Inspired Rug Hooking

Turning Atlantic Canadian Life into Art by Deanne Fitzpatrick

Working from twenty years’ experience as a rug hooker, studio owner, and teacher, Deanne Fitzpatrick shares her sources of inspiration, work habits, ideas about creativity and design, and helpful guidelines for creating beautiful, expressive rugs. Practical suggestions for hooking houses, landscapes, seasons, stories, and people are accompanied by the artist’s insight into tapping creativity and learning how to make art from life.

In an inviting, conversational style, Deanne shares stories of visit with other artists, the history of her family’s home and her own development as a rug hooker. Throughout she emphasizes the importance of valuing our own experiences and crafting work that honors both life and place.

Tips for choosing colors, experimenting with texture, preparing a backing, transferring a design, and achieving realistic depictions are interspersed with passages on artistic inspiration and process. Best of all, over 80 striking color photographs of the author’s own projects and techniques provide readers with excellent reference points for turning their own experiences into magnificent rugs.

144pp, many color photos