Hello there Dear Reader.

How did I become involved in a life centered around textile arts, you wonder? One fall Indian summer day, when I was young and impressionable, I paused inside a miraculous doorway to observe an arresting scene: a room full of beautiful women all working at floor looms. They made a vivid impression upon me. At that moment I knew I would become one of them. Was this a dream? I don't know, yet this vision left me feeling determined to study weaving.

As a rug weaver I discovered the finite vocabulary of loom controlled patterns. The trick, I learned, is to distill these universal patterns into my own interpretation of correct proportion, pattern, color and scale.

When my husband, painter-man Arne Nyen, and I moved from the bustling twin cities to our bucolic century-old farmstead in rural Wisconsin, I discovered the narrative freedom of rug hooking. My original motivation for rug hooking grew out of my frustration in trying to influence contentious land use issues. But controlling my own world in a hooked landscape is far more pleasant than trying to win over angry property rights fanatics at endless community zoning meetings. I quit the movement. In my studio, where I have the first and last word, I am Queen on a throne of my own vision and imagination. It's good to be Queen of my very own territory.

Stay in touch, I enjoy hearing from you.

Truly,

Mary Anne

email:mawise@hbci.com

Phone: 715/448-2511