Exclusive Excerpt from Rug Hooking Journeys

Exclusive Excerpt from Rug Hooking Journeys by Tamara Pavich

Introduction: Finding the Maker in the Rug

As a brand new rug hooker and avid reader, I bought books: how-to books, books full of antique rugs, books full of tips and secrets from wonderful teachers.

More than anything else, I became enthralled with the stories—of how and why rugs were made in the old days, of what the lives of early rug hookers were like, and especially stories of particular women who hooked rugs that reflected themselves. I loved to read the caption, then study the image and catch a glimpse of the rug maker in the rug.

We may think that the idea of reflecting oneself through rug hooking is something new, but in fact, it is as old as the art itself. Perhaps the most well-loved book on rug-hooking history is American Hooked and Sewn Rugs: Folk Art Underfoot by folk-art experts Joel and Kate Kopp. In collecting the finest examples for their book, the authors declared, "We believe that to constitute true folk art, a rug must not only have a strong sense of design but also a feeling of feedback from the emotions and sensibilities of the maker."

"The most famous and well-documented masterpiece of American rugmaking," the Kopps wrote, "is the Caswell carpet, named after its maker, Zeruah Higley Guernsey Caswell. This monumental undertaking in wool tambour embroidery on wool required skill, patience, planning, and an inspired artistic imagination, not to mention years of tedious work."

In her New York Times article "When Home Was Where the Art Was," (June 8, 2007), Roberta Smith revealed a little history behind the Caswell carpet, whose maker devoted three years to shearing hte sheep, dyeing and spinning her yarn, and embroidering the entire 12' x 13' rug. Zeruah started this project in 1832, "when she turned 27 and must have seemed on the brink of spinsterhood," Smith wrote. "The desire for a mate is palpable. Note the progress, right to left, of embroideries depicting solitary birds, then pairs of lovebirds, then birds thrusting worms into the mouths of hungry offspring."

Smith also notes a small block of the rug that was of special interest to Joel and Kate Kopp: "The vignette of the young couple arm in arm," the Kopps wrote, "must have had a special significance for Zeruah because for many years she kept it covered with another design sewn on top of it." Happily, Zeruah did finally marry and unveil the happy couple in her rug. According to the Kopps, "she proudly showed it off to visitors throughout her very long lifetime."

With the Caswell carpet, we can look back 184 years to a rug maker, quietly—even secretly—sewing her greatest longings into a magnificent work of art. Zeruah Caswell revealed her heart's desire to a point of discomfort, in that she felt compelled to hide her dream of love and marriage until it had come true. She channeled her desires and disappointments into her beautiful rug.

This book is filled with contemporary examples of such makers and such works of art. Our featured artists—Diane Cox of England, Ann Wiley of Michigan, and Håkon Grøn Hensvold of Norway—each have their own ways of exploring their identities through their hooked rugs. Thirty more rug hookers from across the country have explored and expressed their identities, allowing readers like us to find them in their finished works.