Give a GiftI get my daily dose of nature walking my dog in our local verdant forests, and if I am particularly lucky, I get to see one of our wondrous barred owls in its natural habitat. I hope my rug pays homage to the species’ beauty.
Despite the fact that this piece is virtually divided into three distinct parts, I wanted to achieve a harmonized, natural effect overall and demonstrate why owls can blend in so seamlessly with their surroundings. For most of the hooking, I used dyed swatches and spot dyes on solid and patterned natural wool, which gave me a lot of flexibility in color values—but I also made use of found tartans, which tend to come in a lot of suit ably natural tones. Embroidery floss leant itself well to making the lichen, as it comes in a wonderful array of subtle colors. Wool roving in a natural light and a darker brown provided the soft, touchable effect I tried to achieve on the billowy breast feathers. The diverse textures and color palettes of the tree bark, owl, and leaves gave a tremendous amount of scope to play with different effects.
I had fun hooking this rug and love many parts of it for many reasons! For instance, I am very happy with the way the owl’s face turned out. I feel that I captured, by sheer luck, the intense, arresting gaze that owls have when they look at you. To me, it is the first thing that draws the eye into the piece.
The owl, tree trunk, and branch are represented fairly faithfully to the photograph I used as a model, but the back ground in the photo is filtered light with pale blues and greens. Even after having virtually completed the rest of the piece, I had a very hard time coming to grips with the background. We have a lot of alders in our mixed forests, so I took inspiration from the leaves to create a background that I felt balanced out and harmonized with the tree trunk and the owl without being too distracting. Once I figured it out, the background was actually the easiest part by far to hook!
Once the piece was hooked, I decided to try stuffing it from the back like a trapunto piece to give it a more three-dimensional effect. It was then mounted on pegboard to give it a firm backing. I decided the shadowbox frame that my husband made would enhance the 3-D aspect. The frame is made of cedar, which, as a softer wood, lent itself well to being roughed up to replicate the look and texture of old barn wood and accepted the oxidized staining solution readily. The frame’s color was a quandary, but I am pleased with the gray-green natural finish, which brings all aspects of the piece together. The finished piece now hangs in our dining room, and the owl’s gaze follows me as I transit through many times a day.
I love many aspects of rug hooking: the way every project presents different challenges, the texture of the fibers, the seductive range of colors, and, of course, the camaraderie. Through this project, I learned that taking the first step is the hardest part, that patience is a virtue, to take the time that it takes, and to trust my instincts more.
From the Judges:
The color choices perfectly reflect nature, and that punchy, orange beak sure captures your attention and pulls you in to see more. Intricate details in the feathers, branch, trunk, and background leaves. Captivating use of all the fibers that shows a cohesive story.
I See You Too! 15 ½” x 20″, #2- to 5-cut hand-dyed natural and herringbone wool, recycled found wool, wool roving, embroidery thread, yarn, and wire on linen. Designed and hooked by Kathy Atherton, Victoria, British Columbia, 2024.
VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA
Kathy discovered rug hooking on a trip to the Maritimes back around 2010. She brought a tiny hook, but no other supplies, home to Vancouver Island. It lay idle until a couple of years later, when she discovered Sheila Stewart of Blue Heron Rug Hooking was starting a group meeting in her community. She lives on five rural acres in Metchosin outside of Victoria, British Columbia.