.**

Woohoo! “Memory of Water” is off to another show. Not a fiber arts show, but an exhibit of all kinds of media. Last month I saw that the Fuller Lodge Art Center (FLAC) up in Los Alamos (New Mexico) had a call for artists for “Making Waves,” their August exhibit.

A single stone thrown into the water can create a ripple that will affect the entire pond. Water is a sacred and often misused blessing, especially in the desert landscape of New Mexico. Take on water and all that it means to us personally. Don’t shy away from the controversy water issues can create! We want to see artwork that makes the biggest splash!

–from FLAC’s website

It appears that after spending a year on my hallway wall, “Memory of Water” made another splash with FLAC’s jurists. (You might remember that it was in Albuquerque’s Open Space Visitor Center’s “WATER” exhibit last year.) The show runs August 2-31, so we’re off to Los Alamos this week to deliver the piece. Tynan and new puppy Bowyn will get to take a ride!

Welsh Springer spaniel Tynan on hooked rug. — Tynan presents “What’s on the frame” this week. He wants everyone to remember that he, not Junior (i.e., Bowyn, his new little brother) is the High on Hooking dog. Bowyn would not respect the rug; he’d just eat it. Those are his toys in the background, however. He’s a slob.

Truthfully, we’ll be making three trips up north to Los Alamos this coming month. We’ll have to retrieve the piece after the show. And mid month…we’re back up there for FLAC’s Summer Arts and Crafts Fair! First time High on Hooking’s vended this show. Here’s hoping for a beautifully sunny mountain day. No monsoon rains.

Maybe you’ll show at one of these events, particularly if you’re in the greater northern New Mexican area. If you’re at the Arts and Crafts Fair, mention the blog and get 10% off a rug!

June 27, 2019

Finding textures in all kinds of new places!

Texture of an old rooftop in Germany — Texture of a tile roof top in **Breisach**, Germany. Breisach is a fairy-talish town sitting in the middle Rhine River Valley just west of the **Black Forest** and east of France’s **Vosges Mountains**. It’s so beautiful and “old” looking that one can scarcely believe 85% of the town was destroyed in WWII.

TEXTURE: the visual or tactile surface characteristics and appearance of something. (Merriam-Webster)

Fiesta has come and gone and so has my vacation. Sigh… Both were enjoyable – though, to be honest, Fiesta was a boatload of work. Vacation was just…a boatload. Tom and I enjoyed last years river cruise so much, that we decided to do another one. This time we headed off to the Rhine River, starting in Basel, Switzerland.

Interesting fact: The Basel Airport is almost all in France. It has an exits/entrances in both France and Switzerland. It pays to know which country you’re headed to.

Tom in Breisach on the cobble stone streets — Tom standing on Breisach’s cobblestones. Note the pretty rebuilt homes. Beautiful.

Metal cast of the city of Strasbourg, France. — A metal cast of the city of Strasbourg, France. (Sort of Germany; read about the sometimes German/sometimes French **history of the Alsace region of France**.) **Notre Dame Cathedral** is the centerpiece of the city.

Texture of statuary on Strasbourg Cathedral — Such delicate stonework is all over Strasbourg’s Gothic cathedral which also had to be majorly restored after WWII. In fact, the stained glass windows disappeared; Americans found them in 1945 in a German salt mine.

Texture of decorative stonework found in the partly ruined fairy-tale **Heidelberg Castle** in Heidelberg, Germany.

The tenor of this trip was much different than last year’s wine cruise in Bordeaux. That one was a very local vacation covering a lot less distance. It was more laid back and concentrated on the really, really excellent wines that come out of that region of France. It also gave us more time for leisure, leisure which I define at least partly as sketching and journaling. Not so much this trip. Although I managed to finish a crocheted shawl and get some reading done, we were moving too much this year. Some days there were two excursions on shore! They were interesting, but I think Tom and I are into a little more free time on vacation. Not to mention good wine.

Castle stonework and plant texture — This one’s a two-fer. Note the stonework of the castle’s facade as well as the pompom texture of the tree below. Does anyone know what kind of tree that is? It was spectacular. BTW, note that you see through those upper story windows to the sky. Yes, Heidelberg Castle has a lot of ruins about it.

Pompom texture of tree — Couldn’t help it. Isn’t is wicked cool???

The Rhine River cruise – also by Viking – as I said, started in Basel and quickly moved into Germany. Actually, the Rhine runs right between Germany and France’s Alsace region (which is sort of German; read the history as mentioned above) for awhile, and we explored both sides. As the week progressed, we moved fully into Germany and finally into the Netherlands. We docked in Amsterdam where Tom and I spent a couple of extra nights. (After flying back to the U.S., we spent a couple of unplanned nights in San Francisco, but that’s a story for another post. As are my luggage woes.)

Rows and rows of wine vineyards hang on the hills — Okay, this is detail from afar. Look at the rows and rows of vines hanging on the hills along the Rhine. They can be so steep that vineyard workers have to tie up and kind of rappel down to work on the vines.

Succulents at Marksburg Castle — **Marksburg Castle** was a treasure trove of textures, especially as we were seeing it close-up. These succulents are part of the castle’s gardens.

Of course, I have pics to share. You’re seeing them now. Unfortunately, the camera on my phone started to crap out on this trip. I might add that this is the same phone that had over-heating issues last vacation. The difference here is that I didn’t realize how fatal the problem was till the last day – in San Francisco – when the thing shit the bed entirely. I lost some photos. 🙁 Now, I have to purchase a new phone. Did I mention that on top of a European vacation, we just paid for the hardwood floors we’re putting in? Yeah, bad timing. A phone isn’t in the budget for a bit. Luckily, Tom’s old one – the one with a malfunctioning keyboard – was still up for the photography challenge, so I’m carrying it around as an ancillary to my ~~now unloved~~ phone.

Stone texture at Marksburg Castle — Even the walls were texturized!

Texture of wall woodwork — Nice woodwork in the castle’s main bedroom!

Cologne Cathedral seen through a rainy window — **Cologne’s cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage site**, seen through the rained-on window of our ship. Notice how the clouds parted over the church. The heavens opened up when Tom and I were walking around Cologne earlier. Late in the afternoon, the sky cleared producing a beautiful evening.

Mosaic floor in Cologne Cathedral — I actually walked on this floor in the **Cathedral in Cologne**. Incredible mosaic.

Brick texture of windmill — This is the exterior wall of a windmill in Kinderdijk, the Netherlands. Bricks were, maybe 4 inches long at most, the better to be able to make the rounded base of the building.

Bullet strike - wall of Cologne Cathedral. — Although the sandstone exterior walls of the Cologne Cathedral are black and pitted – acid rain requires that there’s constant maintenance and replacement of stone – this “texture” is actually the result of a WWII bullet.

Grasses in the Netherlands at Kinderdijk. — Rain, like wind, is plentiful in the Netherlands. These are grasses that grow in the wetlands surrounding the windmills. Nineteen working windmills are in **Kinderdijk, also a UNESCO World Heritage site**. We were lucky enough to be able to go into one.

Colorful textures of tulips in Amsterdam — In **Amsterdam’s Flower Market** there were, of course, bundles and bundles of tulips. Note the cool black ones in the back

Piles of sea lions on rafts in San Francisco. — My last photo – before the camera really, truly died – is, incongruously, of sea lions dotting rafts while they snooze. I needed to do the same after an 11-hour flight and then two extra nights in California!

So, we’ve muddled through my pics regardless. This first bunch had to do with the different textures I observed on our travels. I hope you enjoy. Give a yell if you have any questions or insights to the photos. And please share your vacations stories here too!

Laura