The Authenticity of Marilyn Annin

Turkeys, designed and hooked by Marilyn Annin

Marilyn in her living room, surrounded by her art.

Last winter, I had the pleasure interviewing Marilyn Annin of Madison, Wisconsin. After hooking for a few days with some friends in Altoona, I drove on up through Dubuque and into Wisconsin to sit down with Marilyn, a painter, sculptor, and rug hooker. We talked about her artistic process, her style, and where her inspiration comes from!

[Please read the entire article HERE! It was initially written for the print version of Rug Hooking Magazine, but now appears in the August issue of We Like Rug Hooking, a digital publication.]

Totem, designed and hooked by Marilyn Annin, with frogs and fish at the bottom, birds at the top, and a forest of creatures in between.

Here is an excerpt from the article:

"When Marilyn was a young woman, she and her family lived in a kind of wilderness on a lake in Northern Wisconsin.  Marilyn moved away to earn her degree in art. She married, and while also raising a family of her own, she enjoyed a successful career as a sculptor and painter, even as a welder of metal art.  She and her husband and children moved to Iowa for a while—his career was in Ag Education, serving farmers. 

"Eventually, though, they landed back in her favorite place on Black Oak Lake near Land o’ Lakes, Wisconsin, a small community with a grocery store, a couple of churches, and a few “roadhouses.”  Importantly, the community also had a marvelous arts center—Land o’ Lake Arts, or LOLA—housed in a former grocery store with classrooms, a gallery, and even apartments for visiting artists.

"In the year 2000, when Marilyn was in her 60s, twenty women signed a piece of paper that launched Marilyn’s rug hooking group in Land o’ Lakes.  Together, these women learned to hook and to dye wool."

The Pond, designed and hooked by Marilyn Annin

I learned during our interview what an impact Land o' Lakes, Wisconsin, and the natural environment there MADE on Marilyn's art, on the subjects she chose to hook. She hooked many creatures! She rendered a northern pond in wool.

In the article, I remember musing on my own limited imagination. How would I have hooked a northern pond? I would have stood back and aimed my mental camera at a blue body of water with maybe a swan floating on top. I certainly would have been incapable of Marilyn's vision of an entire ecosystem of creatures and plants that comprise a northern pond.

Suzy Posing in Her Garden

Not all of Marilyn's rugs feature animal subjects. Twice, she has hooked Suzy, a friend from Land o' Lakes whom she admires for her positive energy. The rug at left shows a profusely growing garden raised by Suzy, populated by birds, flowers, vines, and what I've come to think of as Marilyn's signature yellow--her sunshine color that infiltrates nearly every rug. When you read the full article, you'll see another "Suzy" rug (Suzy Striving). When I asked about these pieces, Marilyn replied with wonder: “I’m just amazed at older women!" She recounted Suzy’s gardening, the many chores she managed by herself, and the energy she continued to have, even as she grew older.

A candid shot of Marilyn during our interview

We talked for over two hours about many rugs, about Marilyn's process, and about her advice for rug hookers. Don't miss the full article!

It's my pleasure to know Marilyn, and I want to acknowledge Cathy Stephan who introduced us. Cathy hosts a hooking group that includes three women named Marilyn. There's Good Marilyn, Bad Marilyn, and Artistic Marilyn. My new friends is the latter, of course, and I hope you will read more about her here!

https://welikerughooking.com/articles/designer-showcase-authentically-marilyn/

Thank you for reading my Noodlings today, friends, and I wish you hours of Happy Hooking!