Featured Image: ‘Island Sunrise’. Designed and hooked by Sara Judith
Sara Judith
Nelson, British Columbia, Canada V1L 3B3
(250) 352-5218
sara.judith1@gmail.com
I have always loved colour, texture and fibre. After many years of weaving spinning and dyeing, I discovered hooking in 2003, after a chance visit to Deanne Fitzpatrick’s studio in Nova Scotia. I was immediately drawn to its expressiveness, creative possibilities, its forgiving nature, and lack of rules. It quickly became my passion and I explored the medium attending many workshops across North America. Since 2003 I have completed over sixty original works. Six of my rugs have been juried into Celebrations, Rug Hooking Magazine’s annual showcase of the best in rug hooking. I also have rugs published in Rug Hooking magazine, Amy Oxford’s Hooked Rugs Today, Susan Feller’s Design Basics for Rug Hookers and Janet Conner’s Masterpiece Hooked Rugs.
I have developed a signature use of combining hooking and punching techniques, employing a multitude of yarns and cloth strips in a vibrant array of colour. I am synthesizing the two traditional techniques into a modern fibre art. I animate my rugs with rich texture and strong colour, mixing a bit of magic with realism. As an artist who enjoys the creative process, I evoke the intuitive nature of abstract paintings. I try to express the vibrancy of the landscape, a sense of awe and a deep connection to the physical world.
I have become accredited as a teacher by Amy Oxford(punch hooking), McGown(traditional hooking) and the Western Canadian Rug Hooking Education Association. I now lead workshops focusing on punch hooking, its possibilities and combinations with traditional hooking, workshops on improvisation and creative possibilities, as well as dyeing workshops.
I have taught more than sixty workshops across the country from British Columbia to Newfoundland, north to the Yukon as well as in the US. My sessions focus on exploring the creative possibilities of hooking, punching, other surface design techniques as well as workshops on dyeing, landscapes, abstracts and improvisation. I love to teach anywhere and anytime!
I can be reached at (250) 352-5218 or sara.judith1@gmail.com
WORKSHOPS
I have taught these workshops in rug schools, for guilds and privately for small groups. I tailor each workshop to meet the needs and interests of the students and the hosting organization.
Length can vary from 2 to 5 days.
PUNCH HOOKING SAMPLER
Using the Oxford punch needle hook we will investigate punch needle rug hooking in a sampler.
Students will all work on the same pattern and each block within the design will be punched with a different technique – 4 loops per inch, 6 loops per inch, punching from the front, from the back, with washers (to get different heights), with 4 ply rug yarn, with 3 ply yarn (2 at a time), with 2 ply yarn (3 at a time), with tapestry yarn, sari silk, cotton, different colour combinations, working with fancy yarns eg. boucle, working with slippery silky yarns, holding the loops, punching cut wool strips (between size #6 and #8 cut), etc. etc. This will allow everyone to explore the huge variety of possibilities available with punch-hooking.
This can be accomplished in one very jam-packed day, or spread over 2 or 3 days to allow a more leisurely exploration. All yarns, materials and pattern on backing for the punch hooking sampler will be provided in a kit supplied by Sara for a fee.
THE LANDSCAPE : HOOKED, PUNCHED AND OTHER TECHNIQUES
The Ramparts Designed and created by Sara Judith
includes hooking, punching recycled wool, yarn, and velvet, stitched sari silk, knotted wool, felted wool
We will all start to hook or punch or hook and punch a landscape or pictorial background. I encourage you to combine both techniques to exploit their full potential. A short introduction to punch hooking will be given during the workshop for those who haven’t punched before. We will all go through the process developing our own pattern from a favourite photo. We will cover cropping, simplifying, formatting, values, focal point, colour choices, contrast and creating depth in landscapes to develop a strong design. As well students will sample several techniques used in your landscape – hooking with velvet and nylons, wet felting and needle-felting, stitching and couching with Sari silk, French knots, chain stitching, wrapping, and appliqued wool. This is a fun workshop to explore the many possibilities to make your landscapes extra-ordinary works of art!
JOY OF IMPROVISATION- CREATIVITY UNLEASHED
Have you ever given yourself the sheer delight of hooking a blank backing with no pattern drawn or even in mind?
