Manuscript inspiration

I was surfing the internet this morning to find an image of Mary Magdalene for a project associated with my professional life, and I was reminded of the utter beauty of manuscript illuminations and how well they would translate into hooked rugs as borders and motifs. Take a look at some of these:

I also found this fascinating website where there are lots of vintage printables collected.

As I was surfing, I ran across someone interesting. In the mid-1800s, William Morris founded a design company that produced high quality textiles and tapestries (read more HERE). He adored medieval art and manuscripts, and thought "modern" art was only about mass production. So he based his company's designs on medieval images and produced some of the world's most outstanding and creative decorative art that helped to spawn the arts and crafts movement in the Victorian era. As I browsed his work, I was surprised to discover how his designs appear to have influenced rug hookers in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Here are some of his works which I show from The Tapestry House website which sells reproductions of his textiles.

He sometimes included text on his tapestries. One of them that caught my attention were the words: "Honour the Women, they broid and weave heavenly roses into earthly life." It is called Ehret die frauen (Honor the Women):

Generating Abstract Ideas

As I have been reading about abstract art this year, I have been trying to think of ways to apply the principles to rug hooking. I have started to come up with some practical suggestions to create abstract rug studies so I'm going to begin to share them on the blog, and will add more as they come my way.

Abstraction means taking something and moving it away from realism. Abstract art does this by taking representational art and 'abstracting' it, moving it away from a realistic representation of the object, to try to get at the nature of the object rather than reproduce the object. Or it eliminates the object altogether and works in color fields, lines or forms only. The "theory" behind abstract art is that it is not about the object, but about the painter making visible the inner self.

Here are some practical suggestions for designing abstract rugs:

1. Chop a small portion of a photo of an object. Enlarge the small portion to the size of your foundation. Draw this on your foundation.
2. Take a photo, enlarge it to the size of your foundation. Outline the objects you want with a big marker. Cut or slice the enlargement into different pieces. Rearrange them into a mosaic of your liking. Draw lines around various pieces of the mosaic if you want to add a linear element. Draw this on your foundation.
3. Take a photo and enlarge it. Draw thick black lines around the objects. Distort some. Enlarge some of the objects, but not others. Arrange the objects to your liking. Hook stark lines around the objects perhaps like the cubists did.
4. Take a photo, enlarge it, and change up the colors, using unnatural or unexpected colors. Simplify and distort slightly the objects before hooking them.
5. Draw free forms or run free lines across your foundation. Hook by concentrating on color and transition of color.
6. Go geometric, but funky. Keep away from repeated motifs lined up or in quilt blocks. Let the geometrics run around the foundation.
7. Hook colors with no design at all. Just an empty foundation to fill up with color. Hook freely.

Consider joining the 2010 Abstract Challenge over on RHD. I am finding hooking a color field (#7 on my list) to be very liberating.

Designing for Rugs 101: Border Design

Designing the border of your rug presents its own particular challenges. A really successful border says to you, “The rug stops here.” Its function is like a picture frame, it brings the viewer into the center of the rug, pulling the eye from the edge to the inside.

The initial decision you will need to make about your rug’s border is its type. What are some border types to consider for your rug?

• Linear ~ The least complex borders are those of repeated straight lines. But lines don’t have to be straight. They can waver and turn like waves and become quite complex. When creating this kind of border, you should consider the direction you will hook the lines since this is the direction the border will flow.
• Geometric ~ These are enclosed shapes that are repeated in the border. They can be simple like circles, triangles, diamonds, checks, ovals, and the like. Or they may be more detailed shapes like shoes, handprints, hearts, birds, flowers, and whatnot. Shapes like stars, ziz-zags, triangles and fans will move the eye outward because the shapes point outward. This makes the rug feel larger. Shapes pointed inward will do the opposite.
• Storytime ~ Here the border continues or enhances the story, landscape or picture in the center of the rug. It is usually a broader view of the central story, landscape or picture while the center is a smaller element of that story, landscape or picture.
• Motif ~ The border here is the main part of the rug while the center, which is very simple, is the place that the eye rests and then is pushed back to look at the border. Motif borders tend to be wider and more complex because of this. They contain the motifs of the rug rather than the center.
• Script ~ A favorite verse which finishes the story of the rug is fun to try.

Art Rug Journal: Since Mission Concepción was a Franciscan mission in the 1700s, I have decided to create a border that will feature a saying of St. Francis, one that will highlight the floral aspects of the Mission's frescoes.

St. Francis was hoeing his garden. A man asked what he would do if he learned he would die before sunset. "I would finish hoeing my garden," he said.

I also will pick up a triangle design that will be on the lip of the jar, and use it in the border. I want my borders to be a bit irregular, so the saying will be at the top and bottom, while the sides will be a series of triangles. But I will pull some of the flower motifs into the border to create an effect of abundance and overflow.

