HOLES to be part of STORIES ARE MADE LOOP BY LOOP, curated by Susan Feller
Stories Are Made Loop By Loop is all about contemporary rug hooking being done with fabric, yarn, and plastic and how an “old” technique is still being used to tell stories and for self expression. Susan premiered the exhibit last year in Virginia. A few months ago, I shipped Holes(hooked in 2020) to Susan in West Virginia, so it could join in at this traveling show’s second stop.
“Holes,” 68″ x 33″, monk’s cloth hooked with recycled textiles and silk sari ribbon. See her in Stories Are Made Loop By Loop in WV.
If you’re like me and can’t get to Charleston, Susan has generously made the catalog available HERE. Topics taken up in the various pieces of art include: healing; cancer and mental health issues; motherhood and how it changes a woman; homelessness and addiction; environmental destruction and loss of natural resources; one’s sense of identity and finding a voice; and veterans’ advocacy.
Like many fiber arts, rug hooking is enjoying a bit of a renaissance, with artists applying more modern sensibilities and trying to bring attention to today’s social causes and passions. See the show, peruse the catalog, and observe how we’re all taking an old art form and using new/old techniques and materials to tell our stories. But like the artists who came before us, we’re still appreciating the colors and textures of this slow, meditative form of loop-making.
If you live in central or northern New Mexico or will be visiting later in May, and you’ve wanted to learn to rug hooking, now is your chance! I’ll be running a class up in Española at the Fiber Arts Center on May 20, 1:00-5:00 PM. Registration info can be found HERE. Any questions, please give me a yell at Laura@highonhooking.com.
Hope to see you there. I promise that we’ll have a truly excellent time hooking rugs and saving the environment!
I know I’m late to the party congratulating Karen Miller of Ontario on the release of her new book The Art of Mothering: Our Lives in Colour and Shadow, but I will NOT be the last, I guarantee you.
Karen’s book, published by Rug Hooking Magazine, came out in October. I think I received my copy in early November. Unfortunately, I’ve been très busy the past month, so I’ve only been able to scan through it thus far, but with the holidays almost here, I’m hoping to sit down soon and pore over it – no interruptions!
It’s a beautiful book, certainly, filled with all kinds of art. It’s vivid and colorful as it shines a light on how female artists have dealt with not just the topic of motherhood, but its actuality.
From the back cover:
Motherhood has been the richest experience of Karen Miller’s life. It has also inescapably changed her life trajectory: her career path, her energy levels, her commitments, her time, her marriage. It has affected everything. Join Karen as she and 21 contributing artists lift the lid on motherhood and peer inside to examine the reality of their lives through textile arts.
The Art of Motherhood: Our Lives in Colour and Shadow illuminates the feelings that so few of us talk about – but so many of us feel – as we navigate the journey that is motherhood.
“Rejection,” 14′ x 17.5″, hooked on monk’s cloth with wool strips and yarn, is one of my pieces in Karen’s book.
Karen’s known for a long time that being a mother hasn’t always been the best of experiences for me, so when she asked me to contribute to the book, I jumped at the chance. It’s always stuck up my craw sideways that women rarely feel comfortable being honest about motherhood and what it does to us. Even in a group of just women! How dare we speak up about not feeling quite like the Madonna and her perfect Child. News flash: I’m no Madonna and it took a lot of alcohol to get through my only kid’s high school years. (Those years made the previous 14 look like an f-ing picnic.) But after fertility problems and two miscarriages over two years, no one wanted a kid as much as I did. And I have no regrets. (Most of the time.)
“Holes,” 68″ x 33″, hooked on monk’s cloth with recycled textiles and silk sari ribbon. I’ve talked about this piece before.
That’s the kind of candid crap you’ll find in this book though in a much more eloquent form, LOL. And LOTS OF FIBER ART, hooked and otherwise. If you’re a mom or know a mom or ever had a mom, get thee online to order this book. It’d make a kick-ass and thoughtful Christmas or other type of gift. I promise. You can order from RHM HERE. If you’re in Canada, contact Karen through her website.
