Last week to see Woolen Canvas: Artistry in Fibre exhibit

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — This week marks the last opportunity to see the Woolen Canvas: Artistry in Fibre exhibit at Peace Gallery North.

January’s exhibit features the work of a group of friends who call themselves Hookers of Rugs Wool Artists.

Rug hooking is described as both an art and a craft where rugs are made by pulling loops of yarn or fabric through a stiff woven base.

The members of Hookers of Rugs and Wool Artists include Emily Hedges, Miep Bergerjon, Shelley Nickels, Bev Baker, Lindsay Jardine and Eliza Massey Standford.

Burgerjon says this show is the second the group has collaborated on, with the first being in January of last year.

According to Burgerjon, opening night on January 5th was busy, the art was well accepted, and sales were high.

“It was really fun because a lot of people came because they were interested in rug hooking and felting and what you could do with wool,” Burgerjon said.

“They were interested in what the possibilities were and the sorts of things we were doing, not just coming in to see the exhibit.”

Burgerjon says the group was at Peace Gallery North “way past our bedtimes,” chatting with folks who wanted to learn more.

Hookers of Rugs was established in 2019 when Massey-Standford, who had recently travelled to Nova Scotia, showed her friends samples of what she was making.

“It was originally an East Coast art or craft, and she brought it back to us, and all of us are fairly creative,” Burgerjon said.

“And we all said to her, ‘We want to learn how to do that.’”

Burgerjon says Massey-Standford sat the group down in her living room warmed by a wood stove with a cup of tea each and showed them how to rug hook.

The group became “addicted” to rug hooking and now meets at least twice a month to “hook together.”

“[We] talk about what we’re making, get advice from one another, and talk about where our wool comes from. It’s very pleasant,” Burgerjon said.

Rug hooking, as it is known today, started along the North American east coast, including the Canadian Maritimes.

Burgerjon says women would repurpose spent wool clothing, cutting it into strips and hooking it through burlap bags to turn it into rugs, and they eventually got more imaginative with what they could create.

The exhibition contains work from seven members, but Burgerjon says they always welcome interlopers into the group.

She says there are a lot of resources and others interested in the craft locally, including My Two Hands Creations, a local fabric store which provides start-up kits for rug hooking.

Burgerjon says some of the artists involved in the exhibit are willing to do commissions or request pieces, and those requests can be made by contacting Peace Gallery North at 250-787-0993.

The exhibit at Peace Gallery North is available for viewing from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. until January 27th.

A Community Roundup about the exhibit can be viewed below: