Market at Mahone Bay

Dimensions: 29" x 37"
Materials: #3-cut wool on wool kimonos
Designed and hooked by Fumiyo Hachisuka, Tokyo, Japan.
Featured in: Celebration X

It was a beautiful, clear fall day in 1997 at the Mahone Bay Market in Nova Scotia. Fumiyo ("who-me-yo") Hachisuka, in the area to attend the second conference of The International Guild of Handhooking Rugmakers, was enthralled by the brilliant orange pumpkins she saw at the market's stands. She wanted to capture her experience as only a rug hooker can, and so conceived the idea for Market at Mahone Bay.

Fumiyo's training as a painter was invaluable for this project when she needed to alter certain parts of the scene. "The inside of the store was very dark, and I couldn't see the goods clearly," she says. "But I changed it and hooked many apples and pumpkins." Adding the produce and keeping it in perspective took much time and thought. In the background she echoed the foreground's forms, but used smaller shapes and weaker contrasts to produce the effect of distance. "I learned that I can have as much fun [hooking a rug] as I [do] painting [in] oils."
- Fumiyo Hachisuka, Celebration Hall of Fame 2018
(Note: This rug description was taken as an excerpt from the published Celebration entry.)