As mentioned last week, my workshop up north at Ghost Ranch was postponed which was a pretty big bummer for me. But then I realized I had a whole week of days I’d kept unscheduled, thinking I’d be away. What to do with that time??? Given how distracted I’ve found myself these last few months (okay, really the last year+), I find that I need to step back and redefine what it is I want and need out of life. Sure, I’m hooking and teaching, but my attention has…wandered. My daily routine isn’t working, and productivity has been affected.
It’s not at all helped by so many local, national, and even global crises. The collapsed Maimi condo, race and gender issues, folks refusing to get vaccinated thereby prolonging the whole Covid thing, some family health difficulties, climate change which really hits home here in the desert Southwest… I seem to be catching my kid’s anxieties. That we spent over a week with temps in the 100s certainly didn’t enhance my mood. But you – I – can’t live like that, in dread all the time.
Last week after deciding on a couple of new projects – not hooking!!! – I grabbed my coupons and started out for Jo-Ann Fabrics to get supplies. It occurred again to me that it’s summer. A time for lighter things, as I also said last week. But this time I really heard myself. Remember how we used to feel in summer? Even when bad things were happening around the world? (The reality is that good and bad things are always happening.) I put some Jimmy Buffett on the Fit’s stereo and off we went.
ABUNDANCE (15″ x 48″) is finished! As part of my retreat efforts to shake things up, I sewed yesterday morning rather than during the evening, my usual MO. She’s the newest in 2021’s #happyrugseries and was hooked with all kinds of fibers. And, yes, those are holes in her. Life takes from us, but we still have so much to share.
Friday evening Tom and I had a lovely time sipping wine at a local winery, Casa Rodeña here in Albuquerque. They have a pond. It was cool and calming. I realized that I could take the next week to change up my routine, get some things done that I’ve been planning but been too paralyzed to do. In short, get myself out of this funk.
I started yesterday by learning a new “trick.” Okay, a new fiber art medium. I’m very excited and will share down the road. I even used YouTube to learn how to do it. Generally, I prefer to learn in person, not via a video. Again, it’s about getting out of the comfort zone, something I used to do without thinking too much about it.
An article about the Ribbon Rug Journal is on the retreat’s to-do list. Planning my next rug for when I’ll be on the road in a couple of weeks. More sketching and journaling. Reading for pleasure and “work.” Getting back to morning yoga for my arthritis. Not on the list: vacuuming, cleaning the kitchen, meetings, a lot of social media, worrying…
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But life does still go on. To that effect – note that In the Studio’s Workshop Week 3 classes are filling. Sure, it’s not till October, and we have more events and teachers than ever, but folks want in. Also, my own workshop, Hooking with T-Shirts, on October 30, had enough interest that I opened a second session for Saturday, October 23, also at 1:00 PM Eastern.Email me if you’re interested.
Both boys bring you WHAT’S ON THE FRAME today. No title for it yet, but it’s the #ecohooking rug in recycled plastic bags. I should’ve added Static Guard to my list of retreat supplies!
Is it just me or do I sense many stepping back a bit to reevaluate as we move back into a post-pandemic world?
Meryl Cook: The basics of the Chakra colour system and how Meryl applies it to her intuitive design process.
IN THE STUDIO WITH MERYL COOK – SEPTEMBER 9, 2020; 1-2 PM EASTERN (11-NOON MOUNTAIN)
Colour, texture, joy and self-compassion are the key features of Meryl Cook’s beautifully crafted hooked mats, her books about her journey from homeopath to artist and journal writer, and her journal writing practice. Meryl is the author of One Loop at a Time, a story of rughooking, healing and creativity (2016) and One Loop at a Time, The Creativity Workbook (2017).
What makes Meryl’s process unique is the ties between her writing and design. This introspective process includes writing on the linen around the design highlighting the inspiration for each mat, selecting colours based on Chakra colour theory, and using techniques that follow the healing energy to produce an intuitive, abstract design. Each mat represents the next step in her life journey.
