This is an interview that was carried out with me by Hayley Perry, my niece who is a second year painting major, completing a fine art degree at Montserat, in Massachusetts. She is writing a paper for one of her courses. I thought the questions were so thoughtful, and interesting, she really got me thinking. Here is my personal point of view, in answer to her questions.
1. Do you categorize your work as fine art or craft/folk art? Is there a difference between the two definitions? If so, what is it?
I look at my work now as art, my medium as fibre. It is also a craft, but a craft to me is really about the technical, the way of doing it. The art of it is the creation, the pushing the limits, extending it beyond the craft. My influences are folk art, but really I think it is hard to call myself a folk artist. I am not outside the mainstream, I am well educated. I am a folk artist in that I am untrained artistically. I have never taken a fine art course.
2. What drew you to making art in this medium? How did you first begin?I learned as a means of making mats for the floor, it was purely for the craft of it in a decorative sense. The art of it developed thru the use of the rugs as a means of expression.
3. How do you feel about your progress as an artist? How would you define your first few rugs if having to categorize them as fine art or craft?
They were craft, pure craft. I like to look through the work and see the clear lines of my development. I am so glad I kept a decent visual record. My work now is freer, influenced more by what I see than thru the eyes of other artists. I am looking through my own eyes most of the time. It took a while to trust them.
4. What are some of the themes or emotions that you convey in your art?
Simplicity, or perhaps it is the complexities of a simple life. Even the most primitive of things are highly structured. My latest body is called Fieldwork and just records the transitions of a field. Eventually I will start adding people to these fields. I like people, and raw emotion, the interaction between the souls of the village. I have always been fascinated with the way people treat one another, the way humans interact, and this comes out in my rugs.
5. Have you ever had any "professional" training in the formal elements of design, such as line, texture, colour, composition, shape, etc.?
No, I consider it every once in awhile but always step back from it. The medium of hooking rugs is really unexplored artistically. It has been traditionally carried out using stamped patterns.Only a few people teach it from an artistic perspective very much. It is most often taught as craft. I might like some life drawing classes. I am caught up in a life, and the thoughts of pursuing a fine art degree is far away from my mind. I am also pretty sure that I want to keep learning by doing, thinking freely, reading, watching. I read a lot about art, and creativity, but mostly I try to focus on making stuff, coming up with new ideas. I learn by doing. It can be a slow method but it has served me well.
6. What sort of choices do you find yourself making when deciding how to design your art?
I try to work on inspiration, not to think too much, but to react to what is happening on the drawing, on the hooking. I like to just go by the feel of things. Sometimes I step back and have a look. The good thing about hooking rugs if that when you are finished you can still go back and unhook, change things etc. I rarely do this but knowing it is an option gives me the confidence to proceed on instinct.
7. Have you ever or could you take the formal elements you have learned from rug hooking and apply them to art in a different medium, such as painting or sculpture?
The sense of colour and design goes with you into every medium but it is the basic skills of handling paint and clay, or whatever medium you chose that would take enormous amounts of energy to master. In someways, most ways, it would be like starting over. It takes years to master a medium. There is so much technical know how that you gain from carry out the craft or the art. You learn each time you make a new pot, a little tiny bit. Those tiny bits add up to a body of a knowledge that can only be gained from experience.
8. Do you feel that the history of rug hooking is just as important that a classical painter's history holds to them? Does the history of classical fine art inspire/inform you to make your art? What sort of value does the history of rug hooking hold for you?
The history of rug hooking comes out in my rugs in the borders. I still like to use the classical border design that was so common on early rugs. The designs in my borders are my own. You do not see borders on painting, that is something unique to hooked rug design. I am inspired by impressionist painters, by William Kurelek, a Western Canadian painter from the mid twentieth century. Gustav Klimt is one of my favourite artists.I liken the strokes of a brush to the way a rug can be hooked. Painting has had a big influence on my work. It has shown me there is endless possibilities. The real value in the historical aspect of rug hooking is that both my grandmothers hooked rugs. My mother hooked rugs. They did not teach me, but I feel like I carry on something that my family has done for a century. I respect that, and I find it humbling. It keeps me from being too influenced by the idea of rugs as art. I like to stay in touch with the humble beginnings of the craft. In the winter I keep a hooked mat by the back door, and I wipe my feet on it. If I ever lost that idea, if I ever started to think that mats were too good to be by the door, then I would have become someone other than myself.
