Tag Archives: west virginia

Juried Art in 2011

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The following three works were juried into exhibitions and/or publications this year.  This exposes the traditional craft of rughooking to a contemporary art audience.  Hope you can visit one or all of the exhibitions:
State Museum, Culture Center, 1900 Kanawha Blvd E, Charleston, WV 304-558-0220 for hours
Tamarack, One Tamarack Park, Beckley, WV 1-888-TAMARACK
June 19-Aug 13
Sauder Village, Archbold, OH www.Saudervillage.org Rug Hooking Week
August 17-20
Celebrations XXI published by Stackpole Books  August 2011

The desk has moved into our home

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Jim worked for six weeks in the workroom to create this desk. We moved it into the house on Memorial Day, setting it in a place of prominence right inside the front door.  It was supposed to go up in the study facing a wall! No way, Jim’s favorite side is the back.

Desk in house walnut side

Click here to see a slide show with more images of the sides and progress building the desk.

Cedar Lakes in 2011

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Again a great group of students and wonderful weather for the 47th Cedar Lakes Rug Camp in Ripley, WV.   Registration for 2012 is open now. Contact Nancy Blair at thhkrugs@altelco.net or call 616-895-6378. The dates are May 13-18, 2012.

Seems the theme for rug designs included birds, flowers and geometrics. Wow! Must have had some inspiration from the FRAKTURS.  They sure did.  We also learned about the elements and principles of design and used these lessons when looking at the rug exhibit on Wednesday.

Retreat report

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Gathered at the Falls

Wonderful new friends, great outdoors and many steps along our fiber journey are some of the memories we took away from the RETREAT INTO THE MOUNTAINS 2011 at Peterkin Camp and Conference Center. 

Texture, Shapes, Form

 The design sessions were very rewarding.  Many of the 5 inch squares were completed by Sunday afternoon.  Plans are for the 5th RETREAT to be held on April 13-15, 2012.  Registration material available soon, contact Susan for a copy at rugs2wv@yahoo.com.   Sure to fill up quickly.

Results from one of the Dye Sessions with Jim

Four participants worked with Jim Lilly in the Dye Studio and created wonderful ARTWOOLS.

We are live with an updated site!

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If you clicked onto this blog through http://www.ruckmanmillfarm.com   welcome!  Look around the posts and pages to learn even more about Susan Feller and Jim Lilly at home in the Mountain State of West Virginia.

Logo designed by Michael Anderson, Romney, WV

  We are thrilled to have an official logo honoring the log home Jim built and the era of time we both are reliving… the Arts and Crafts period of the early 1900’s.

Michael Anderson is our graphic designer, web creator, fellow artist, and friend.  I have found him to be easy to discuss concepts with and the magic in cyberspace he has worked should make your visits enjoyable.

Let us know of any problem, difficulty or enjoyable clicks while on the site, so we can improve it.  

At Home by Jim Lilly

Enough of the thank yous,  ENJOY and come back soon.   Susan and Jim

Planted the tomato and pepper seeds

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Jim and I planted the garden seeds today.  Now we feel like survivalists again.  Looks like much better starter soil than last year, first step.  It will be up to Mother Nature to help us get the plants growing when we put them in late in May.  Until then the kitchen is our incubator.

Put in three dozen pips of RAMPS two weeks ago in the woods.  Got them from Ramp Farm Specialists, the only place selling Ramps as bulbs or seeds.  Although these delicious alliums have a mystique of being only found in the mountains of Appalachia, we have found them growing in New Jersey and learned they are prolific in Colorado and many other areas. 

An acquired taste, one chef we met says a ramp needs to be “tamed” like a colt. Boiling and throwing off the water once takes the extra bite out of them.

To promote our heritage I have branded my jewelry line R.A.M.P.S. “Rag Art Means Personal Style”.

Two workshops with openings

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Butterfly detail from Conatined Garden Friends

There are a few spaces left in two great workshops this Spring: Contact the directors quickly to get your deposits in– love to see you and spend time working with you.  Check out the Calendar page to see where else we could meet.

May 1- 5 teaching at Laurel Mountains, Ligonier, PA Design a Rug with Folk Art motifs, Learn the History of PA German Frakturs Shirley Engel director contact Shirley for details at shirlet@zoominternet.net see Barb Carroll’s site for more about Laurel Mountains… http://www.woolleyfox.com

May 8-13 teaching at Cedar Lakes Rug Camp, Ripley, WV
Open class:Folk Art to Design whatever you want to concentrate on this year. In its 46th year this camp is a wonderful relaxed experience. Nancy and Fred Blair directors  email thhkrugs@alteco.net  or call 616-895-6378

Entry accepted in WV Juried Exhibition

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Just received notice that “Winter in West Virginia” was accepted in the  Inspired: A West Virginia Series of Juried Exhibitions Historic Buildings.  The opening ceremony was on January 24, 2011 at the WV Culture Center, 1900 Kanawha Blvd, E. Charleston, WV.  Show up through July 25.

Yes that is the Capitol of West Virginia!  Visit www.wvculture.org, exhibits for details about hours of the Commissioner’s gallery.

Winter in West Virginia, Susan L. Feller

This piece was one of the 6 works reviewed by jurors for TAMARACK for the category FINE CRAFT.  It was created in 2009 for a travelling exhibit titled STRIPES.  The artists from Japan and the United States each interpreted that word using some type of rughooking.  I happily packed my work up and sent it off today, for one more leg of its journey.  Japan, NJ, IN and now Charleston, WV.  It is for sale, but I do hope to see its return at the end of the show, since the inspiration is a view right out our kitchen looking towards Short Mountain.

Branding Ruckman Mill Farm

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We have chosen a slogan and are using it throughout our advertising campaign beginning in 2011. 

“Everybody needs FIBER.”   and “Every body needs FIBER.”   

Since we are immersed in the textile world specializing in woolen fabric for rughooking, the first version is adressing the “addiction” craftspeople flaunt. We all need FIBER.    Our other time is spent raising vegetables, flowers and poultry on our farm in Hampshire County living as close as possible a sustainable lifestyle.  Every BODY does need fiber to survive.

Follow our ads in ATHA and, as of March, in Rug Hooking Magazine. The website www.RuckmanMillFarm.com will be revamped to reflect this new image also.

2011 Ruckman Mill Farm Branding

Studio Tour in Hampshire County WV

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The third Hampshire Highlands Studio Tour is over and was another fun way to meet neighbors, travelers and fellow artisans.  Although it was cold and very windy the snow we had last year held off allowing travellers to get to all 15 studios. 

From the reports by the artists we are going to put together a fourth tour.  Put the first weekend in December on your calendar and visit www.HampshireHighlandsStudioTour.com throughout the year to see who is added.  We plan to work with the lodging in our county to come up with great packages including tour a day, dinner in Romney, an art event (theatre or concert) at the Bottling Works and lodging in town.  This will allow out-of-towners who enjoy meeting artists to visit all of the studios and enjoy our other cultural benefits.