Our 2018 Artists:
Janet Boates
Janet Boates, Nicholsville, Nova Scotia, Canada
I’ve been fortunate enough to have lived in the beautiful AnnapolisValley all my life and to be influenced by the many, many talented artists here. I’ve always been crafty —painting and sketching, quilting, knitting and clothes-making, woodworking, cake-decorating, and my latest endeavor is rug hooking. To be perfectly honest, I never had any great ambition to be a hooker; initially, I was talked into taking a beginners’ course at our local community hall by friends who needed one more person to fill the class. It’s hard to believe that was 9 years ago, and I haven’t looked back since.
I seemed to take to it very easily—I think my painting experience really helped—and eventually began dyeing my own wool, which has been a fascinating process to learn. I get my patterns from a number of sources, but mostly from my daughter Angie Myers, also an artist, who designs them. I enjoy realistic hooking with #4 cut, and use #3 cut for finer detail. I tend to make seasonal rugs because I decorate my home with many of my pieces and like to change them as the year moves on--it keeps things interesting.
Snowy Owl
Over the years, I’ve converted most of my art students and family to hooking, and that’s been very satisfying. I’ve always thought I was a bit of a dabbler at things, never really mastering anything, but as strange as it is for me to admit this now, and maybe others can relate, hooking has become an everyday practice that I truly love. I’ve accumulated so many rugs since I’ve started that I sell them at the Farmers Markets in Annapolis Royal and Chester, and at local Christmas craft shows, or I give them away.
I belong to two local rug-hooking groups that meet on a weekly basis, the Rug Hooking Guild of Nova Scotia that meets monthly, and I also attend other hook-ins around the province. I’ve attended RugSchool (through the Guild) for the past three years, gaining invaluable training from the teachers, and meeting wonderful people from all over N. America. Much to my delight (and surprise), one of my pieces was selected to be in the 2014 Celebration magazine, but really, meeting new people has been the best part of hooking for me.
Gaul Dufresne
Gail Dufresne, Lambertville, New Jersey, USA
My mother and my sister began making rugs when I was 14, so I grew up surrounded with rugs and rug makers. I have been making rugs myself since August 1984.
My work has been featured in numerous fiber art shows and contests. I have had several rugs selected for Rug Hooking Magazine's annual "Celebrations" contest and I was a Celebrations judge twice. Since my work has appeared in at least five Celebration editions, I will be featured in the Celebration Hall Of Fame, which is in honor of the magazine's 30th anniversary. My "Lizards and Ladders" design was featured in the magazine "Piecework". I have had several pieces juried into the Newtown Hooked Art Show's annual contest. I was the featured teacher and artist at Sauder Village in 2004.
I regularly contribute to Rug Hooking Magazine and served on its editorial board for many years. My work has appeared on its cover several times. I wrote the dye section of Elizabeth Black's book, "Hooked On The Wild Side", published by Rug Hooking Magazine in 2004. I wrote the book, "Geometric Hooked Rugs", also published by Rug Hooking Magazine, in 2010. I wrote a second book, "Rug Hooking With Fancy Fibers", for Rug Hooking Magazine in 2016.
I am a McGown certified teacher and have been teaching at camps and private workshops around the United States and Canada since April, 2000. I taught at the Reeth Rug Retreat in England in 2002 and will teach there again at the TIGHR conference in the fall of 2018. I have taught specific classes for beginners, as well as classes on inch mats, sheep, sunflowers, sculpting, proddy, mixed media, optical illusions, dyeing, geometrics, and abstraction. I most often teach open classes where anything goes, and I find them to be the most challenging and fun. The keep me hopping.
I co-wrote a "Teach The Teachers" course with Cynthia Norwood, which we have co-presented at several ATHA biennials. I was the President of ATHA (Association of Traditional Hooking Artists) for ten years and am now the Vice President. In that capacity I work with a great team to promote the art of rug hooking. I think it is important to give back to the art form.
I have one personal and two business pages on face book. The business pages are called "Goat Hill Designs" and "Pfunny Sheep Designs. My web site is: www.goathilldesigns.com
Gails Rug