2015 Governor's Arts Awards

Folk Heritage
Award Recipient: Ann Winterling, Traditional New England Rug Hooking, Concord, NH

Ann Winterling’s work as an artist started at a young age. She loved to paint but didn’t start hooking rugs until later in life when she moved to New Hampshire. The techniques she had mastered as a painter helped her transform pieces of wool into masterpieces on muslin that dance with color. Ann is listed on the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts’ Traditional Arts Roster and exhibits her work with the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen. She is also a member of the White Woolen Magic Rug Hooking Guild in New Hampshire and Green Mountain Guild in Vermont, continues to teach classes in her Concord home and is active in the Association of Traditional Hooking Artists and The International Guild of Handhooking Rugmakers. Her work is featured in Mary Sheppard Burton’s A Passion for Creative Life: Textiles to Lift the Spirit and Linda Rae Coughlin’s Contemporary Hooked Rugs: Themes and Memories. Lynn Martin Graton, former NHSCA Traditional Arts Coordinator, said: “Ann has a unique ability to set standards of excellence in all aspects of her work - from teaching someone how to see the possibilities in wool, to designing an image, to dying subtle shades of color, to meticulously hooking wool strips into a textured image that reflects the heritage of this beautiful domestic fiber art tradition.”

Last updated: April 28, 2016