Maine Fiberarts announces Hook-In and exhibit

Christine Macchi of Maine Fiberats shared this information with By Hand readers:

“Winters’ Work: Hooked Rugs, 2010-2013” by Anne Cox is on view at Maine Fiberarts, 13 Main St. in Topsham. The public is invited to view the colorful, nature-themed wool rugs through April 27. A reception will be held 2-5 p.m. Sunday, April 7, and the artist will speak about her work for a half-hour starting at 2:30 p.m.

Maine Fiberarts also will host a Hook-In 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday, April 12. Members of Midcoast Rug Hookers, members of Maine Fiberarts and others will be hand to demonstrate the traditional handcraft. Members of the public are invited to attend.

Anne Cox lives and works in Tenants Harbor where, along with co-owner Julie Wortman, she maintains Hedgerow Designs, a perennial and landscape design garden business.

In 2006, Julie Wortman traveled to Nova Scotia and met rug hooking notable Deanne Fitzpatrick. She purchased a hooking kit with supplies to get started, but it was Anne who found interest in the kit. Ever since, during the cold winters in Maine and when the gardens sleep, Anne has been hooking. Her themes involve polypods, hay bales, sunrises and sunsets, and the beauty of the Maine landscape. Her large piece, “Look,” a work that measures almost 8 feet across, won the 2012 Viewers’ Choice Award at the Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild Show at Shelburne Museum in Vermont.

Cox creates her own designs and dyes most of the wool herself. The 12 works on view at Maine Fiberarts represent work she completed in just three winters. Her talk will offer insights into her design process and is will be of special interest to rug hookers, enthusiasts and collectors.

Maine Fiberarts’ Hook-In on April 12 continues a tradition started last year where the nonprofit’s members and friends are encouraged to create programming around a theme. Last spring, seven weavers demonstrated different aspects of hand weaving and shared techniques and ideas. Last October, a Sew-In took place where artists used sewing machines and hand stitching to create quilts, narrative embroidery, patchwork pillows and garments. At this year’s Hook-In, rug hookers will bring works in progress, completed samples, wool and yarn scraps, tools, hooking stands, and baskets of show-and-tell. Members of the public are invited to join in and spend the day hooking, or simply watch and learn more about the historic craft.

Since 2000, Maine Fiberarts has been showing the work of talented Maine fiber artists in solo shows that change every two or three months. This year, the group is adding more hands-on workshops to its programming. “Sewing Spring Garments” will take place on Tuesdays in April. For information and for a visual preview of the current exhibition, visit www.mainefiberarts.org or call 721-0678.