Simply Modern Contemporary Design for Hooked Rugs
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$34.95With over two decades of experience as a rug-hooker, studio-owner, and teacher, celebrated fabric artist Deanne Fitzpatrick introduces readers to the possibilities of modern rug-hooking design.
Rug-hookers of all levels will find Fitzpatrick’s instructional narratives and step-by-step methods for creating everything from themed rugs to pillows to ornaments an accessible and inspirational introduction to the craft. Tips and techniques such as how to choose and dye your own materials, achieving texture and shape, transferring patterns, outlining and blending, finding inspiration, and cultivating your creative process to develop an authentic style are interspersed with passages on the author’s artistic process.
Features over 100 colour photographs of Fitzpatrick’s own projects and techniques, providing readers with reference points for turning their own experiences into gorgeous rug-hooked art.
Singily Skipping Along
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$19.95Kidlit heavyweight Sheree Fitch of River John and world-renowned rug hooking artist Deanne Fitzpatrick of Amherst have teamed up to create a kids’ book about body movement called Singily Skipping Along .Fitzpatrick’s rugs are on sale in an online auction (singilyskipping.ca) with all proceeds going toward L’Arche Atlantic, which is dedicated to homes, programs and support networks for people who have intellectual disabilities.“I didn’t want those rugs to get sold off one by one. I wanted something special to happen to them,” says Fitzpatrick.The rugs, each 38 centimetres by 38 centimetres, are “about being in the moment, about play.”
Inspired Rug-Hooking Turning Atlantic Canadian Life Into Art
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$24.95Working from twenty years’ experience as a rug hooker, studio owner, and teacher, Deanne Fitzpatrick shares her sources of inspiration, work habits, ideas about creativity and design, and helpful guidelines for creating beautiful, expressive rugs. Practical suggestions for hooking houses, landscapes, seasons, stories, and people are accompanied by the artist’s insight into tapping creativity and learning how to make art from life.
Tips for choosing colours, experimenting with texture, preparing a backing, transferring a design, and achieving realistic depictions are interspersed with passages on artistic inspiration and process. Best of all, over 80 striking colour photographs of the author’s own projects and techniques provide readers with excellent reference points for turning their own experiences into magnificent rugs.
Hook Me a Story
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$18.95A much needed source book for anyone wanting to know the history and the craft of rug hooking. Includes illustrations of techniques and materials and methods. This book is a tribute to those who kept the craft alive over the years.
Making a Life Twenty-five Years of Hooking Rugs
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$34.95Celebrated textile artist Deanne Fitzpatrick learned early that traditional rug-hooking is so much more than just making mats for old houses. This intricate art form has given her the chance to speak without words. It has built her a supportive community, a successful business, and an international reputation. But most of all, hooking rugs has allowed Deanne to live a life she loves.
Reflecting on her twenty-five-year career, Deanne shares lessons gleaned both at the frame and away from her studio. Whether it’s dealing with an artistic block, or balancing running a business and raising a family, Deanne has navigated it all with frank humour and grace. Containing over 75 full-colour photos of projects past and present, Making a Life is an ode to the joys of leading a creative life.
East Coast Rug-Hooking Designs
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$24.95Rug-hooking began long ago as a practical solution to the drafty floors in North American settlers’ houses. From those humble beginnings, the craft has evolved into a highly respected art form, and many who have seen the vibrant rugs created by Atlantic Canadians are inspired to take up the hook themselves.
In East Coast Rug-Hooking Designs, master rug-hooker Deanne Fitzpatrick explores and explains the art she loves. Photographs of her colourful hooked rugs are accompanied by her frank and touching stories of life in Atlantic Canada-the life that inspires so many of her designs. From hooking and gathering fabric, to choosing colours, designing, and binding, the entire process is clearly explained. Over thirty playful and dynamic patterns are included-some suitable for beginners, and some that will challenge even experienced hookers. Whatever your level of expertise, this book will surely have you hooked!
Rug-hooking artist Deanne Fitzpatrick is renowned worldwide for her stunning rugs and patterns. Her work is in permanent exhibits at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and the Canadian Museum of Civilization, among others, and she has made frequent radio and television appearances, including on CBC’s Land and Sea. She lives in Amherst, Nova Scotia.
