Although the plan was to stay inside by the fire and hook on Sunday, I remembered it was Heather Gordon's annual open house, mentioned it to hubby and he said "Well, let's go!" Typically I would have groaned and opted to stay inside on such a miserable day but hubby shoveled out the car while I shed my jammies and we hit the road.
Heather has a beautiful house that inspires comfort. The original cape style was built in 1760 and then additions were put on either end, making for quite a large dwelling. Heather is no stranger to renovating, making this her third project and by far the most extensive overhaul. She'd previously completed two full renovations in Mahone Bay; stepping stones to this current home outside of Lunenburg that spoke to her when she began searching for a new project. Actually, it was probably screaming at her…help, help! I saw the place before her carpenters started work and being very familiar with renovating myself, I could see the potential as she talked me through her vision, but really, most would have run crying from that broken-down state of affairs. You would never know today that this beautiful home had been so sadly neglected and in desperate need of repair.
Heather's is certainly brave to take on such extensive renovations, because I’m not talking about taking out a few carpets and changing out the cupboards. She had them gutted to the bone and then built back up so you would never guess they weren't always captivating. Her current home is very cozy with its inviting fireplace, in-floor heating and room after room of architectural character and personal touches.
Heather’s home is the perfect backdrop for her fiber art. She has an enviable, spacious studio on the second floor with a large dye sink and cupboards lining the walls that hold an eye popping
stash of wool all colour coordinated and ready to be called to service. She loves to work in her sunny studio and look out over the panoramic vista of the Lunenburg harbour entrance.
Heather began rug hooking in 1976 when she took a class with Ontario’s Jeanne Field, of whom she refers to as a “wonderful, wonderful rug hooking teacher”. Unfortunately, life got in the way so she packed it all up for another time and in 2002, she retired to Mahone Bay and settled into small town life. She didn’t know anyone in the area and rediscovering her love of rug hooking opened doors and developed friendships, providing a very rich social life and creative outlet.
Heather is currently the Director of the South Shore Region of the Nova Scotia Rug Guild, and is an accredited rug hooking teacher of the Newfoundland & Labrador Guild. She hooks with several local groups and is a regular at our Main Street Hooker’s Wednesday evening hook-ins.
Heather likes mixed media, working with all kinds of fibers and textures. She has a very keen eye
for colour, a natural talent that has served her well as a Colour Consultant and Paint Effects Specialist. Whether Heather is tackling a renovation or creating a new rug, she puts her entire soul into the process and the result truly speaks for itself.
Below are but a few examples of Heather's diverse body of work.
Heather has a beautiful house that inspires comfort. The original cape style was built in 1760 and then additions were put on either end, making for quite a large dwelling. Heather is no stranger to renovating, making this her third project and by far the most extensive overhaul. She'd previously completed two full renovations in Mahone Bay; stepping stones to this current home outside of Lunenburg that spoke to her when she began searching for a new project. Actually, it was probably screaming at her…help, help! I saw the place before her carpenters started work and being very familiar with renovating myself, I could see the potential as she talked me through her vision, but really, most would have run crying from that broken-down state of affairs. You would never know today that this beautiful home had been so sadly neglected and in desperate need of repair.
Heather's is certainly brave to take on such extensive renovations, because I’m not talking about taking out a few carpets and changing out the cupboards. She had them gutted to the bone and then built back up so you would never guess they weren't always captivating. Her current home is very cozy with its inviting fireplace, in-floor heating and room after room of architectural character and personal touches.
Heather’s home is the perfect backdrop for her fiber art. She has an enviable, spacious studio on the second floor with a large dye sink and cupboards lining the walls that hold an eye popping
stash of wool all colour coordinated and ready to be called to service. She loves to work in her sunny studio and look out over the panoramic vista of the Lunenburg harbour entrance.
Heather began rug hooking in 1976 when she took a class with Ontario’s Jeanne Field, of whom she refers to as a “wonderful, wonderful rug hooking teacher”. Unfortunately, life got in the way so she packed it all up for another time and in 2002, she retired to Mahone Bay and settled into small town life. She didn’t know anyone in the area and rediscovering her love of rug hooking opened doors and developed friendships, providing a very rich social life and creative outlet.
