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!
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.
The start of 2022’s been a little hazy with pain. On December 19, preparing for company and the holidays, something happened to my hip/back. Initially, we thought it had to do with a new med I’d just started for migraines, which would’ve been really sad as it seems to be working. No daily headaches can really brighten your day, let me tell you! Long story short, I tried my usual yoga and the chiropractor, no real relief. But friends and family and sparkly Christmas lights (and good bottles of
“Pierrot in Pain,” albumen silver print from glass negative by Adrien Tournachon, person in photograph = Jean-Charles Deburau, 1854-55, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in the public domain.
wine) go a long way to distract one from the pain. Unfortunately, last week, it all went south, and we headed to the ER located conveniently up the hill from the house. Thought we found the answer there (after 7 hours of possible Covid exposure!), but NO. Talked to a number of my providers over a couple of days, but in the end, because medical practices of all kinds are overrun by the Coronacootie, I had to settle for an appointment later in the month with my rheumatologist.
But then there was Saturday and Dr…YouTube! While I’m always cautioning Tom and the kid about relying on and trusting Dr. Google, I was desperate. I was also starting to think that it was actually more of a mechanical problem rather than something internal. Long story longer, it looks like a really bad case of sciatica, much worse than anything I dealt with when I was pregnant all those years ago. (The kid’ll be 25 this year.) Did the right exercises and some targeted yoga, more ice, then fired up the hot tub. Life was much better by Saturday evening. I slept well for the first time in weeks. A couple of days later and I’ve backslid, but I think I’ve turned the first BIG corner. It’ll take awhile, but soon Bowyn and I hope to be back to our early morning walks in the Bosque.
What bothered me most – besides the pain and limited mobility, of course – was losing so much time making, creating. After all the holiday hoopla, by New Year’s I’m ready to hunker down with my journal/sketchbook and supplies to make new stuff. There’s a stitching project I’ve been mulling on for 2022; it needed more fleshing out. That didn’t happen. I wanted to start a new “Baby Boucherouite” to use in my In the Studio Workshop Week 4 class on January 30. Getting to draw that out today. Finally.
I did manage to finish the Angel of 2022, but haven’t gotten her up to the Etsy shop. Photographed her just yesterday. During that demoralizing Patriots game.
THE MIGHTY ONE, THE ANGEL OF 2022. Hooked with old t-shirts, plastic bags, gold lamé, and a wee bit of wool.
But I had a little epiphany in the hot tub Saturday evening. Maybe it was just the chardonnay whispering in a picture-perfect New Mexico sunset and a bubbly 103º, but it did tell me how great life is and can be when you stop and rest for a bit. Sure, there’s Omicron and all, but the folks in my bubble are all vaxxed and boosted, so it’s unlikely any of us will die if/when we catch Covid. The world won’t end if my yearlong project doesn’t start till February. Or because I haven’t hit 10,000 steps in three weeks.
Why is it that we need a crisis to remind us that we can’t control everything? And while we’re dealing with sed crisis, the rest of our lives rarely fall apart. Completely at least. The reality is that having time off from working out every morning has let me linger at breakfast reading the paper and having another cup of tea. Not racing onto the next rug has given me more time to practice crocheting. And Tom’s been taking good care of me, though I’m not sure if that’ll extend to encouraging the purchase of a pair of “pity shoes.” (I’ll let you know.)
“Acute Pain,” by Thomas Rowlandson, 1800, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in the public domain.
I beg you to learn from my pain-filled experience. Or don’t; feel free to enjoy your own. LOL. In this new year, take a little time to slow down before you break down. Remember that you cannot control the world, not even your own little part necessarily. You definitely can’t control people, not the ones on TV or Facebook or even the ones in your family. Just do what you need to do for you. Because if you don’t put that oxygen mask on first, you certainly can’t help someone else with theirs.
Bowyn implores you: ” For the love of God, take care of yourself. Who the hell else will walk us?” Meanwhile, for a price, he shows off the things I’ve worked on in the past couple of weeks.
Which leads us into an advertisement for WORKSHOP WEEK 4 kicking off Sunday January with a class and panel discussion led by Susan Feller. Classes are filling, some are to capacity. Now is the time to do something for yourself. At home; no Covid exposure needed! We’ve got nine workshops running, all very different, not all involving hooking. Find more INFO HERE or send an email to me at Laura@highonhooking.com.
In the meantime, take a look at our Instagram page. The various artists/teachers have been taking over the account these past few weeks in order that you might get to know us. If you’re interested in a class or just someone’s pics, take the time to message or email them. You never know where a new skill or just a new contact might take you in 2022…
Welcome the whirlwind that is June. So much is going on! But it will be of a limited extent for the most part. In July, we’ll pack up the CR-V and head back east for a couple of weeks. Till then, though…
Unfortunately, Cathy Kelly and I won’t be heading to our first show to vend as expected this coming weekend. When Covid numbers weren’t quite as low as they are now, the Spring & Fiber Festival at El Rancho de las Golondrinas near Santa Fe was canceled for 2021. Bummer, I know. But we subsequently applied for the Harvest Festival in October (during the big Balloon Fiesta here in Albuquerque); hopefully, that will pan out. The weather will be cooler then too!
CREATE DIY Thursday, June 11, will find me back on Zoom to lead a Introduction to Rug Hooking – Not so Traditional. This workshop is part of CREATE DIY, an online textile festival from Quiltfest. Would-be students have until June 3 to register! More info can be found by following either of the links above.
Ah, the good. olde days when AWAG could hold our retreats and workshops 3 or 4 times per year. In this pic you’ll find, Liz, myself, Melinda, and Mary R. with our works in progress a few years back.
