Exclusive Excerpt from Hooked Rug Designs for Baby & Beyond

Exclusive Excerpt from Hooked Rug Designs for Baby & Beyond

Dancing Giraffe, 13" x 21", wool and felted roving on linen. Adapted from the artwork of her granddaughter, Stella Flannery, and hooked by Sally Livingston, Glen Rock, New Jersey, 2012.

"My granddaughter made a watercolor of a dancing giraffe in kindergarten. He was so charming my daughter had it put on a T-shirt for Stella to give her dad on Father's Day. Giraffes are a favorite of mine. I wanted to hook him the minute I saw the painting, and I wanted to make it exactly like the picture. The hooking went smoothly except for the stars; they didn't stand out. I felted roving into the shape of stars and sewed them on. The mat now hangs on my back door, where all my grandchildren can enjoy it."

The artwork of young children is not bound by rules. They express their thoughts freely, using motifs and colors in an original way to tell a story. For a child, art is spontaneous, experimental, and a form of play. It is also a means for them to communicate ideas and feelings that they may not be able to express with words. The results are charming and have a naivete that evokes emotional response. Some drawings are reminiscent of the primitive hooked rugs that we love.

The artwork of older children, especially those in high school and college, is more sophisticated. With art classes, they learn basic principles of composition and use more complex color combinations. Drawings and paintings are more stylized with specific structure. Their work usually has a deeper meaning and an intentional message they are trying to impart. These pieces are equally suitable for rug hooking, especially if you want a more contemporary look. Cowboy (page 69) and Paintbrushes Pillow (page 66) are two examples.

When choosing a child's artwork to convert to a rug-hooking pattern, consider the basic elements of visual art:

• Line—one point to another, drawn or implied. Lines move the eye around the work.
• Shape—a specific, confined area, limited in height and width. It can be two-dimensional or flat.
• Form—three-dimensional object, including height, width, and depth. Includes pyramids, cubes, and spheres.
• Value—the lightness or darkness or colors.
• Color—the hue, value, and intensity of a color.
• Texture—how the surface area appears; for example, rough or smooth.

Consider the total composition. How are the elemtns of the design arranged? Is the arrangement pleasing ot your eye? Surprisingly, most children's artwork adheres to these elements that they must intuitively sense. Some artwork may not adhere to all of these principles but nevertheless have a unique, quirky look that is appealing.

Often it is our own memories of our child's school days that make a work meaningful. When I started hooking Noel, Noel (page 65), my daughter was in the middle school. She had no memory of the drawing she had made for an assignment in second grade. She was somewhat embarrassed and asked me not to make it into a pattern for anyone else. Now an adult, she finds the drawing and rug charming. But it will always be more my memory than hers.

Another twist on this theme is the use of a parent's artwork for a child's rug. Two examples are Melina's Parade and Oliver's Parade (page 70). Their father is a photographer and made a series of whimsical photos with toy animals pulling vehicles. Lea McCrone adapted them to make a small piece for each of his children.