WHO WE ARE”
Moira Mat Makers is a branch group of the Ontario Hooking Craft Guild. The group began in the 1980’s in Belleville under the mentorship of Dorothy Brown, originally meeting in members’ homes. Once the group became too large, we found congenial space at Loyalist College and the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre.
Members come from all over the Quinte area and bring with them a wide variety of interests and experience in the art.
At its most basic, rug hooking is a craft where strands of wool or other fibers are pulled through a linen or burlap backing to create a floor covering. A rug hook, a metal hook inserted into a wooden handle, is used to pull the loops through the backing. Many beautiful patterns have been created by Canadian women who have been hooking rugs since the middle of the 19th century. While members of the Moira Mat Makers appreciate these historic roots, it is their personal relationship to the work that appeals most to them and, hence, there are many aspects of rug hooking that are intensely modern. Two dimensionality, the love of colour and an interest in texture are elements that today's rug hooking shares with other forms of modern art. The many expressive forms that rug hooking assumes permits the artist to communicate with the past or live at the edge of modernism.
If you are interested in learning more about the art and the process, you are welcome to come to any of our meetings. We will show you how to pull a loop.
WHERE AND WHEN YOU CAN JOIN US:
Moira Mat Makers meet from 9:00am to 1:00pm on 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month from September to June in the basement of Eastminster Church, corner of Bridge and Herkimer Sts., Belleville, In addition we meet the last Saturday of each month, 9:00am to 1:00pm, also at the Wellness Centre, Gym Room 3. Our Annual General Meeting is the last Saturday of January.
Every other year, the MMM’s host a hook-in where over 60 rug hookers from the Eastern Ontario region come to share their work, gain inspiration, and of course, buy from local vendors.
We welcome all new members whether you are an experienced rug hooker or would like to learn the basics. If you are interested please contact Wendy Nickerson at the following email address. "notretiredyet@bell.net"".