Hooking Impressions

I adore hooked rugs that have subtly shaded flowers and details, hooked with fine cuts, like the rugs of Pearl Mcgown, or Joan Moshimer. I would spend hours looking at them, delighting in their visual softness and realism. At the opposite end of the spectrum, I love primitive rugs, hooked in wide cuts, with simple naive forms like the rugs created by Magdalena Briner Eby, or the rugs created by Kathy at the Grinning Sheep, or again the ones created by Karen at Primitive Spirit.

When I set out to design, and then hook my" Roosting Hens in a Bleeding Heart Bush", I knew right away that I would not be opting for fine cuts with subtle shading. Just the fact that my hens decided to roost in a bleeding heart bush made the rug one of fantasy, not reality. I knew that my rug would have to follow a more primitive path, where the elements of the rugs are" impressions" of themselves. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the hooking of the flowers.

My first thought when I start hooking a flower is to color, not in terms of shading, but rather in terms of what will make that flowers pop against the background.

If I think about our night vision as humans, objects at night loose their definition, we register them for what they are even though they only hint at what they are. The flowers in my rug, are hints of flowers at night, reflecting the moonlight.

Hooking each flower is pure delight, it feels so free. I love not being trapped by the need for realism. I love letting the simple hand-dyed colors do all the work for me.

I wonder if you feel the same way I do. I wonder what guides you when you hook.