Since 2016, Meryl has spoken and taught creativity workshops across Canada and in the U.S. A juried member of Craft Nova Scotia, her work has appeared in the Craft Nova Scotia Member’s Exhibition (2019 & 2020 (upcoming)), and as a special exhibit at Sauder Village Rug Hooking Week (2018). What began as a way of holding space for herself following breast cancer treatment has become a career as an artist and as a corporate team facilitator focusing on well-being and engagement.
Join Meryl Cook as she shares the basics of the Chakra colour system and how she applies it to her intuitive design process. Come prepared to play with colour and to take a tour of Meryl’s “Wild Women” mats.
Please Note:
Event is Wednesday, September 9, at 1-2 PM Eastern.
This is an ONLINE event, and the Zoom link that you will need to attend will be on the Print at Home version of the e-ticket that you receive after purchase AND it will be emailed to you the day before the event.
Tickets are $6 Canadian and are purchased through Ticketscene.
Unfortunately, no. Due to the logistics involved, we decided some time ago to keep these events live. Hopefully if you can’t make it to this talk, you’ll be able to make it to a future talk.
* It’s the day of the talk and I’m having trouble finding or using the link for the talk. How can I find help?
It is very advisable to LOG INTO THE EVENT A FEW MINUTES EARLY to be sure that you have no trouble with the link, and if you are having trouble the organizer can help you out. You can email or message the event organizer up until 12:30pm Eastern on the day of the talk for help. ONCE THE EVENT STARTS, however, messages and emails are not able to be monitored.
* I’m finding it distracting during the talk seeing all of the other participants on my screen. What can I do?
During the event the organizer will put the screen setting on “spotlight view” so that the presenter is the focus on your screen. Depending on your device, you may still see audience members on your screen and changing your setting from “gallery view” to “speaker view” should help with that.
EVERYONE HAS A STORY: LET THEM TELL IT. Circle by Sandy Coleman.
On Monday last I participated in a workshop* presented by Nasco Art Education featuring artist Sandy Coleman, creator of the The Community Circle Project. The Project and the class are all about connecting community in a way that allows for self expression. I’m sure you agree that these days we need both.
Sandy and I go back a number of years to when I was still living and hooking in Massachusetts. Members of a local artists’ group, we talked about collaborating on something. Later is better than never, yes?
By day, Sandy is the director of communications and the magazine editor at Wheaton College (Massachusetts). But she’s also an art teacher at the Attleboro Art Museum. Back in January, her Community Circle Project featured prominently in the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Committee of Greater Attleboro’s MLK Jr. holiday programming. At an interfaith service entitled “Breaking through Bias: Accepting Our Differences,” guests were invited to create circles that eventually (when our Covid-19 crisis allows) will become part of a large-scale public display illustrating community and unity.
Artist and Community Circle Project creator Sandy Coleman.
In Sandy’s own words:
I believe that art reminds us of our common humanity. Art invites us to tap into our innate creativity, to experience the process of bringing forth what is imagined into reality and to see what is good within ourselves so that we also can see what is good within others. This all, ideally, not only opens us up to hoping for the best for everyone and for the world, but also moves us to act to bring about good.
I believe that imagining what you want is the first step toward making it happen. All of this is at the heart of the founding of The Community Circle Project, which I created and launched in 2019.
The circle is a symbol of unity, wholeness, connection and inclusion. The Community Circle Project is an ongoing art collaboration and engagement that employs the symbol and the themes evoked as a creative focal point. I facilitate virtual and in-person workshops in which participants are invited to engage in artmaking as well as meaningful conversation. The goal is for us to see our commonalities, our shared humanity and desire for good in our lives, which, ideally, leads to wishing for good in the lives of others, our communities and the world.
Change happens in big and small ways. Each of us can play a role in that, including calling upon the power of creativity for relaxation, reflection and reaching out.
WE ARE POWERFUL TOGETHER. Another one of Sandy’s circles.
