On the hook
Truro woman’s artistry to be on display during March
Beverley Levine didn’t like rug hooking the first time she tried it.
But it was a very different story a few years later, and today she bubbles with excitement when she talks about the craft.
“I find it very exciting to come up with a new design and work on it and get it to where you want it, and I find creating the colour exciting,” she said. “The hooking itself is very calming and soothing.”
She said what made the difference when she tried hooking the second time was the attitude of the person sharing it with her.
“She absolutely loved rug hooking and she showed me the possibilities. I’ve been hooking now since 1999.
“With hooking I can design a piece and dye my own wool and material. I create the pattern and colours. I have control over the end product, that it says what I want it to say.”
Levine spends time hooking most days, is a member of the Rug Hooking Guild of Nova Scotia and teaches hooking.
“Interest has been growing during the last few years,” she said. “Working with wool is very soothing; the texture is soothing. There’s also a push to reuse, and that draws some people to hooking.”
Hooked rugs were originally made from scraps of various materials, but things changed and for several years most hookers used only wool.
“About 10 years ago there was another change, and now you can hook with ribbon, chiffon … anything. We’ve come full circle to reusing materials.”
Levine said she also loves “play-
ing in the dye pot” and creating the right colours for her art.
She is one of the artists whose work will be hanging in Noveltea book store and café, from March 3-31.
The pieces she will have on display range from a six-ft.-long mat to a four-in.-square coaster, and feature symbols, animals, scenes and patterns.
Paintings by Kari Weatherbee will also be only display in the café.