By Guest Blogger Heather Gordon
RHGNL Lighthouse Show
Last Saturday, while teaching a Tessellations workshop at Encompassing Designs, I spotted the November issue of Rug Hooking magazine. I have been anxiously awaiting this edition because the Canadian Connection section featured the wonderful lighthouse show created by members of the Rug Hooking Guild of Newfoundland and Labrador.
As a member and teacher of the RHGNL, I head for “The Rock” every August for rug camp. Our show was first assembled at the August 2012 rug camp at Twin Ponds near Gander and has traveled across the region from St. John’s to Labrador City for a full year. Joan Foster, who spearheaded the project for the RHGNL, kept us informed about receptions and media coverage at each new venue. Finally, in August 2013, after the last showing on Fogo Island, the projects were brought back to Twin Ponds, displayed for one last time and returned to the 44 participating artists. Somewhere along the line, the show caught the attention of Rug Hooking magazine and we could hardly wait to see what the article would look like. My subscription still hasn’t arrived so I stole a peek at Christine’s and discovered that a photo of my Lobster Cove Lighthouse was included in the article. It brought back many pleasant memories.
After the 2010 rug camp in Gros Morne, a friend and I visited the Grenfell Mission at St. Anthony on the Northern Peninsula. Our trip was also motivated by one of the items on my “bucket” list. For many years, I had wanted to see the thousand year old Viking settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows.
For most of the trip, the skies were overcast with dark, ominous clouds and gusty winds. The mood, suitable for such a bleak landscape, only enhanced the experience. However, on the last day, as we made our way south to the Port Aux Basques ferry, the sun broke through and the skies cleared. We took advantage of this and examined every point of interest all along the west coast of Newfoundland.
It was not my first visit to Lobster Cove Head, but it was the first time I walked the trail around the lighthouse. Seeing the structure from the cliff below, silhouetted against the brilliant blue sky, I knew that the scene had to be hooked one day. It was a glorious sight on a perfectly glorious day. When I look at my photos, I can almost feel the sun on my back and the wind in my hair. When the show was being planned, there was no doubt in my mind about which lighthouse I would choose. I hope that all who have seen this hooked version have shared the joy of that moment.
After traveling “overseas” for a year, The Lobster Cove Lighthouse went on display for the month of September in the Square Zebras show, Out Of The Box, in Petite Riviere, Nova Scotia, and is finally hanging in my home overlooking Lunenburg Bay.
Materials Used: New Dorr wool, recycled wool fabric, velour and a variety of specialty yarns on linen. The lighthouse is sculpted and the piece is backed and quilted to enhance the three-dimensional style of hooking. All of the fibers used in the piece are included in the fringe.
Measurements: 9” x 45” I used several of my own photos for some initial sketches and decided to crop the view to emphasize the height of the lighthouse structure and the steepness of the cliff face. Below the point where I stood, separated by a light rail fence, there was a sheer weathered cliff and another 50’ drop to the ocean.
Last Saturday, while teaching a Tessellations workshop at Encompassing Designs, I spotted the November issue of Rug Hooking magazine. I have been anxiously awaiting this edition because the Canadian Connection section featured the wonderful lighthouse show created by members of the Rug Hooking Guild of Newfoundland and Labrador.
As a member and teacher of the RHGNL, I head for “The Rock” every August for rug camp. Our show was first assembled at the August 2012 rug camp at Twin Ponds near Gander and has traveled across the region from St. John’s to Labrador City for a full year. Joan Foster, who spearheaded the project for the RHGNL, kept us informed about receptions and media coverage at each new venue. Finally, in August 2013, after the last showing on Fogo Island, the projects were brought back to Twin Ponds, displayed for one last time and returned to the 44 participating artists. Somewhere along the line, the show caught the attention of Rug Hooking magazine and we could hardly wait to see what the article would look like. My subscription still hasn’t arrived so I stole a peek at Christine’s and discovered that a photo of my Lobster Cove Lighthouse was included in the article. It brought back many pleasant memories.
After the 2010 rug camp in Gros Morne, a friend and I visited the Grenfell Mission at St. Anthony on the Northern Peninsula. Our trip was also motivated by one of the items on my “bucket” list. For many years, I had wanted to see the thousand year old Viking settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows.
For most of the trip, the skies were overcast with dark, ominous clouds and gusty winds. The mood, suitable for such a bleak landscape, only enhanced the experience. However, on the last day, as we made our way south to the Port Aux Basques ferry, the sun broke through and the skies cleared. We took advantage of this and examined every point of interest all along the west coast of Newfoundland.
It was not my first visit to Lobster Cove Head, but it was the first time I walked the trail around the lighthouse. Seeing the structure from the cliff below, silhouetted against the brilliant blue sky, I knew that the scene had to be hooked one day. It was a glorious sight on a perfectly glorious day. When I look at my photos, I can almost feel the sun on my back and the wind in my hair. When the show was being planned, there was no doubt in my mind about which lighthouse I would choose. I hope that all who have seen this hooked version have shared the joy of that moment.
After traveling “overseas” for a year, The Lobster Cove Lighthouse went on display for the month of September in the Square Zebras show, Out Of The Box, in Petite Riviere, Nova Scotia, and is finally hanging in my home overlooking Lunenburg Bay.
Materials Used: New Dorr wool, recycled wool fabric, velour and a variety of specialty yarns on linen. The lighthouse is sculpted and the piece is backed and quilted to enhance the three-dimensional style of hooking. All of the fibers used in the piece are included in the fringe.
Measurements: 9” x 45” I used several of my own photos for some initial sketches and decided to crop the view to emphasize the height of the lighthouse structure and the steepness of the cliff face. Below the point where I stood, separated by a light rail fence, there was a sheer weathered cliff and another 50’ drop to the ocean.
Lobster Cove Lighthouse hanging in the first display at Twin Ponds, August 2012
Designed and hooked by Heather Gordon, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.
Designed and hooked by Heather Gordon, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.
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