ADOBE WOOL ARTS GUILD AWAG, New Mexico’s only rug hooking guild, will hold its first meeting since March of last year this month on June 16! One of our members has graciously offered her lovely backyard (complete with shade and breezes). If you’re a hooker or puncher in the Albuquerque area who’s been looking for company, please contact me at Laura@highonhooking.com. As the President of the group, I can get you in. Really. Plus, we’re a fun group.
GHOST RANCH June 27-July 2, I’ll be up at Ghost Ranch north of Santa Fe to teach Hook a Rug, Save the Planet. I especially can’t wait because it appears that cell and Internet coverage are lacking up that way. Bummer…NOT! This promises to be a real get-away! We’ll be hooking and punching during this multi day workshop. And, no worries, there will be plenty of time to explore the ranch. My hiking shoes and camera are ready! There are several art-type classes running in June; find them here. (BTW, if you even think about heading to Ghost Ranch, I have one word: SUNSCREEN.)
Clearly, I’ve got a lot of workshop prepping to do! Meanwhile, for those who follow In the Studio and our Workshop Weeks, very soon we’ll be opening up registration for all workshops running during October’s Workshop Week 3. (Make sure you pen – not pencil – October 24-30 into your calendars!) We have more classes this time around -10! – and four new teachers. And, no, not every class is about rug hooking. Keep an eye out for more information! If you’re wondering what the hell I’m talking about, email me. We’ll chat. You’re definitely missing something good.
“Abundance” (aka the “automatic hooked rug“) freshly steamed. Yes, she’s upside down. She’s the latest in my HAPPY RUG series. “Whimsy,” there on the wall, was one of the first happy rugs. 2021 can’t get enough HAPPY
The boys and I would love to show you “What’s on the frame” this first week of June, but it’s a surprise till it’s pretty much finished. Saturday, though, I steamed “Abundance,” and am hoping to get to finishing her off today. Or at least starting to. She’s pretty big, and she’s got three holes! Summertime and the sewing will NOT be easy. My arthritic hands ache just thinking about it. But she’s well worth it.
SUMMERTIME AND COVID’S ON THE WANE. What are you planning this June that you couldn’t do last June? Tell us in the comments. And stay safe!
In-person events. Can you imagine it after over a year of hiding out from each other? But it’s starting to happen!
High on Hooking and friend Catherine Kelly will be vending our first in-person show since November of 2019! We’ll be at the SPRING & FIBER FESTIVAL at EL RANCHO DE LAS GOLONDRINAS June 5/6. It’s an outdoor venue, so if you’re vaccinated, you probably won’t even need a mask! If you’re in the area then, please stop by to chat and fondle the rugs. Mention this blog post and get a 5% discount on anything you purchase from High on Hooking. (See our other events in the Calendar.)
Spring’s just busting out all over! It’s been a big week here in the HoH house. We entered the modern age when we traded our 2003 Honda Accord in for a much newer “old” car, a 2019 CR-V. All those freaking electronics! Fortunately, I still have my little Fit to tool about town in and keep my gas usage and emissions to a minimum.
Wednesday, Cathy (above) and I took the new vehicle for a spin up to Santa Fe’s Museum of International Folk Art. Other than the need for a mask, it was like pre-Covid times! An in-person museum visit! I was so excited early last year when the museum announced that they’d be having an exhibit of the Afghan War Rugs from summer through the fall. And then the Coronacootie struck! No fears – they were able to extend the exhibit through September of this year. Since I had my second Moderna vaccine last week, it was finally time. And the carpets did not disappoint. Unfortunately, I couldn’t take any pics, so I stole the one below from the museum’s website.
Photograph from Museum of International Folk Art
For those who aren’t familiar with the Afghan War Rugs, at first glance some of them look like typical, traditional rugs woven in Afghan and other areas of the Middle East, but when you take a second look, you realize that the Cypress tree motif is a…missile. A “boteh” (paisley) is really a helicopter. Look a little harder and you’ll find pistols, machine guns and grenades. In some of the rugs, though, the artisans went full on war-rug. You can’t miss the tanks.
Afghanistan is known for its rugs, though many of these rugs were created by Afghan refugees in Pakistan and Iran after Russia and then the US waged war in the country. They offer, certainly, an artistic commentary on what’s happened in (primarily) the last 40 or so years. (Russia invaded in 1979.) But they also demonstrate a commercial response to war in Afghanistan and the effect on its people. The carpets have proven popular with journalists, military personnel, foreign aid workers, and such.
The emergence of war-related imagery in Afghan rug design has clearly aided the economic survival of area weavers and displaced craftspeople through years of armed conflict and cultural disruption. What war rugs mean to individual weavers is less understood. Are war rugs a celebration of modernity or a rejection of war? Are they a witness to shared trauma or a commercialization of violence? Are they testaments to ingenuity and a spirit of survival? Perhaps they are all of these things at once.
(Museum of International Folk Art)
Over 40 rugs hang in the exhibit. Some look brand new; others have clearly been used as…rugs. All are fascinating to view. And, of course, being textiles, we desperately wanted to touch them. To turn them over and examine them. Yeah, that would’ve gotten us booted out. Unfortunately, too, there’s no real info about individual rugs or artists. Though this isn’t surprising.
If you ever get a chance to see this exhibit, make sure that you do. If you’d like to read more about the War Rugs, there’s a great article here. The Museum of International Folk Art has a virtual exhibit available here.
This is what happens when you try to take the WHAT’S ON THE FRAME pic too close to the boys’ dinner hour. Just getting them both in the frame was tough enough, then they kept looking over their shoulders as if Daddy was about to make and eat their meals. Still working on the newest in the happy rug series. Her name will be “Abundance.”
What events are you excited to get back to in-person this year?
Public service announcements, odd from an art blog, I know. But still genuine.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
GHOST RANCH
