ISSN 2007-001X 17th August, 2017
Images from Gail’s Nichol’s studio were shown on a Guild Facebook post after a visit by members of the Narrawilly Proggy Ruggers. The post prompted a request for more information about Gail and her textile art.
Gail said “It’s funny how a local get-together of rugmakers and fibre artists in Braidwood, New South Wales, Australia, leads to a request for more information from the USA!” Not everyone is comfortable with Technology especially Facebook, however it has one big advantage, it does bring like minded people together and it is making it possible for Australian rugmakers and fibre artists to learn about each other.
Gail graciously answered all my questions about her textile art.
Gail: “This photo, taken by my husband Dave Nelson, gives an idea of the scale of my works – this piece is 140 x 95cm (55.12″ x 37.4”)
If a gallery called you, how would you describe your work?
“When dealing with galleries I describe my works as ‘hooked tapestries’. I find this communicates what they are more accurately than if I call them ‘rugs’. I faced a similar semantic issue during my previous 30 year career in ceramics. As far as galleries were concerned I made ‘ceramic art’ because that is their language, but amongst other clay workers we were usually happy to call our works ‘pots’.
My hooked tapestries are works of visual art intended to hang on the wall. The images are abstractions from landscape features I have observed where I live or where I have travelled. The tapestries are made from new and recycled fabric hooked on a hessian or synthetic rug backing.
This work was inspired by a collection of leaves, twigs and algae amongst logs in a local rainforest creek.”
What captures your imagination about a particular technique or approach to your work?
Rug hooking came to me surprisingly naturally (following some initial instruction), similar to the way clay spoke to me initially many years ago. When you find that connection as an artist you just have to go with it. I love the tactile, rhythmic nature of the process, working directly with colour, and the freedom to develop the design as I go. From the beginning I saw potential images all around me. This medium has made me see the world with new eyes.
Who – or what – influenced your early work? Has your later work been influenced by the same person/style/technique?
In 2014 I attended a workshop led by my friend and neighbour Maggie Hickey. Maggie had learned from Miriam Miller and the Narawilly Rugmakers at Milton NSW, and Maggie invited me to attend one of their gatherings with her. Miriam was very encouraging and I bought my first rug frame from her. Her book, Proggy and Hooky Rugs, was a practical source of information. Where I live at Mongarlowe NSW (near Braidwood NSW) we have a group of fibre artists who meet once a month to share their work and knowledge. They were very welcoming and supportive of my new textile work. So from the beginning I had some wonderful support networks, and those associations continue. Recently Maggie and I helped to host both groups in a get-together at Mongarlowe and Braidwood.
Another major influence during my early stage of rugmaking was an Arthur Boyd retrospective exhibition I attended at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra. After viewing many rooms of impressive, often familiar paintings, I entered the final room and found myself surrounded by giant hanging woven tapestries which Boyd had commissioned to be made in Portugal from a number of his paintings. I was overwhelmed by their presence and vibrance. They brought the paintings to life! They taught me the potential of textiles for creating powerful visual images. If this could be achieved with woven tapestries, why not also with hooking?
Are you pleased with your artistic progress? What boundaries or limitations do you find are the hardest to push?
I’m pleased with my progress, although from experience as a professional artist I know I will always be looking for ways to improve. In the beginning it was a challenge to just produce a small floor mat with the hooking neatly accomplished on both front and back. As I progressed the rugs grew in size and the visual images became more complex. Eventually I had to admit that even in our house no one would walk on them on the floor, so they became wall hangings. This introduced a new perspective. There was the challenge of working at an intimate focus with the design, but knowing it needed to be appreciated as a full image from much further back. Whether I’m working on a stretcher frame or a lap frame, I regularly take breaks to review the progress from a distance. I’m currently pushing the boundaries of the rectangular format, introducing more freedom and movement to the hanging work.
Where do you see your work in 1 – 2 – 5 years? In other words, where do you see yourself going with your current approach and technique?
Well, I’m not stopping, that’s for sure! Having experienced similar rapid 
development in ceramics, I know it’s not possible to predict what I will be making in 2 to 5 years. I will continue experimenting with materials and techniques, pushing boundaries where possible, and developing ideas for images. I have been experimenting with other textile techniques such as free machine embroidery incorporating fabric, gummy silk and paper. I expect these techniques will somehow inform and combine with my rugging, but I’ll wait and see how that happens.
I recently was fortunate to win a prize in the Queanbeyan Palerang Regional Art Awards. The Professional Practice Award sponsored by Form Studio and Gallery in Queanbeyan entitles me to an exhibition in that gallery to the value of $2000. I expect that show will take place in 2018. I have also been working with other galleries, exploring opportunities after that. I have launched a Facebook page called Gail Nichols Textiles, to share my work. I look forward to seeing where this leads.
Editor’s note: September 2016 at the Guild Exhibition in Strathnairn, Canberra, I met Gail and saw her design “Reflections at the Water Temple” in progress. It’s now finished. This small image does not do it justice, – I hope you will click the link to Gail’s Nichols Textiles and view it and her amazing body of rug art. Hopefully her schedule will allow her to enter “Re-imagined” the current rug art Challenge in Australia, open to all rug makers and textile/fibre artists in the Southern Hemisphere – Happy Hooking – Jo Franco
