Louisa Creed

Louisa Creed began making rag rugs in 1988, after seeing a traditional one displayed in a museum. She bought some hessian, found a hook and cut up some old clothes. It never occurred to her to seek help in getting started, as she assumed they were no longer being made and had no idea that a revival of the craft was just beginning. So she just experimented and hit on one of the traditional techniques.

Coming from a family of painters and not particularly drawn to painting herself, she has used rag rugs as ‘paint’ and hessian as ‘canvas’, enjoying the technique of hooking up strips of recycled clothing in loops through hessian.

Cats have been a favourite subject. She loves to blend close-toned colours and represent fur in this way. She also ‘paints’ landscapes and, more recently, abstract designs.