I am a rug hooker who uses recycled and new wool to create landscapes, houses and whimsical pieces that can be displayed as 2D and 3D art for floors, walls and tables. I have also recovered stools, made mitts(exterior is hooked), Christmas Ornaments, Fish, Purses(exterior is partially hooked) and other seasonal décor. I also make jewellery using my wool strips for brooches, earrings and necklaces.
I am currently a member of the Huntsville Art Society, the Kearney Art Club, Muskoka Arts and Crafts, and the Muskoka Art Trail. I also belong to the OHCG and ATHA. And I am a member of Contemporary Rug Hooking.
My experiences in marketing and promoting my art and the work of others is extensive. I owned a seasonal gallery that included my art and the work of 16 -20 other artists in a variety of mediums. My gallery was called Loops Art & Craft Gallery and was located in Dwight Ontario.
I also displayed my own work and helped set up the art show in July in Almaguin “Changes”. I also displayed and was a part of 12 artists that put on a two day Christmas show at the Algonquin Theatre in Huntsville. My art was used to create the marketing materials.
I used my gallery as a working studio as well as a gallery. This led to commissions, teaching others and being a part of Culture Days where I ran free fibre activities for the community. I have also done workshops for local groups both the ones I belong to and others.
I loved running my gallery, greeting the public and helping them to make a purchase of art for their home. Most of my customers returned year after year. But I missed creating just for creating not for selling my work and being closer to family. I never had time to put my work in a lot of shows because most of my work I sold or created it for selling. I am enjoying this winter doing just that. Our son suggested we would like Port Stanley and so here we are. We fell in love with it. But we bought another reno which after restoring our 1910 home in Dwight we said not another but we fell in love with this fixer upper so hooking and hammering has been my winter.
My previous working life included teaching, consulting and ended up retiring as a Principal. Owning a gallery and creating was a life long dream. My Mom was a silversmith and got me hooked into creating to keep me occupied when I was young. Every year I entered the local Fall Fairs with some craft or the RBG Christmas show in Burlington.
I have not closed my facebook page for Loops Art and Craft Gallery so you can see it from two years ago. I have started using Instagram and still own the domain for Loops. I have always wanted to open a website and do a blog.