HIGH ON HOOKING

STREET CRED

Laura Salamy – that’s me –  is a fiber artist and writer. But I didn’t start out that way. There were years in industry ensuring that my employers complied with environmental and worker safety rules. A lay-off led to two other “careers”: running food pantries and my own editing business. Somewhere in there, I filled out a registration form and wrote a check to take a community education class being offered in town. To learn rug hooking. A few quiet years passed and then…then I was hooking every evening for two and three hours at a time.

Hooking became my “happy place.” If I wasn’t doing it, I was thinking about it. The colors, the textures, materials – mostly colors.

Classes with excellent teachers have improved technique. Social media and the Internet have fueled inspiration and discussion with other hookers. Field trips to shops and shows and galleries and museums allow much needed exposure to other media. Guild membership promotes camaraderie, critiques, and encouragement.

I’ve never been a “traditional” hooker, preferring to color outside of hooking’s more “typical lines.” Instead of limiting myself to wool, I prefer to use most any material I can get my hands on. Often that means cutting strips from old t-shirts and bed sheets. Up-cycling throw-aways to art is a priority for me. Our landfills are filling up. Or they’re already full. While certain projects benefit from virgin wools or other fibers, I like to do my little part to slow that process and make something lovely at the same time.

Rebirth and renewal – it’s a theme. From environmental compliance, in my case, to up-cycling would-be waste. As well, in 2015, I relocated from Massachusetts to Albuquerque, New Mexico. New England, along with the Canadian Maritimes, is arguably the birthplace of rug hooking. New Mexico, not so much. But it is a land with a rich artistic and naturalistic bent…and lots of weavers and painters and folks who “do” mixed media. I feel at home here and have been welcomed. There is so much to see and learn here. And to translate into rugs.

 

• Hook a rug, Save the planet – an introductory workshop
• Introduction to Punch Needle Rug Hooking – a class using the Oxford punch
  Note that as of early 2020, EVFAC will be changing its name to the New Mexico Fiber Arts Center. I will also offer classes in their new Santa Fe shop.

 

Books where you can see my rugs
Miller, Karen D; Eyes Open to the World: Memories of Travel in Wool, Ampry Publishing, 2019.

Taylor, Judy; T-Shirt Treasures: Creating Heirloom hooked Rugs from the Humble T-Shirt, Little House Rugs,2018