Alzheimer's Rug

Dimensions: 29" x 23"
Materials: #3- and 5-cut hand-dyed wool, ribbon, and yarn on linen
Designed and hooked by Donna Hrkman, Dayton, Ohio, 2012.
Featured in: Celebration XXIII

"My husband's father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in his early seventies, and our lives all turned upside down. The emotions we experienced remain with us years after his death. I was compelled to create a rug that reminded us that even if our loved ones couldn't remember us, we still need to remember them.

I used a photo of one of my students, taken with her permission, to create the image of a woman coming apart, unravelling from the disease. I showed her with a lost look on her face as her hair dissolves into frayed strands and the bright words that describe her are being dissipated and torn away. I again used diagonal lines in the background in dark colors to show unrest. It was difficult to hook and still reminds me of the loss we all suffered."
- Donna Hrkman, Celebration Hall of Fame 2018