Hélène Fortier, Studio #1
262, 1er Rang, 450 297-9912

 Biography

 Originally from Saguenay, from Chicoutimi more precisely where I grew up near the little white house, I began my career in teaching second languages at the University of Ottawa, then in the Centres d'orientation et de formation des immigrants (COFI) in Quebec and finally in the college system in teaching literature.

 Approach

 In 2007, I discovered rug hooking, and I've been dedicated to it ever since. I work exclusively with pure wool on a high-quality linen or jute backing.

 What I want is to combine my basic training in teaching and my passion for rug hooking and to be able to pass on this pleasure to others individually or in workshops.

 The crocheted rug

 "The hooked rug, which appeared at the beginning of the 19th century, following Anglo-American influences, results from an arrangement of strips of fabric. Once colored using vegetable or chemical dyes, the strips are inserted with a curved or straight hook through a canvas usually made of jute. The loops, or stitches, called "chain stitch", allow the creation of real paintings. The drawing outlining the lines or the cardboard defining the pattern and the colors can come from the inspiration of the craftswoman, from a commercial drawing as offered by embroidery pattern houses in the 20th century or from a professional artist registered in a commercial production network.

 From the 1930s onwards, hooked rugs, recovered by professional craftsmen and artists registered in the craft market, gave rise to the production of murals executed according to the same principles as floor coverings.

 Michel Lessard, La Nouvelle Encyclopédie des antiquités du Québec. Les Éditions de l'Homme, 2007, p. 326.