Women Matters Rug Art

A Segment entitled “The War Against Women”, which aired on 60 Minutes, January 13, 2008, has inspired our group of traditional rug hookers to fund raise for the women of the Congo.

*“Women Matters” is a group of more than twenty rug hookers from Eastern Ontario, Canada, who meet every Monday to pursue our artistic passion and socialize. The day after the segment aired, members of our group were discussing the plight of the Congolese women as highlighted in the disturbing and thought-provoking piece. As a group, we decided then and are now determined, to do something to help.*

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Tilly Willis , an internationally known artist from the United Kingdom, has graciously given us permission to recreate one of her colourful African images in the form of a 5’ x 5’ hand-hooked wall hanging. We chose a piece entitled “Waiting” which for us represents Lucienne and Luck standing on a shore and looking towards the horizon, their future. Their poignant story, as featured in the piece, was the principle inspiration for us to react.*

*With a core of women directing, our group members share in the execution of the project, beginning with the daunting task of hand-dyeing wool to the colour specifications of the original artwork through to the countless hours of rug-hooking to arrive at a final product by our self-imposed deadline of January 13, 2009, to coincide with the anniversary date of the airing of the initial “60 Minutes” segment. We are planning to sell the rug and use the proceeds to sponsor Congolese women thereby enabling them to move from victim to survivor.