Hooked Rug Show Returning

To Reed Intermediate School

Rae Harrell will be the featured speaker during the 4th Annual Newtown Hooked Rug Show when it returns to Reed Intermediate School on Saturday, November 5.

The show will run from 9:30 am to 3 pm. The largest annual hooked rug show between Boston and New York, the Newtown show will feature rug displays, 35 vendors from ten states, hooking demonstrations, lunch, a workshop, raffle and the guest speaker.

Admission is $7. All show proceeds will benefit Newtown Meeting House.

Rae Harrell, a nationally-recognized hooking artist, will offer a presentation on “Faces,” highlighting their use in rug hooking.  A resident of Hinesburg, Vt., Ms Harrell has been an artist all her life, working in a variety of media.

Currently, the rug hooking world has been looking seriously at portraiture as a main theme. Interestingly, as rug hookers move toward art rugs, the ability to include the human figure and face has become necessary. Faces have historically been our visual history and thus fiber artists, using hooking as their medium, have been working to perfect the human form.

Additional Attractions

Jackye Hansen, the country’s foremost teacher of the Waldoboro Method, will offer a 2½-hour workshop for advanced artists on “The Waldoboro Method” of rug hooking. The workshop is currently full, but a wait list of applications is being created.

The Waldoboro Method, originally developed by the women of Waldoboro, Me., in the 1830s, takes the technical aspect of hooking to the next step, allowing the artist to vary the texture of the rug’s surface and produce an intensely soft, sculpted three-dimensional effect.

Amy Oxford will sell and/or sign copies of her latest book, Rug Hooking Today.

Appraisals on contemporary hand hooked rugs will be offered by Janet Lennon and Mary Lou Bleakeley, of MLB/JML Contemporary Hand Hooked Rug Appraisers. Their appraisals will cover recently created hand hooked rugs for replacement value.

Clients will receive a certified written appraisal with a description of the piece and a numeric value for replacement. MLB/JML maintains a work file containing digital photos and slides which justify the replacement cost. A photo record and a copy of the appraisal are retained for a minimum of five years.

Appraisals are made only by viewing the actual piece.

Ms Lennon and Ms Bleakeley will be at the show on Saturday, and also available in the area on Friday, November 4, and Sunday, November 6. Each appraisal requires 30 to 45 minutes, and appointments are required.

To make an appointment or for further information, call 410-956-5105 or send email to janet@rugsJML.com.

Members of the Nutmeg Chapter of ATHA will be rug hooking throughout the day, giving visitors a first-hand look at how pieces are made.

The Show Favorite Ribbon, with voting invited during the show’s early hours by all show attendees, will also return. Each show visitor will receive a paper ballot, enabling him or her to vote for their favorite display entry. The winner will be announced at 12:30.

The vendor area this year will feature 35 vendors from ten states, offering all kinds of rug hooking supplies. Shoppers may browse through quantities of accessories, backing fabrics, books, braiding supplies, cutters, dyeing instruction, lap frames, hooking utensils, patterns, wool (both hand-dyed pieces and bolt fabrics), and more.

Finally, attendees are also urged to bring their pieces to display. This is not a juried show and there are no specific categories. A special section will be set up where visitors may offer their contemporary hooked rugs for sale. A small percentage of  proceeds from  sales will benefit the Newtown Meeting House.

For those who will be putting rugs on view during the show, show coordinator Sherry Paisley has announced that rugs may be dropped off at the school on Friday, November 4, between 5 and 7 pm, and Saturday morning between 8 and 9.

Reed Intermediate School is on Trades Lane in Newtown, off Wasserman Way. Plenty of free parking will be available.

For additional show information contact Mrs Paisley at 270-8293.