PS- Not all moms are biologic. And mother figures count as moms.
FYI-
Below is a list of the Instagram handles of all the artists who, in some way affected by motherhood, contributed work to Karen’s truly excellent book. Check out their work.
Karen Miller: @karendmillerstudio
Nadine Flagel: @pretextstudio
Meryl Cook: @merylcook
Laura Salamy: @highonhooking
Emily van Lidth de Jeude: @emilyvanartist
Jane Smith: @blogginthebay
April Deconick: @aprildeconickart
Linda Friedman Schmidt: @lindafriedmanschmidt
Rachelle Leblanc: @rachelle_leblanc_art
Trish Johnson: @trshjhnsn
Patti Colen: @woollycronedesigns
Alexandrya Eaton: @alexandryaeaton
Michelle Kingdom: @michelle.kingdom
Carmen Bohn: @carmenbohn_art
Elizabeth Miller: @northatlanticfiberarts
Ellen Skea Marshall: @twocatsanddoghooking
Amy Meissner: @amymeissnerartist
Michele Micarelli: @michelepmicarelli
Linda Rae Coughlin: @lindarae_coughlin
Sayward Johnson: @saywardjohnson
Lori Laberge: @lorilabergeart
Karen Larsen: I don’t believe Karen is on Ig but she is on fb
That’s what I told a friend last Friday night at the opening reception for PROTEST: SEE Something, Say Something at Fusionin downtown Albuquerque. (More info HERE.) It’s a good, meaningful show, filled with all kinds of media and messages. Rightly so, with protesting as a theme, they aren’t always pretty.
Sheela Na Gig is a Celtic symbol. I’ll let you read about her and how she was and now is used for protests HERE. (Hooked on cotton monk’s cloth with mostly old t-shirts and a bit of silk sari ribbon; embellished with glass beads.)
As I mentioned on social media after posting pics of my two pieces, I was sorry not to get more and better photographs, but I had to leave early. All Friday I’d battled a migraine; finally, the nausea and fatigue got the best of me. I didn’t feel better till Monday/Tuesday. Nonetheless, I encourage all the local readers to make their way to Fusion one afternoon or evening to see what the (protesting) artwork really looks like and to see it all.
Later every year, I create an angel for the following year. This was THE MIGHTY ONE, THE ANGEL OF 2022. (Hooked with old t-shirts, repurposed gold lamé, and plastic bags.)
TURTLE ISLAND SIEGE by Patricia Halloran (Patricia had some cool things in the FABRIC OF NEW MEXICO SHOW.)
THE HISTORY OF BEARING CHILDREN, text by Jacqueline Murray Long, visual art by Martin Terry
This is a more easily read photo of the text by Jacqueline Murray Loring. Another piece by a different artist accompanied this artwork. Visit the show to see it. (My photo didn’t come out.)
If you’re looking for a thought-provoking show, one that will let you see the outrage, the anger about so many things going on in our world today, come see the work by artists who are protesting at Fusion in Albuquerque. Maybe we all need to start protesting.
What a great experience it was teaching at the Shakerag Workshops this month! For those of you not familiar with them or my class there, please find info HERE.
Because anyone who might test positive with Covid during the week and even before we got on the shuttle at the airport would earn a number or nights in a hotel till they could be put on a return flight, I was pretty stressed out before I left and even after I got there. Too many mask-less folks in airports and on planes. And too many friends have come down with the Coronacootie during air travel in the last month or two. Fortunately, I never tested positive – deep relief. Though I wasn’t able to extend my trip to stay, as planned, with a nearby friend after her son came down with it. We’ll try to rectify that next year when she and her husband make a first trip to New Mexico. Fingers crossed!
The Res at Shakerag, inviting even in the early morning light.
Coming from the drought-full New Mexican high desert, Tennessee was a “wetter” place to visit, especially if you count humidity. But I really enjoyed my morning walks even if Bowyn couldn’t be with me. I saw the “Res” where swimming happens most every afternoon. And I loved the bike path. History was present all over too.
