She has gotten so much attention and acclaim for her rug-hooking efforts that the work has just been pouring in. Now, Rachelle LeBlanc is just so happy to have the summer off.
“It took a year and a half to do it all so I’m taking a break,” she confessed.
The St. Albert-based craft artist has been working her hands hard trying to hook up seven pieces for Off the Floor, her new show at the Alberta Craft Council Discovery Gallery. At the same time, she was also getting a series of nine works done for a separate exhibit along a similar theme called No Floors Required. That one opened in mid-June and is on at the Fibreworks Gallery in Vancouver’s Madeira Park until the end of this month.
She wasn’t really complaining that her hands had been overworked, however, just that she didn’t have any fresh inspirations. She still has her sense of humour though.
“My brain is empty! Plus, in the summertime, it’s really hot to be working with wool,” she laughed, adding, “I do my best work when the kids aren’t in the house.”
The much-acclaimed craftsperson has worked hard to take her rug hooking to the level of an art form. One look at the pieces at the Craft Council and you’ll see for yourself.
Her works are contemporized impressionist images of small children, mainly girls, enjoying their childhoods in some very quaint ways. They laze about wearing dresses, picking flowers, playing with their toes or just leaning back for a rest atop a field of grass. This is probably how many people want to remember the times of their own early youth.
For the artist, she claims it actually comes from her own experiences.
“When I sat down to design the show, I found myself flooded with memories from childhood and of moments spent with my own children,” she wrote in her artist’s statement. “My thoughts kept falling on how fast life goes by and how little time is spent just being still. I wanted to express how important it is to find time in my daily life to observe the simple truths that evoke feelings, provoke memories and even transport me to a time of innocence.”
This mid-year peak comes right on the heels of her recent nomination for a People’s Choice Award at Edmonton’s Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts Awards in April.
“It was an awesome year. I don’t know if it could have gotten any better. A few grants would have been good!” she giggled.
Off the Floor runs in conjunction with specimen, a show featuring the jewelry insects of Calgary artist Erin Boukall. Both shows run until Aug. 27.
The Alberta Craft Council Discovery Gallery is located at 10186 106 St. in downtown Edmonton.
For more information, please call 780-488-5900 or visit www.albertacraft.ab.ca.
To learn more about LeBlanc or to get in contact with her, visit www.hookedrugstudio.com.
