Creative Growth is excited to announce its first online Viewing Room, featuring a selection of hand-hooked rugs from the beloved Rug Program. As the oldest textile program at Creative Growth, rug making was introduced through a visiting artist workshop in 1987, and quickly established itself as a favorite among the artists. Studio Instructor Tara Tucker inherited the program in 2003 and expanded its accessibility through the addition of tabletop frames and one-handed tools. The Rug Program has become a vital part of the Creative Growth community, with over 900 rugs produced since its inception. Creative Growth rugs have been exhibited at Cooper Hewitt, the Smithsonian design museum, and the Moss Design gallery, and featured in O, The Oprah Magazine and Paper magazine.
The Rug Program Viewing Room is a unique online opportunity to purchase the highly coveted textiles that are usually available only to those visiting Creative Growth’s Oakland Studio. In addition to recently completed rug designs by John Martin, Susan Janow, Lulu Sotelo, and others, Creative Growth is releasing a small selection of vintage designs by William Scott, Regina Broussard, William Tyler, and Vera Hollins.
Artists fabricate rugs based on their own designs using a two-handed speed-tufting tool to punch yarn through stretched canvases. Larger projects require a cooperative of artists to work together on an individual artist’s design. Artists take turns or work side-by-side to complete sections of rugs that can be made up to 8 feet in length.
“The Rug Program is very unique,” says Creative Growth Studio Instructor Tara Tucker. “We have been creating artist-made and designed rugs since the mid 1980s, and they always have that certain ‘Creative Growth’ look. I have seen other artists create wonderful rugs, but our artists always push the boundaries through their designs and application of the material. I think this program more than any other is all about partnership. We all help each other make these amazing new creations out of their art, by thinking about them as design with a function.”
