Working with wool

Joanne Thomason is an artist who has an eye for style, color and detail. She’s been applying those strengths to her work since she began traditional rug hooking 25 years ago and has since turned a new hobby into an esteemed fine art.

Thomason began rug hooking in the 1990s when she and her sister-in-law decided to give it a try. They went to a workshop at the Decorah Rug School where they learned the proper way to hook and the tools needed, she said, and they began with primitive, basic rugs.

After a few years in the art and a three-year educational program, she received her McGowen teaching certificate and enjoyed teaching the technique at the McGowen Teachers Workshop.

“It’s mostly hooking so there’s no sewing. You pull the first piece up, and then you hook it into little loops, and just keep hooking it into little loops until you get to the end of the strip and you start over again,” Thomason said. “It all comes together, and when you get to the end it’s tight enough that it doesn’t come apart.”

As time passed, Thomason began creating more elaborate rugs and patterns.

Much of her art is reminiscent of the art deco style of the 1930s. She said she loves the covers of magazines and other vintage images of that time period have inspired many of her rugs.

“They had some fabulous covers in the 30s and 40s, and I love this era with the ‘Dream Girl.’ I love the women, something about the way they look is really neat,” she said.

Besides traditional rugs, Thomason makes other three-dimensional works such as purses and pillows. She has been asked by family members including her three children, Mark, Matt and Amanda, and her sister, to make personalized rugs.

As a Newton High School Class of 1963 graduate, Thomason even made a large rug in honor of her class for their 50th class reunion. She used old high school memorabilia as inspiration for the pattern, a fun project she said.

“It’s just a fun thing, and people always come up with new ideas for this. You think you’ve seen it all and then somebody comes up with a new idea,” she said.

Thomason is a member of the Association of Traditional Hooking Artists and has received national recognition for her artistry. Her work has been featured on the cover “Rug Hooking Magazine,” in the annual publication “Celebrations,” and displayed at a large national event, the Sauder Village Rug Hooking Week, in Ohio.

She enjoys entering the Iowa State Fair Fabric and Threads competition, and this year, Thomason took home “Best of Show” for a rendition of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball stadium, a rug she made for her grandson, Alex.

“Joanne has a very special talent in composition and color. Her subjects are unique choices that drive her patience and commitment in an historic fiber art method,” Centre for Arts and Artists Director Linda Klepinger said.

At the Centre for Arts and Artists, Thomason has her own studio with a work bench, chair, storage and rugs on the wall. She has wools in just about any color and has packets of fabric dye to make more colors, and enjoys the other artists, too. She likes having a peaceful, quiet work environment, she said.

Thomason also has a good time with her rug hooking friends who meet on Thursdays at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Newton, she said.

“Joanne is a really creative person who draws out her own patterns and dyes all of her wool for that pattern and colorplans her rug,” fellow rug hooker Sue Bryan, of Newton, said.

Thomason will be in the Iowa Sculpture & Fine Arts Festival this weekend at the Centre for Arts and Artists in Newton. She will be demonstrating how to rug hook and explaining her processes for creating images to visitors.

The event will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $3. Children 15 and under are free.

Contact Kate Malott at 641-792-3121 ext. 6533 or kmalott@newtondailynews.com