History – a sign marking the Trail of Tears.
But the best thing – other than ALL THE FOOD which was just as delicious as promised – was my class. Titled HOOK A RUG, SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT, it was one of the younger classes I’ve held; mostly because several staff members opted to learn hooking and punching. Spreading the gospel of a traditional art to new folks excites me, but I do fret about our ever aging population of devotées (and a few devotés too). We just can’t lose this 160-year old or so practice.
The ladies are working, working, working.
I needn’t have worried. While some folks were concerned about breaking rules, others plowed on doing exactly what they wanted with hooking and punching. Fabulous. I also love to share with any students of mine the Adobe Wool Arts Guild creed: I AM THE BOSS OF MY RUG. After I repeated it a number of times and wrote it out on the white board (to remain for the week), they all took it to heart.
Like anyone learning a new skill, several folks wanted to run away after the first few introductory hours, but all were busily hooking away by Monday afternoon. Tuesday was devoted to punching, and one or two folks managed to get a piece done later that day. Woohoo! By clean-up on Friday afternoon, several had two or three pieces fully done, including hemming. It doesn’t get better than that.
The week’s first success story was Tori’s!
Joyce and Stacey were my first mother and daughter team.
As a teacher I knew I was successful when I came into the studio Wednesday and found Holly on the floor already planning a BIG rugAre these not the best punched figs? Kate is a potter who has a fun food specialty.
Interestingly and relatedly, back home this week, I attended an online meeting with other fiber folks as well as a lesson featuring quilter Heidi Parkes – not at all a quilter in the fussy, traditional way. Which is exactly why I like her work. During both events there was talk about difficulties that the traditional populations of our various arts present when one wants to cross boundaries and try new things. Unfortunately, that kind of work is often disparaged by the textile “establishment.” And yet, isn’t that exactly how all art evolves? Early on in my own hooking career, I had faced challenges; my work with so called “alternative materials” wasn’t at all appreciated by most. Could pieces hooked with old t-shirts really be considered on par with those hooked using beautiful, hand-dyed wool? Fortunately, times have changed and more and more of us are jumping on that bandwagon which is 1) often more sustainable and 2) to the liking of younger people who don’t want to be told how to do their own art. Hurray!
Susan and her fabulous book on stitching.
My week at Shakerag was memorable for other reasons. Teaching STITCHING AS DRAWING across the hall from me was none other than Susan Brandeis, author of The Intentional Thread: A Guide to Drawing, Gesture, and Color in Stitch. The past year or two, I’ve been looking at the book, wanting to purchase it, but being distracted by my own workshop and how I might make it a success for all involved, even when I met her – Susan and her husband stayed in the same house that I did – I didn’t put two and two together. Not until I saw the book in the Shakerag store. AH! Needless to say, I quickly bought it, and Susan graciously autographed it for me book is beautiful, but you should see her work in person. Mamma mia!
Isn’t this a fine looking class of new hookers and punchers? BTW – all that humidity! My hair hasn’t been that wavy since I moved to the Southwest.
So, my week in Sewanee at Shakerag was a most definite success. Essentially, it’s an adult summer camp devoted to art – learning and making it. I really hope they invite me back again one year. If you’re interested in perhaps attending next year, Liz Alpert Fay will be teaching next year, specifically how nature can inform and influence hooking. I believe that registration opens up in August of this year.
Claire Nolan, studio assistant extraordinaire.
Special thanks to Claire Nolan who acted as my studio assistant and helped facilitate the class. Also, to Christi Teasley, a Shakerag founder and the textile/painting/drawing coordinator and computer specialist. Christi generously put my name forth as a possible teacher. Yeah, she’s a remarkable hooker as well. In fact, she was able to work with local hookers in the area like Cass Gannaway, enabling us to borrow enough frames and hooks for the workshop. It takes a village, and you all made it happen.
IF CLASS TOOK AWAY ONE THING, I HOPE THAT IT’S: THE ARTS ARE EVER EVOLVING, NEVER DYING!
