Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Interview with a Rug Hooker

Gunnel Casey was born on her family's farm in the Swedish countryside. She is one of seven sisters. Most of her growing up time was spent doing farm related chores and looking back she says she was a tomboy. She attended college in Sweden where she received her degree in Home Economics. Gunnel taught for a year, and then immigrated to the United States. She made her first home in Santa Barbara, CA. and after trying a few different jobs decided on a career as a flight attendant for Continental Airlines. She met her husband Bob, an airforceman at the time, while flying to the Phillipines. They later married and eventually made their home in Bellevue, WA., where they haved lived for the past 28 years.

Nellie: How did you first become interested in Rug Hooking?
Gunnel: A dear friend of mine, a former neighbor, introduced me to rug hookng sometime in either 1990 or 1991 during a visit to her home in California. I had never seen this art form before and it sort of "spoke to me".

Nellie: How long have you been hooking rugs?
Gunnel: My first rug hooking class was in 1992 with Evelyn Woods in Seattle. I was not able to attend many classes until I retired in 1993 as a flight attendant. After my retirement I became more active with this art form.

Nellie: How many rugs and/or hooking projects have you completed?
Gunnel: I have completed perhaps 25 to 30 projects, the vast majority of which have been rugs.

Nellie: What are your hooking inspirations?
Gunnel: The principle inspirations are the desire to create a finished work product that is both pleasing to the eye and has functionality. Color, form, subject, size and impact combine to inspire me to create the rug. Nature, especially animal life, is my comfort zone.
Nellie: Where is your favorite place to hook?
Gunnel: My favorite place to hook is in the family room.

Nellie: What other interests do you have besides Rug Hooking?
Gunnel: Gardening, especially in the summer months, takes up a great deal of my time. Being a farm girl, I just bond with the soil. Also, I am, as I always have been, very active with sports. Hiking, skiing, running, walking, biking and, in years now long past, soccer, are among my favorite activities.

Nellie: Why did you choose to hook your latest project the 1885 Horses rug?
Gunnel: I chose that pattern because I had in interest in learning more about primitive rug hooking, and, as a bonus, I just loved the pattern for itself. The pattern is pure simplicity; something I believe defines this art form. The background style, the antique nature of the pattern, and the color possibilities also appealed to me.

Nellie: What do you love most about this rug?
Gunnel: While difficult to say, I guess that the horses and the colors are what I like the best.



Nellie: Of all the rugs you have hooked, which is your favorite?
Gunnel: If I had to pick one rug as my favorite, I guess I would choose the rug of my family farm in Sweden because of the wonderful childhood memories that the farm provides. If I had a second choice it would be the rug I designed and hooked that has most of my favorite things, animals and tulips in a classic Oriental rug design. It also has quite a bit of red color throughout, something I always seem to like in rugs.

Nellie: Have you been to any retreats lately, or have plans to go in the near future? Tell us about them.
Gunnel: Camp Houston is the latest, and it is one of my favorite retreats. This past summer I was at the Roslyn retreat that was organized by Lisa Engle. We had a super time! Then there was Barbara Caroll’s workshop in Pennsylvania this past September. That camp was a great learning experience and lots of fun.

Nellie: What will you hook next?
Gunnel: My next rug probably will be of a Swedish fortress that a relative in Sweden has commissioned. This will be a challenge both because of the rather large size of the rug and the complexity of the subject matter.

Nellie: Thanks Gunnel for sharing a little of yourself with us!

13 comments:

  1. Gunnel is so talented!

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  2. Nellie & Gunnell, what a fun interview. You are a fun, talented hooker and so nice to everyone. Does that mean you have no brothers? The pictute was taken at Roslyn, It was a fun time as was Camp Houston. Looking forward to more,

    woollypj

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  3. This was a great interview. The questions and your answers, Gunnel, give us a clear history of how you became involved in hooking, and what inspires you. And the pictures of your rugs are truly wonderful! I had not seen most of them. I'm going to print this out to save it. Good luck with the new project. I can imagine you'll receive many commissions. We are one of the lucky ones to have a sample of your work -- your recent gift to Mike! Nice to hear other comments, too.

    Kathleen

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  4. Such BEAUTIFUL work.
    Thanks for sharing.
    Hugs,
    Pam

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  5. I love your work and agree that the personal rugs seem to be favorites because they are part of you. You are a fabulous rug hooker. Keep it up.

    Michele

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  6. Gunnel - I love your rugs, but I always have. You are a beautiful rug hooker and I have always admired your choice of colors. The rug of your home in Sweden is absolultely beautiful and I can imagine the wonderful times you had there. I am always so happy when I get to see you and thanks for sharing your rugs and a BIG thank you to Nellie! Love, Lianne

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  7. What a wonderful site, and a treat to see Gunnel's beautiful rugs. Her colors are muted and warm, but have the wonderful contrast that brings all the figures to life. And the video's add even more to the interview. I will visit here often for inspiration. Thank you for the smile!
    Lauri

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  8. Hi:

    Many, many thanks to all my "bloggers" - your thoughtful comments are far too complimentary. And a big thank you to Nellie for all her hard work. Tusen tack and God Jul to all!

    Gunnel

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  9. Gunnel Hi This is Beryl we have just moved to Lacey and I have not seen you for a while do miss you a lot. Glad to see that your rugs on on the web they look wonderful. looking forward to seeing others as this blog grows beauiful work Gunnel. Did you finish that bear you were working on??

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  10. Hi Gunnel! This is Bridget and I just love what you have done. I miss you too. Hope all is well and you keep on Hooking. You are so good at hooking and fun too. I'm happy they captured you wonderful smile. It is what I love about you!

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  11. Wishing you would post currently on this blog - looks like you have a lot of cool stuff going on in Oregon!

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  12. Interesting story and oh, so talented

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  13. Does anyone out there have any more stories or comments about Evelyn Wood (my mother)? I have been a weaver for many years and just recently took up rug hooking, which my mother mastered back in the '50s. Thanks. LynnDeLaMare@gmail.com

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