During the class, Sandy mentioned that she creates a circle each day, usually in the morning, based on a prompt which can be a statement or perhaps a question à la “what have you learned during the world lockdown? During the recent protests? What dreams do you hold for yourself? Your family? The world?” This journaling both relaxes and energizes her, grounding her for the day ahead.
Monday’s online workshop was primarily directed towards art educators for grades 4 and up. Hey, I teach rug hooking! Actually, I was there because, after Sandy invited my to join the Community Circle Project on Facebook, I saw a post that she was going to be presenting HOW the circles worked, how I could learn to draw them and participate in the project. Remember, Sandy came up with this Community Circle concept last year, well before the nation sat up and really took notice of our systemic racism, before some of us truly woke up and realized that our silence has been complicit. Although, as Sandy generously allowed, “Silence is complicated, not just complicit.” She herself has taken care and time to reflect on how she can add to the conversation. She is doing that through art.
KEEP THE DOOR OPEN. Another one of Sandy’s circles.
But this is art that’s meant to be shared. Art that can and should spark meaningful discussion. And we sure as hell have a discussion now. One we need to ensure keeps going thoughtfully. The Community Circle Project is a way to do just that. Through classrooms of kids, through community workshops, even through individual “circling.”
How many times do we have to be reminded that we have more in common than we don’t? That we are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers?
Art gives us a way to reflect on and process the things going on in the world at large and in our own little part of it. How many people miss out on that because they say, “I’m not an artist!”? Everyone can trace a circle or even freehand it. (Another Sandy-ism: “Wonky is wonderful!”) I wish I’d been at the MLK Day service in Attleboro in January to see all the diverse circles that probably we’re actually pretty similar in spirit. Imagine the discussions that came up between parents and kids, between neighbors.
I CAN DO MORE TO BE UNIVERSAL. WHAT MATTERS MOST IS KINDNESS. Surprise! This is the circle I did during the workshop. Clearly, I don’t have the brevity thing down yet.
Let’s keep the conversation going!
Rug hookers and other artists, how about an old-fashioned challenge? Your circles don’t have to be hooked. We all know what it’s like to do letters. Feel free to draw them, if you prefer. Get your kids and grandkids involved.
Linda Towle was the founder of the Adobe Wools Arts Guild, New Mexico’s only rug hooking guild. We miss you, Linda!
This is perhaps the anthem of the Adobe Wool Arts Guild of New Mexicoof which I am the current president. You will hear it whenever any one of us is working a rug and asks the others for advice. That means you and anyone within hearing distance will hear these words:
at guild meetings and retreats;
at Albuquerque’s Botanic Garden in the BioPark where we demonstrate twice a month (in non-Covid 19 months, that is);
whenever and wherever any of us gather together to hook; and
whenever any of us teach – formally or informally.
The guidance can be in regard to most anything involved in rug making.
What color(s) would look best ?
Monk’s cloth, linen, or rug warp?
Wool strips or alternative fibers?
Which frame is best?
How high should my loops be?
Should I use quillies*?
Did I draw this right?
What do you think about _______?
If you’re a rug hooker, you know that the list is endless. Although our rugs are generally solo works of art, we often seek input from others, often those more experienced than ourselves.
We are a small and close-knit group. We are also not shy about expressing ourselves or our opinions. This means that when a hooker asks how he or she should finish their rug, they will often receive 10 or 15 differing opinions. Strident opinions. Discussion will ensue. The poor hooker might be overwhelmed. (We made someone cry once; it wasn’t our finest moment.) But, in the end, it all comes down to the same thing every time: “You are the boss of your rug.”
Being the boss of your rug – or your painting or your quilt or poem or whatever type of art you might make – means that you ultimately choose a design, colors, techniques, and so on. You make the piece with your own hands. And when you’re done with it, it is yours. Hopefully, you share it with the rest of us.
And we are proud of that person’s efforts.