There is nothing magical about designing a rug. In the end, the placement of the elements needs to be pleasing to your eye. I just fiddle around with the elements, cutting them out and moving them around on the fabric until I like what I see. I am always editing to simplify my initial ideas. I also use very quick sketches (really doodles) of things to try out placements. Here is one I made this morning.

Rug Design 101: Central Motif

Different people start thinking about the elements of the rug design in different orders. Whenever I'm drawing my designs, I usually start with a central motif and then I add the rest of the elements around that. This is the part of the rug design that makes most people nervous because, let's face it, most of us didn't take an art class beyond sixth grade, and, well, for most of us our drawing skills reflect that.

But not to despair! As long as we have a computer, assess to a copier, and sharpies in hand, we have all we need. What is most important (even vital) is that we are able to find good visuals to use.

So TIP 1: find pictures of whatever it is you want your central motif to be, print them out, and paste them into your RUG ART JOURNAL. Be aware of copyright laws though, and stick with public domain materials. There are numerous websites offering free clip art and Dover publishes a rich treasury of public domain art for reuse.

TIP 2: use your own photographs

TIP 3: use common objects which are especially useful for drawing templates. Just trace around the bottom of glasses, plates, and bottles and you will have instant perfect shapes. I designed Jack in the Red by picking up autumn leaves, photocopying them, cutting them out, and arranging them on my foundation. Then I drew around them. Other natural objects to trace around are hands, feet, rocks, tree branches. There is a story of an old guy who laid his cat down on his foundation and just traced around her! Why not? The results will be unique and funky.

TIP 4: if your rug is for a particular room in your house, perhaps you might pick up inspiration from the décor like fabric or wallpaper or quilt blocks from a bedspread.

TIP 5: don't be afraid of using letters, from your own hand or printed out from your computer. Consider how easy it is to select fun fonts and size them to fit the space perfectly.

Rug Art Journal: For Mission Concepción rug, my central motif is taken directly from the photograph my husband took. All I did was print out an 8 by 10 of the photos, went to Kinkos, enlarged them by 200%. I then took my sharpie and drew a dark line around the outer edges of the elements in the photo (see FIRST PHOTO). Then I went over to the BIG copier (the one that does blue print size) and I enlarged it again until I had the size I wanted. Then I went home and am in the process of arranging the different elements on a piece of paper the size of the rug I want to hook. So I cut around the different elements and am placing them here and there on this sheet (see SECOND PHOTO). I'm not satisfied with the placement yet, but I'm getting there.

Rug Design 101: What type of rug?

The fourth initial decision that needs to be made in the design process if the type of rug you want to hook. It would be impossible for me to provide an exhaustive list of rug types since the possibilities are unlimited, but here are a few of ideas.

• Celebration rug ~ a rug that celebrates a personal event like the birth of a child, a wedding, an anniversary, a retirement, or a proud achievement
• Commemoration rug ~ a rug that commemorates a local, national, or world event
• Memory rug ~ a rug that records your special memories
• Portrait rug ~ a rug with a portrait of a pet, a favorite person, or even yourself
• Animal rug ~ a rug that shows off your favorite animal, fish, bird, reptile, or insect
• Ethnic rug ~ a rug with formal ethnic motifs (Native American, Persian, Turkish, Colonial American, Celtic, Greek, Indian, African, Hispanic, Asian, on and on)
• Children’s rug ~ a rug based on a children’s drawing
• Pictorial rug ~ a rug that tells the story of a place or landscape
• Geometric rug ~ a rug that is filled with geometric shape
• Floral rug ~ a rug of flowers or herbs or leaves
• Wallpaper rug ~ a rug to match a wallpaper or fabric motif
• Quilt rug ~ a rug inspired by quilt blocks
• Stained glass rug ~ a rug inspired by stained glass art
• Favorite Thing rug ~ a rug honoring your “favorite thing”
• Story rug ~ a rug that tells a story including folk life village story rugs
• Saying rug ~ a rug that has a phrase as a central motif
• Abstract rug ~ a rug of abstract design
• Fruit rug ~ a rug of fruits
• Holiday rug ~ a rug for a special holiday

Rug Art Journal: For the Mission Concepción rug, I think I am in the mood to hook a wide-cut floral using value rather than color as my guide. I want to multiply the floral motif in the rug, making it the dominant feature.

Even good ideas often don't work

Unfortunately the button eyes did not work for Scare-Jack. When I put them on, they overpowered his face and the rug. They were all I noticed about the rug. So I took them off and reassessed.

Since I am trying for an embellished fun stand up piece here, I have now tried appliqued eyes. Do these work?

