Michelle Sirois-Silver hand hooked rugs
Bio
Photo: Ruth Scott
The
first time I watched someone pull loops up through a backing I was captivated. The serenity of that
moment stays with me today and fourteen years later my passion for
hand hooked rugs continues to grow and flourish. I often think back
to the mid 1800's to the men and women for whom making
a hooked rug was a matter of thrift. For many it would be their only
opportunity for creative expression and I believe they would laugh to
hear me call their rugs art or sustainable. They were making rugs to
warm their beds and keep out cold winter drafts. They didn’t hook
rugs to last a hundred years and yet they left us a legacy rich in
history and storytelling.
Michelle Sirois-Silver is a fibre artist who designs and hand hooks rugs for the floor and wall. She was born on the Gaspe and grew up on Vancouver Island so it's not surprising that natural elements are recurring themes in her work. The rug hooking technique she uses is a traditional folk art popular in eastern Canada. Her contemporary style of hand hooked rugs embraces its spirit and traditions but the subject matter, designs, and sense of colour make her work uniquely westcoast. The works incorporate a range of materials from hand dyed wool fabrics to metal and silk ribbon hand hooked into a linen backing.
Her work is exhibited in Canada and the United States and is featured in Jessie Turbayne's latest book on West Coast Rug Hookers (2010).
