Reading List

I used the following texts during the process of creating the year study pieces. They are listed in the order they were read.

References are made in the journals to specific titles which influenced a day’s composition.

Collect your library. Returning to the works occasionally with new eyes will add to your development.

  • Design Basics for Rug Hookers by Susan L Feller 2011 Stackpole Books ISBN 978-1-881982-77-7   Would be a poor marketer if this was not listed. Design concepts not technique how-to.
  • Color, A Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finlay published  Ballantine Books, NY ballantinebooks.com 0-345-44430-2  This is published in a variety of editions with title spelled both Color and Colour.  A travelog and historical stories behind the rainbow of color.
  • A Knitters Guide to Color with Laura Bryant, DVD Interweave Press www.interweavestore.com 978-1-59668-484-3  Visual examples of how colors interact and how to sort by VALUE.
  • Color and Fiber, Patricia Lambert, Barbara Staepelaere, Mary G. Fry; 1986 Schiffer Publishing, 0-88740-065-5 In-depth study, an essential reference tool for fiber artists
  • Color in a Hooked Rug, Pearl K. McGown 1954 I found Pearl’s discussion of color informative    www.McGownGuild.com
  • Hooked Rug Landscapes, Anne-Marie Littenberg, Stackpole Books 2009 www.StackpoleBooks.com 1-881982-65-3 digital version 978-1-881982-65-4 Examples, observations and lessons clearly illustrated.
  • The Secretes of Planning & Designing Hand-Hooked Rugs Deanne Fitzpatrick with Susan Huxley, Rug Hooking Workshop Series
  • Textile Art from Southern Appalachia: the quiet work of women, Kathleen Curtis Wilson, 2001 The Overmountain Press 1-57072-199-8  Published in conjunction with the exhibition Textile Art from Southern Appalachia Organized and presented by the American Textile History Museum, Lowell, MA   After reading these stories of coverlet makers I am sure you will appreciate the patterns and precision.
  • Transforming FABRIC, Carolyn A. Dahl, Kraul 2004, Krause Publications  0-87349-616-7 www.Krause.com Creating patterns on cloth by Layering, Dyeing techniques how and why
  • American Sewn Rugs: Their history with exceptional examples Jan Whitlock with Tracy Jamar, 2012 Jan Whitlock ISBN 978-1-4675-4866-3 The historical predecessors to traditional hooked rugs, making of sewn rugs and their uses are researched in new directions.  Tracy Jamar replicates the techniques in contemporary examples.  Exhibit to be held at the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum.
  • The Group of Seven and Tom Thomson, David P. Silcox, Firefly Books Ltd, 2003 ISBN 13: 978-1-55407254-8 “The group of artists who created paintings that reflect a thousand different aspects of the life, spirit, and physical environment of Canada”. Bold, simple, emotional, stylistic yet natural.
  • Carr, O’Keefe, Kahlo: Places of their Own, Sharyn Rohlfsen Udall, Yale University Press, 2000 0-300-09186-9 parallel exhibition coordinated by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection Three amazing artists of the 20th Century whose works influenced my own. Georgia O’Keefe I admired since my teen years, Frida Kahlo in college, and through rug hooking and the Group of Seven I have been exposed to Emily Carr.  Yes, they are women, but their work stands equal to their peers and history.
  • Marc-Aurele Fortin, The Experience of Colour, Edited by Michele Grandbois, Les Editions de L’Homme 2011 978-2-7619-3093-2 catalog in conjunction with exhibition of same name at the Musee National des Beaux-arts du Quebec and the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario I attended the exhibition with Anne Boissinot which enhanced my appreciation of this artist’s use of shape, value and color.
  • Sabra Field, the art of place, Tom Slayton, 1993, Vermont Life Magazine 1-881527-22-0 www.Vermontlife.com wood block printing intrigues me Sabra’s depiction of Vermont in the most simple shapes, lines and colorways inspire my work
  • String, Felt, Thread: The Hierarchy of Art and Craft in American Art, Elissa Auther University of Minnesota Press, 2010 978-0-8166-5609-7 important thesis addressing emergence of a craft counterculture with fiber as the tool to bridge craft to art.
  • The Mountain Artisans Quilting Book, Alfred Allan Lewis 1973 Macmillan Publishing West Virginia’s crafts incorporated into clothing and marketed to the fashion world. Good period design resource.
  • Home Sweet Home, The House in American Folk Art; Deborah Harding & Laura Fisher, 2001 Rizzoli International Publications, 0-8478-2409-8 A simple shape (house) communicates. I learned how to use color, shapes, and scale in telling a story.
  • Mastering the Art of Embroidery, Sophie Long, 2013 Chronicle Books 978-1-4521-0963-3 www.ChronicleBooks.com Reminded me of Grandma’s tutorials yet expanded on the techniques.
  • three-dimensional Embroidery, Janet Edmonds, 2005 Batsford – Anova Books Company UK 978–0713-48965-1  My work calls for the third dimension accenting the tactile, bulk of textiles.
  • The Art of Manipulating Fabric, Colette Wolff, 1996 Krause Publications 0-8019-8496-3 title describes my approach to work… using techniques to manipulate fibers into designs. Rug hooking loop pulling is just one visual in this toolbox.
  • Making Wire Jewelry and more, Linda Chandler and Christine Ritchey, 2005 Interweave Press 13-978-1-931499-87-3 Hardwire and soft fabric are good companions
  • Card Weaving, Candace Crockett, 1973 Interweave Press 978-0-934026-61-1 Learning weaving with minimal investment.
  • Combining Rug Hooking & Braiding, Kris McDermet, Christine Manges, Dianne Tobias, Schiffer Publishing, Ltd, 2011 www.schifferbooks.com 978-0-7643-3789-5 Detailed directions, illustrations and examples of works integrating traditional handcrafts in contemporary works.
  • Native Funk& Flash, Alexandra Jacopetti, 1974 Schrimshaw Press there is a reissue 0-912020-37-7Embroidering clothing, as I did in the 70’s
  • Noni Flowers, Nora J. Bellows Potter Craft 2012 978-0-307-58671-1 A collection of flowers knitted!
  • YOU … Can Hook Rugs, Pearl K. McGown, 1951, West Boylston, MA  www.McGownGuild.com
  • Aha! 10 Ways to free your creative spirit and find your great ideas, Jordan Ayan, Three Rivers Press 1997 0-517-88400-3