Heather is currently the Director of the South Shore Region of the Nova Scotia Rug Guild, and is an accredited rug hooking teacher of the Newfoundland & Labrador Guild. She hooks with several local groups and is a regular at our Main Street Hooker’s Wednesday evening hook-ins.
Heather likes mixed media, working with all kinds of fibers and textures. She has a very keen eye
for colour, a natural talent that has served her well as a Colour Consultant and Paint Effects Specialist. Whether Heather is tackling a renovation or creating a new rug, she puts her entire soul into the process and the result truly speaks for itself.
Below are but a few examples of Heather's diverse body of work.
 Jelly Bean Houses, from the St. John’s area was designed by Lillian Dwyer of Fogo Island off the North coast of Newfoundland. The houses are done with a #3 cut. Fancy stitches such as the Basket Weave, Chain Stitch and High-Low were used for the hills. The bushes in front of the houses are pixilated and the clouds are done in natural roving. The border was hooked in a herringbone to self-frame the rug and then it was stretched over an artist canvas. The rocks below the rug came from Newfoundland and were hand painted by a friend.  Heather standing beside, Ripples of Imagination, a multi-medium piece during our 'Art Under Foot' gallery showing in the spring. Behind her to the left are a few of her other pieces. An Oriental, a crewel and two whimsical pieces, also shown to the right and bottom in more detail. "Ripples of Imagination" came about as the result of a September 2011 special showing at Howe's Gallery, Brackley Beach, Prince Edward Island to honour Doris Eaton and her contribution to rug hooking. Each of the 15 contributing artists created an original piece to demonstrate the influence that Doris has had on our hooking. By constantly experimenting and pushing the boundaries, Doris has shown me that anything goes if it creates the effect you desire. She has freed me to use my imagination and let the images flow through my fingers. Ripples of Imagination represents the inseparable elements of design - colour, texture and imagination.  "The Crows Fly To The Island At Night"  "Heather" When I had a chance to take a Jacobean Crewel workshop, I asked Christine to design a floor mat for me. The special dyed swatches that I had been saving for an Oriental project were perfect for this design so I raided my stash and set them against a dramatic back background. |  “Newfoundland Selkie” (mermaid) was designed by Liz Young (Aunt Liz) from Sheaves Cove, Newfoundland. Celtic legend Selkie takes on the form of a beautiful woman that drags men into deep, dark waters and then turns into a seal. This appealed to Heather because of her Celtic background and she enjoyed combining Celtic legend with a Newfoundland connection. This piece is made up of mixed fibers consisting of velour, hand-spun yarn, hand-dyed and recycled wools. The finished piece was then mounted and framed.  So much fun! Proddy really brings this piece to life! A shimmering sun and a cat on the wrong side of the window are framed in a bouquet of proddy flowers. Called Nifty's Garden, Nifty was a real cat. She lived in a house with a spectacular garden but was never allowed to venture outside. I always thought that Nifty day-dreamed and imagined herself in the midst of the beautiful blooms with her bluebird companions sitting beside her on the window sill.  "An Old Salt's Dream". Designed by Susan Leslie. Susan was a great inspiration. I admired her talent, her spirit and her courage. Her designs always make me smile and I always planned to hook this pattern some day. After she passed away and I was moving from Mahone Bay to Lunenburg, the time was right. This rug is a tribute to Susan and incorporates some of her stash in the dark blues of the water in the harbour. (Susan had a rug hooker's will where she left instructions for all her wool to be divided and given to the gals in her hooking groups.  "Mini Sultanana" design by Christine Little. I have always wanted to hook a full size Oriental Mat. There were a few abandoned attempts over the years and then, last January, on a bright sunny, winter day, I got on a dyeing binge and came up with the perfect sapphire blue background. My colour palette was complete. Since rugs from the Sultanabad area are considered rather coarsely woven by Persian standards, I used #4 cut for the fields, with #3 cut for the detail in the motifs. |
 Heather's business card back |  Business card font |
RSS Feed