9. Before you start a rug, is it your intention for it to ultimately end up in a gallery or a home? Do you do different projects with different intentions? If so, what are the differences?
I do not have any intentions for it usually. Some times I am getting ready for a show but that does not mean I approach it any differently. I want to make it more beautiful than I think that I am able. This of course, only happens once in a while. Imagine if that happened every time.
10. Where do you exhibit your art? Are they held with the same respect that art of other mediums are held when showing?
I show my work in public galleries. I have always sold my work directly so I have never worked much with private galleries. I like to look after my own sales. I do participate in shows in private galleries. I do find that people respect the rugs as art, especially when there is the credibility of a public gallery behind them. Once though I was looking through the comments at a public gallery, and a man wrote "I am disappointed, these are like mother made." That comment cracked me up and delighted me. It was like if your mother made them they can't be worthwhile. That was the only negative comment I ever received directly. More and more, the lines of craft and art begin to blur.
11. Does this sort of art make it easier to raise a family? Does the fact that you have this responsibility influence your art and decisions?Responsibility definitely respects my art and decisions. I do not hook much when the children want me, it is just impossible now that they are older. I like to work uninterrupted for blocks of time. School has given me this luxury and once you get used to nice things it is hard to go back. There is nothing toxic in rug hooking for the most part so in that way it is easier to carry out with children around. Oil painters, print makers really have to worry about their materials around children. Some friends who are painters basically have to stop painting in the house when their children are little. Rug hooking is okay that way. Art always gets in the way. Artists need blocks of time alone working.It is a selfish pursuit, but I have no choice. I have to do it. I have to tell my children to stop interrupting me. Motherhood and your art are competing interests, but I suppose it is like any working mother.
12. Have you ever noticed men being interested in this form of art? Do you know any men who work in textiles? If so, how many? If not, what do you see men commonly working with?
I have taught a few men, and know some men who makes rugs. I find they approach it seriously.I do not know any men who work at it full time as artists. with textiles. However, men are very interested in my rugs and often buy them, some have nice collections of my rugs.
13. How did people react to your rug hooking activity when you first started? did they regard it as a hobby? Do you think their opinions changed when you started making an income from your art?
People saw it as a hobby. Many people who only know me a little still see it that way. I think their opinion changes once they take a little time to understand your work, and learn how seriously you take it. The fact that you sell your work does also contribute to people taking it more seriously. I work away regardless of what people think. We all care a bit about what others think, and it does influence us. It is only humane to care about what those who love you think. If we did not we would be cruel. My rugs though are on their own path, I just sit at the frame and make them. I do not think too much about selling, what others think of them etc. I find that if you make it beautiful to your own eyes, others may also see the beauty.
14. When together with a group of rug hookers, do you feel more comfortable working with a group of women? Do you engage in conversations concerning primarily women? Are you happy it is regarded as a women's art?
I hook alone mostly. Many people do hook in groups though, and they do talk and share friendships. I think a man would be welcome however, if he shared their love for the craft/art. When I go to a group it is social time. I may hook but the visit is really about the group, and being with people.
15. Do you feel that art most commonly referred to as craft/folk art, such as quilting, rug hooking, needlework, etc. should have more exposure to the world of fine art? Is this possible for folk artists?
It is possible. I think it is about the artist and whether or not they want to share it as fine art. I did want to and I pursued this.I think something is art when you can see that it has its own style, its own voice. I do not think the medium matters much. There are many fine art institutions that are only interested in painting, but they have decided that that is their mandate. An institution has a right to decide its own mandate. It is a wonderful thing when mandates broaden and change. Many public institutions are open to craft/folk art for exhibits. Some are not.
16. Do you feel that the negative stereotypes that craft/folk art is linked with "busywork" stems from generations of it being known as a women's art?
Yes, definitely. I also know that some parts of carry out making a mat can be "busy work", and I am comfortable with the idea that it is sensible to keep your mind busy. I think that when you put artfulness into something, art comes out. If there is a little busy work involved so be it. I do find it interesting though that no one ever refers to gessoing canvas as "busy work". There's your answer.
