And They Called Us
Wool, silk, synthetic, and nylon fabric strips hooked on burlap backing; 32 x 32 inches.
Designed and hooked by Michelle Sirois-Silver

Description Of The Rug

There are defining moments in all our lives. In the days following September 11th, people were posting photographs of their missing family members or friends. The walls were papered from top to bottom. Smiling face after face looked back at me. This was my defining moment. These were not strangers, I was looking at mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters.

I sat down with paper and pencil in hand and within five minutes I drew the design for "And they called us…".

There are five main design elements in this rug:

1. The person - the exaggerated eye, nose and lips reflect overwhelmed emotions.
2. The water - the water is hooked in a directional manner creating waves and motion. The waves represent constant change and yet they stay the same, never changing.
3. The wind - the wind shooting out of the mouth is a foreboding and bruising breath destroying what is typically an innocent and playful act.
4. The dandelion seeds - the seeds represent the lives of the people who died on September 11th, 2001. The varying tumultuous directions reflect the uncontrollable circumstances. The delicate lines juxtaposed with the wind symbolize the frail biological nature of the human body.
5. The border - is a frame that contains the image of the face and dandelion. It is an integral part of the rug and simply represents my impression of the photographs on the walls.

The colour plan and dyed wool.

1. Water - the water is blue green. The coolness represents the coldness I felt watching the twin towers collapse. I used 10 different blue greens in light to dark values. A combination of new and recycled wool, "as is" and over-dyed and spot-dyed.
2. Face - the face is pale and void of detail with exaggerated facial features. The colour is a washed out. The fabric is recycled. The red lips fabric and the brown that outlines the facial features.
3. Hand - the hand is hooked using off-white, washed out pinks and brown. The one exception is the wedding ring. It is hooked with the same fabric used to hook the dandelion seeds. The yellow and gold symbolize my connection to family.
4. Wind - the wind is hooked with about 10 different fabrics ranging from magenta to violet. The wind is bruising, purple, and garish. The fabric is a combination of new and recycled, over-dyed and spot dyed.
5. Dandelion - the dandelion is hooked using synthetics. Green stretch velvet for the stem. Rust taffeta for the pod. Yellow stretch knit with gold threads for the seeds.
6. Border - the border is dark green, recycled coat. The text is a variety of recycled and new fabric, over-dyed and spot dyed. The dark green is looming and contains the design inside.

I began working on the rug in September 2001. I worked on it for three months and then put it away for several months. I pulled it out again in November 2002 and completed it in January 2003.

My favourite part of the rug is the dandelion seeds. I spent several weeks looking for the right fabric. I tried hooking the seeds with wool fabric and yarn but did not get the effect I wanted. At a local fabric store I came across a lightweight synthetic stretch knit. It was bright yellow and had gold threads running through it. I hand cut the strips 1 inch wide and pulled them until they formed a tube. I hooked the tubes into the rug and the result was profound. The seeds popped off the rug. I did not clip the ends flush with the rest of the rug. The ends create vulnerability and contribute to the frail nature of the seeds. The yellow and gold threads represent the purity and goodness of people.

The most challenging aspect to hook was the dandelion. The dandelion and the seeds are the focal point of the rug and as I hooked in the wool fabric they became two-dimensional. I hooked them four times. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that the seeds needed a fabric with a highly reflective surface. The synthetics were the way to go.