As for the shape, I had originally planned to run a line around the piece roughly shadowing the elements. But as I started to do this, I was not in love with it and kept wanting to put the rug away and not finish it.

Then my friend Lurie (and fellow TEN-MINUTE RUG HOOKER) gave me a fantastic idea for the final shape of the piece. At the last Stash Sisters guild meeting, she suggested a tombstone shape. What a great idea! Since I want it for a stand up, and to finish it like a pillow, a tombstone shape it is!

Rug Design 101: Initial Decisions

You will need to make some initial decisions about the rug you are designing, but keep in mind that these can be adjusted (and probably will!) later if you change your mind about any of them as you work through the design process.

SIZE
You need to figure out what size rug you want to design. Will it be a small table mat? A large piece? A REALLY large rug? Are there any space limitations for the rug you have in mind? In your art journal, jot down the size of rug you plan to design.

Rug Art Journal: The Mission Concepción Rug I am designing will be a large rug, in the range of 3' by 5'. Or 2.5' by 6'.

SHAPE
What shape do you want your rug to be? Do you have any space limitations for the completed rug that might dictate the shape? Do you want a rectangle? Square? Round? Half-round? Oval? Triangle? A shape that follows the outline of the motif? The creative thing about rug hooking is that rugs can take any shape you want to give them.

Rug Art Journal: In the case of the Mission Concepción Rug I am designing in this blog series, the shape of the image above the door lends itself quite naturally to a half-round space. But I don't want a half-round rug. I would like a long rectangle.

FUNCTION
The function of the rug should be determined. Will it be a floor rug? If so, will it be in a high traffic area or a low traffic area? Will it be a tablemat, a wall hanging, a fire screen, an ornament, a pillow, a handbag, a doll, a bed rug, a Christmas stocking or a piece of clothing?

Rug Art Journal: The Mission Concepción Rug is not being made for a specific place in my home. It will probably be hung. Although I might use it as a wide runner for my dining room table?!

Rug Design 101: Getting Started

I've been asked by a reader to blog about my process of rug designing. What a good idea! I am going to create a series of posts occasionally on the subject under the label Rug Design 101. Even more than that, I'm going to create a new rug design in the process!

I have a couple of things that I tell my graduate students who come to me struggling to write a paper, not knowing what to say or where to go. I tell them, "Just get started. Write something. Anything. Don't worry about the whole thing right now."

The same is true about rug design. Just get started. Anyone can do this. Really. With all the computer tools available to us now, designing beautiful and pleasing rugs is fairly simple.

When I first get started, it is usually because I have come across an image or a photo that is inspiring - something that jumps out at me and says, "I need to be a rug." This initial inspiration is important because it motivates me to carry through with the rug and complete it. It is the passion for the subject that keeps me going. So find an inspiration - a photo, a memento, a drawing, etc. Find an image that inspires you to turn it into a rug.

So here is my initial inspiration for my new rug. When I visited Mission Concepción in San Antonio with my family recently, I turned around in the baptismal chapel and was struck by this painting created in the 1700s framing the doorway. It immediately jumped out at me and said, "I need to be a rug." This is the picture my husband shot of the painting which will become my rug.

In the next post, I will discuss initial design decisions step-by-step.

Scare-Jack hat and rug design

I have been continuing to work on Scare-Jack as I wait for the Dorr white wool to arrive so I can get dyeing and finishing Transfiguration. I have written the poem that will accompany Transfiguration and am considering creating some type of word rug to put the poem on, but more on that in another post at another time.

One of the reasons that I don't have a bunch of patterns loaded into my Pattern Mart (see my new menu bar above!) for sale is that I don't like to sell a pattern that I haven't hooked myself. The reason for this is that never, and I mean never, does the pattern I initially draw become the pattern that I execute in the rug. I am always needing to adjust the elements as I hook.

Why? Because drawing a successful rug pattern is just not the same as drawing a picture. A rug pattern usually has to be a VERY simplified picture. As far as hooking the element, unless I have a photo or some other visual, forget it. It just ends up looking flat or wrong.

Take Scare-Jack's hat. This is my initial drawing which I thought looked good and would be easily hooked. Right. I hooked it and hated it so much that I ripped it out before I could take a picture of it to show you. The prodded flower was too much, the color was all wrong. I tried to hook it with basket-like colors to achieve a straw hat which is what I wanted. But the rug didn't want that, at least how I had hooked it up to that point. It wanted a hat to match his pants and gloves which were hooked in blacks and other dark colors.

So I went to the computer and began searching for images of hats and I decided that I liked this famous hat in Vincent van Gogh's Self-Portrait. Could I hook something similar? This is the result which clinches Jack!

Today Alexander and I will try making the eyes...What will we come up with?