Victoria O'Neill Guest Artist Collabery April 2023

 I am excited to be the guest artist for April at Collabery. Working on a chicken/rooster installation for it!

Artist Victoria O'Neill at Barnstone Live Art Spectacular

I am looking forward to creating a couple of collages in real time at this event! Click here for details  or click on image below.

388 West Pothouse Road Phoenixville PA

A Spectacular Art Event Where Artists Create Original Artwork...LIVE!

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Art | Food | Drink | Online Auction | Music by DJ Minty Fresh

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During the event, spectators have the rare and exciting opportunity to watch artists move through their creative process, witnessing sketches evolve into completed artwork that is immediately available through an auction! This event consists of two 45-minute rounds where 20+ artists will work in various mediums to create one of a kind art on the spot! 
 

Artwork created by children from the Barnstone community will also be on display and for sale.

Loving Rug Hooking

 For the past few months I have been exploring a new medium, with the materials, tools and techniques of traditional rug hooking. First off made some vases with flowers. Then moved into some big stuffed 3 D angel sculptures and now making chickens. Kind of random with the chickens but saw a wooden chicken and got inspired to make some. I have an art exhibit coming up in April and in addition to other art planning to do some kind of an installation with the chickens......making a flock including more chickens, a rooster and some chicks. Chickens are 13" high, created with all cut wool strips. Backing is wool. Brainstorming right now on how to integrate chicken wire, straw and maybe cardboard to make some kind of a chicken coop display.

The all wool 7" vases below have yarn flowers made with a cute little loom and pom pom flowers made with a pom pom maker.

The angels below are about two feet high, hooked with wool and assorted yarns.  While stuffing, I hand sewed seams where the wings are attached to create a 3 D effect. This duo is sitting on a bookshelf in my living room in front of a couple of paintings. Everything seems to be matching here. Painting on the left was done a year or so ago, painting on the right more like 40 years ago! Angels in the middle Feb 2023.

If you are in the neighborhood stop by Triptych Salon in Phoenixville for One of a Kind Wearable Art Jackettes and Shawls, Fiber Vases,  Fiber Art Collages and more. Exhibit is up till Feb 28th.

After that I will be at Collabery Gallery in April. Details to follow on that.

Progress on Woman Holding a Rooster Hooked Rug

 It's amazing that each of these little loops is hooked one at a time. This process is very time consuming but oh my I just love the way it looks! I've found so much inspiration looking at other people's rugs. 

This one is 24" x 34" hooked wool on linen.

Second Hooked Rug in Progress

 This is the second rug. Drew the picture on linen and hooking away. She is 24" x 34" Pretty big!

I love learning new mediums but this particular one has me hooked!

It is so relaxing and meditative. 

First Rug Hooked by Artist Victoria O'Neill

Hooking is completed on the birdie rug. It was a great learning experience. Next one will be bigger, working on a design now.

This wound up being 14" x 22". 

So excited to find a rug hooking group in my area and there is a hooking event coming up in October! Can't wait to meet other hookers and see what they are doing. Also now in the market for a large standing hooking frame....... 

Hooking My First Rug

It's exciting to be working on my first hooked rug. I am obsessed with this new medium. Once the sky is completely filled in a border will be added. I designed it so that parts of the branch and bird will extend into the border. This is 100% wool and when finished will measure 14" x 20"

I have been working with bird images lately so it was a natural progression from painting them to drawing one on special rug hooking linen to hook.  

I posted a picture of the bird on linen to some rug hooking group pages on FaceBook and have so far had about 400 people love/liking and many comments, and so am considering selling patterns of my designs. My daughter knows how to get images into PDF files so people can just download, print and tape together. 

Once the drawing was done the hooking began. 

It was a challenge to fill in the inside of the bird because was using wool from an upcycled skirt that was pretty thin and it kept fraying, but the color is so nice just had to keep with it. 

I went to a 4H fabric sale (twice!) this weekend and picked up enough wool to last for the rest of my life. 7 full loads in the washing machine and dried in the dryer. 

Rug Hooking!

I've recently been interested in rug hooking as an art form and wanted to learn how to do it. I bought a special hoop and started watching tutorials online. As the world works in mysterious ways an email from Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsman mentioned an upcoming Rug Hooking Workshop in Lancaster PA. Not too far from me and a lovely drive. This is my fourth workshop there (sewing, silkscreening, and fraktur drawing). Off to Lancaster a couple of weeks ago to learn how to hook rugs!

My hooptie

We worked on bird coasters. When I got home I sewed some more material on it so it would fit into my hoop. The backing that you hook into is heavyweight linen which feels really nice to the touch. AND apparently lasts forever. It takes a long time to finish a large piece so you really don't want it to fall apart. Apparently the ones from years ago were made on burlap which does fall apart. 

After a few tries, this was my best coaster, and once it was cut out and the back put on it was mailed to a special friend. I'm not even going to show a picture of the teacher's sample! I kept threatening to take the it home and brag to my family "Look what I made today!" 

After finishing the birds, I just went crazy thinking of all the possibilities for integrating this into my art, and started assembling all the materials needed to make large pieces. Serious rug hooking is a big production.  

Say hello to this professional nifty gadget that cuts wool into noodle strips of varying sizes, depending upon which blade you use. Thank God for my dear husband who figured out how to change the blades. (Of course I bought a used one with no manual). I already bought the beautiful hoop that allows you to hold it in your lap and put your hand underneath to feed the strips into the hook that you hold in your other hand and pull up.  I've amassed a good stash of wool including blankets, skirts, big mens suit pants etc from thrift shops to cut up. They have to be washed in hot water and dried in dryer to prepare for cutting and hooking. Eagerly awaiting the first issue of a rug hooking magazine subscription, also bought several books on how to hook and how to dye wool, plus ordered some high quality linen. As soon as the linen gets here a big piece will be coming down the pike!

Right now it's all practicing, making coasters for my family whether they need or want them or not, but the master plan is to use my own images from paintings and drawings to create large wall pieces. One of the best features of rug hooking is that it is completely portable and can be worked on anywhere. These coasters were hooked while shlepping aprons at our local farmer's market today.

I have high hopes to do something spectacular to justify the expense,  having invested about $500 (yikes!) at this point (which includes the workshop). The medium is so relaxing and gratifying. I'm also learning punch needle which is a different process and look but similar and mostly uses yarn (plentiful at thrift shops). 

The teacher at the workshop told us that she used to do all kinds of art but when she got hooked on rug hooking that is all she wants to do now. I get it!

Bird Paintings from Artist Victoria O'Neill

 Birdie #4. Bird paintings will be available for sale at Kimberton Craft Market, across the street from Kimberton Whole Foods in Kimberton on Saturday Sept 3rd, along with my latest wearable art aprons, fiber bracelets, dresses, coats/jackets, and more.

Bird Paintings by Victoria O'Neill

I love bird art so decided to paint some birds. I'm going to make ten paintings. These are the first three, in the order of their appearance, 11" x 14" acrylic on canvas;