Individually, I might think the rug needs improvement. Maybe blue would’ve worked better than black. Perhaps some of the loops fell out. Hell, maybe I hate the whole design. But it is NOT my rug. It is someone else’s rug, and I respect everything that he or she put into that rug. Or that short story or that piece of pottery.
We are proud that the person cared enough to make a rug. We are proud that he or she put themselves and their ego out there. That they felt safe enough to express themselves artistically in front of us. That they were able to say no to even the most vociferous of us and create their own rug.
Maybe you’re wondering why I bring this up.
March 1: “Costco shopping trip pre-coronavirus. This was extreme hooking even for me. The TP roll was hooked with actual toilet paper. Not the easiest to work with but better than anticipated. Maybe if I spun it… Also wool yarn and strips.
In March, I wrote about my yearlong #RibbonRugJournal project. Basically, every day I hook an entry on a 3-inch or so length of a burlap ribbon roll. The image – more like a sketch – has to do with something from my day. It’s not a Picasso by any means. Burlap ribbon, I’ve found, sucks to hook on. Strings often break. It’s also a small space, not good for a lot of design definition, but I’ve made it over five months so I’ll keep going.
Little did I know in January what kind of year 2020 would be. Holy crap, Batman! Hence, in March the Coronacootie started showing up in my journal. And then in the last few weeks, #blacklivesmatter has dominated the news. As it should. And as we all know, that movement’s collision with politics has been cataclysmic for the country. Naturally, this has also made it into the #RibbonRugJournal.
What do I do with the journal? Every evening after I hook an entry, I take a picture and load it onto High on Hooking’s Instagram. This keeps me honest, plus some folks are following it. (Love you guys!) All of my Instagram posts are automatically loaded onto High on Hooking’s Facebook page. From there I share it on my personal Facebook page.
#ribbonrugjournal June 2: “ELBIB Abuse.” Did he hold that book, respecting it as the sacred item it is? Or did he heft it up as Exhibit A, “proof” of his love of God and his fellow men? I mean after peaceful protesters and clergy were driven from the church with tear gas. For his photo op. The Bible and the world turned upside down.
Tuesday, June 2, I posted a simple image. It was indeed politically motivated. I am not a fan of Mr. Trump and was fairly incensed to see him silently hold a Bible aloft in front of a Church he does not attend after his minions forcibly removed from the church area peaceful protesters and the clergy of that church. You can see that I also made textual comments which you can read.
Later in the evening, I saw that folks had commented on my social media. I’m good with that. But one woman had posted:
Is this the right place for politics? I come here for a break from reality for a bit.
I was taken aback. High on Hooking is my company; it’s Facebook page is my page. While I leave overtly political posts and memes and such for my personal page, this was just an element of another hooked rug project. And I’d posted other occasional political entries before. I explained much of this to the writer. A bit of a dust-up ensued as others came to the defense of my self-expression. I thought that was the end till I turned on my phone Wednesday morning to another comment:
No politics please!
Note the exclamation point. Although I didn’t agree with the first woman, I could understand where she was coming from. But this chick was telling me to not post political content on my own f-ing page! Really! Guess she doesn’t like her rug hooking or her art making her uncomfortable. Or she can’t handle people having a difference of opinion.
My response:
______, this is my page. I don’t compartmentalize my life, especially not my art. Rug hooking allows me to process all of life, not just the easy and good things. Please read responses below.
Lady, and anyone else who didn’t like my #RibbonRugJournal Tuesday night, feel free to pass over my “political” posts or to stop following me if it bothered you that much. You have no right to tell me or to even intimate that I shouldn’t integrate my opinions into my art that I show on my social media. I am the boss of my rugs and my pages!
Show me your hearts; here’s mine. I attached it to my spring door decoration. It was hooked with wool, silk, and silk sari yarns. #heartsforheroes
We’re still looking for those hearts. Tag them #heartsforheroes. If you’re not sure what we’re talking about, click here now. Relatedly, Maggie Bathory at the Aspen Rug Company has a contest HEARTS FOR HOOKERS going on over at her place. Combine our two projects; do good and maybe win some wool!
