I have been a rug hooker and an interior designer for over 35 years. The official name for this work is rug hookcrafting. Supposedly it is the only craft indigenous to North America. The first rugs were covers for beds or furniture as the bed in a Colonial home was the most valuable piece of furniture. The expression, “Snug as a bug in a rug,” refers to a hooked bed cover.

Originally I took rug hooking lessons from a neighbor (Jean Ferrill) from Connecticut. My work is done on Scottish linen with strips of wool fabric cut in ¼” strips (looks rather like fettucine) which are pulled from the backside of the linen with a wood-handled hook. Hooking with the ¼” strips is termed ‘primitive hooking’ versus very narrowly cut strips of wool termed ‘traditional hooking.’ 

Textiles and color are both deep passions of mine using these interests in my profession and art work. Flat planes of color are what I attempt to depict. I am tremendously interested in color blocks placed next to each other. I greatly admire Milton Avery’s work and often refer to his work for inspiration.

Frequent themes in my work are fish, stars, birds, amorphic animals. My husband and son are both avid fly fishermen. To me the fish is the ultimate design motif----the fish has an organic outline shape, but the pattern on his body is very geometric---perfectly, beautifully designed. Stars are a wonderful “extra” motif. And newly I’ve been very interested in the round, little loose shapes and multicolored “cat’s paws” and add those to many works.