That is what we will do in this workshop- explore infinite creative possibilities. Each day will have different exercises, both hooking and non-hooking, to unleash your inherent creative abilities. You will be guided and inspired in the creation of abstracts, landscapes and geometrics. We will explore colour, composition and design as you develop your own aesthetic. A class-wide round-robin will enable you to sample many different frames, hooks, backings and fibres. This class will expand your skills and talent. Suitable for both punch hookers and regular hookers at any level of hooking ability. Bring to class a sense of adventure and the willingness to be bold, fearless and creative!
THE ABSTRACT LANDSCAPE
Abstraction can be thought about as simplification. We need to learn to simplify in order to hook. This workshop explores ways to represent landscape images in simplified format. As well as hooking, we will play with art exercises to loosen up and generate ideas and designs. Topics covered will include design elements and principles, critiqueing ( or how to ask questions and get your friends to help solve problems), formatting, achieving depth in landscapes and ways to abstract. Bring several favourite photos to class – both in regular format and enlarged to letter size or 8”x10” and also in black and white 8”x10”. You will develop your own pattern and start hooking your own abstract landscape, and develop the skills to abstract landscape.
TINY TREASURES
We will be thinking SMALL in this workshop to produce three tiny (2 and ¾ by 3 and ¾ inch) hooked treasures. Landscapes, florals, still lifes, and buildings are all great subjects. Focusing on a different subject each day, we will hook a trio or quartet of miniature pieces. Design and composition will be discussed including simplifying, focal points, creative illusions, cropping and formatting. Techniques to embellish such as needle felting, embroidery and beading will be examined. Both traditional and punch hookers will find this a useful way of working and thinking about small subjects.
DYEING WOOL (and other protein fibres)
Many different methods for dyeing wool fabric, yarn, roving and fibre will be explored. We will start with reproducible methods, but then progress to fun ways to colour your wool. Methods covered will depend on the interests of the group as well as available equipment. They may include gradation dyeing, marbleizing, marrying, casserole dyeing, spot-dying, variegated dyeing of wool yarn, painting wool fabric, coordinating colours, microwave dyeing, layering colours, shibori… and other methods as time permits. Students will gain a solid understanding of the dyeing process and many variations that they could apply to their fibre arts.
LECTURES/SEMINARS/ DEMONSTRATIONS (1-3 hours)
Colour Theory
Introduction to Punch Hooking
The Art of Effective Critque
Finishing Hooked Articles
Colour Planning
AWARDS AND HONOURS
2021 Grand National Exhibit of Canadian Quilt and Fibre Art – Crossed Roads (exhibit and catalogue cover image)
2019 Celebration Hall of Fame from Rug Hooking Magazine
2014 for Barn at Lawless Ranch – Judge’s Choice Award at the Barn Raising Project
2013 for Tidepool – People’s Choice Award – Best in Open Show at the Association of Northwest Weavers Guild Conference
2010 for Heart of the Forest – Second in River Gallery’s Wool Club Challenge
2010 for Island Sunrise – Visitors Choice Award Nova Scotia Rug Hooking School
2007 for Looking at You – People’s Choice Award Hooked in the Mountains Show, Green Mountain Annual Show , Shelburne, Vermont
PUBLISHED WORKS
2023 in Masterpiece Hooked Rugs by Janet Conner – Dos Caballos
2020 in Rug Hooking Magazine’s Celebration 30 – The Ramparts
2019 in Rug Hooking Magazine’s Celebration 29 – View to MacBeth Icefields
2017 in Rug Hooking Magazine’s Celebration 27 – Dos Caballos
2013 in TIGHR newsletter – article “Outside the Box”
Lakeside Park, Alpine Tree, Evolution
2012 in Rug Hooking Magazine January issue – Gemini
2011 in Design Basics for Rug Hookers by Susan Feller – Island Sunrise, Yorkshire Childhood
2011 in Rug Hooking magazine’s Celebrations XXI – Island Sunrise
2010 in Rug Hooking magazine’s Celebrations XX – Grand Canyon Dory
2009 in Hooked Rugs Today IV by Amy Oxford – Looking at You, Forest, Synergy
2008 in Rug Hooking magazine’s Celebrations XVIII – Osprey with Kokanee
2007 in Rug Hooking magazine January issue – Stepping Out
2006 in Hooked Rugs Today by Amy Oxford – Kootenay Birches, Refugee Girl, Swimming with the Sharks, Osprey with Kokanee, Maple Leaf Rag Rug
Western Canada Rug Hooking Education Association 