In other news, I’m still not working particularly efficiently as I’d hoped to back when this all started. If you wish, you can read about that here. The situation wasn’t helped when my kid had health issues that ultimately pushed her into the hospital up in Colorado where she lives…3½ hours away. That was nerve-wracking as Tom and I couldn’t just run up to be with her. Nope, in the end she had to do it all by her lonesome. There have been some hiccups, but her health is safe and she’s back at work…on the frontlines…at a grocery store. (Another plug for #heartsforheroes.)
But I have gotten some things done. Two rugs left the Etsy shop for their forever homes. Yea! Virtual shopping can be as good if not better than going to the store. I know, three pairs of shoes have made it to my house from DSW via the post office. Then there are those two Kohl’s deliveries. Pro Chem and Maritime Family Fiber…
“Sacred Life” now lives in Louisiana with Susan. She and Carolyn are hoping to make a trip to New Mexico late in the year. Pray they get a chance. Till then, this will have to do.
Intrigue: There’s been an ongoing rug “sale” story; really it’s all about a would-be scammer who wanted to take me for about $1000. And get a rug in the deal! That deserves it’s own post. Watch for it in the future.
“Tea for Me” headed up to its Oregon forever home this week! Perfect for a cool spring morning.
Then I sold a pattern of “Big Boucherouite” after someone saw him in Rug Hooking Magazine. Damn, I think that little nugget of information was lost in the coronacootie hubbub. Yep, take a gander in the current – March/April/May – issue. My article starts on page 40. I’m so tickled! Anywho, later this week, I’ll be making that pattern available in linen and monk’s cloth in the Etsy shop. Or just contact me at Laura@highonhooking.com if you’re interested in one. Or in any other rug that I’ve hooked, for that matter. Most can be easily drawn.
You know, I’ve had short stories printed and even rugs in the ATHA Magazine, but what a gas to have my own article and artwork in Rug Hooking Magazine!
This was part of the process when I drew the “Big Boucherouite” pattern for Leslie. Thank goodness for a large area on tile, and even more, doors to keep the dogs at bay.
Ribbon Rug Journal entry, April 12: “Easter, 2020” or “Easter, Corona Style.” Hopefully, the Easter Bunny didn’t catch the coronacootie when he delivered the eggs and candy.
Like I said in an earlier post, the Ribbon Rug Journal takes up more of my hooking time than I anticipated. I guess that’s not such a problem this year though. Sadly, so many vending and other in-person events are cancelled that I have time to spend on a big project like this one. Just the other day I finished the first roll of burlap ribbon. The new roll is a tad more difficult to work with as its weave is much looser. Danger, Will Robinson! It’s also wider which is a mixed blessing. There’s more space to hook, but showing any kind of detail is a no-go.
Other than that, there’s lots of cooking and eating and drinking going on in the Salamy house. We’re still really well stocked up. The boys keep us walking most days, thank goodness. It’s safer that way, otherwise the Wild Child (aka Bowyn) gets himself into much too much mischief. He took out a skein of rug yarn within five minutes of it being in the house. Snaked his little paw right through the doggie gate to snag it! I have managed to give them both haircuts, not that I’ll be accomplished enough to hang out a groomer’s shingle when this whole pandemic crisis is over. But I can now wield a pair of clippers and cut toenails. I call that a victory.
A FIRST! Tynan allowed Bowyn to share his “What’s on the frame” duty this week. (It all fell apart after I snapped the pic.) I’ll hook the last bit of this cheery, recycled bed sheet rug tonight. Then it joins a finishing queue along with a punched pillow.
I’m still interested in what you’re hooking up or even cooking up this Covid-19 “vacation.” Tell us about it below. Better yet, show us on the High on Hooking Facebook page. And get those hearts up on your front windows and doors. Share your love and gratitude with the heroes showing up at your house with yarn and shoes and food and…
